New Imperialism the Scramble for Africa Late 19
New Imperialism & the Scramble for Africa Late 19 th Century – 1945
The Major Stages of Imperialism Colonialism (“Old” Imperialism) 16 th & 17 th centuries Ex: European “discovery” & conquest of the Americas “New” Imperialism Late 19 th century – 1945 Ex: Scramble for Africa
Berlin Conference of 1884 Also called the “Congo Conference” Germany held an international conference in Berlin to provide some order to the “carving up” of Africa 14 nations (including US) attended Promoted the 3 C’s: Commerce Christianity Civilization No African representative at conference
The Scramble for Africa 1880: European nations ruled 1/10 th of African continent 1914: Europeans claimed all of Africa except Liberia & Ethiopia Europeans ignored natural boundaries & cultural frontiers European divisions of continent did not correspond to African divisions Europeans created artificial boundary lines infighting
Imperialism in the th 20 century WWI (1914 – 1919) = turning point Principle of self-determination After WWII (1939 – 1945) Exhausted empires reluctant to fight rebellious colonies, just fought war to destroy Nazi imperialism & racism Decolonization after 1945 Gradually, colonies take/are granted their independence
The Legacy of Imperialism What problems might arise from decolonization? What is the legacy of imperialism in our world today? Underdeveloped countries (insufficient capital, unskilled leaders, unstable gov’ts) Fostered the spread of Western civilization (English & French languages, democracy & parliamentary gov’t, industrialism & modern science Bitterness over years of imperial exploitation, encouragement of racism & callous disregard of their cultures Imperialism accelerated the growth of a global market economy
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