An article about the mass colonization of Africa. Geography of Africa. Section of Eastern Tropical Africa

European colonization affected not only the Northern and South America, Australia and other lands, but also the entire African continent. There is no trace left of the former power of Ancient Egypt, which you studied in 5th grade. Now all these are colonies, divided between different European countries. From this lesson you will learn how the process of European colonization in Africa took place and whether there were any attempts to resist this process.

In 1882, popular discontent broke out in Egypt, and England sent troops into the country under the pretext of protecting its economic interests, which meant the Suez Canal.

Another powerful state that extended its influence over African states in modern times was Oman Empire. Oman was located in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Active Arab traders carried out trading operations along almost the entire coast of the Indian Ocean. As a result, numerous trades came under their influence. trading posts(small trading colonies of merchants of a certain country on the territory of another state) on the coast East Africa, in the Comoros Islands and in the north of the island of Madagascar. It was with Arab traders that the Portuguese navigator encountered Vasco da Gama(Fig. 2), when he managed to go around Africa and pass through the Mozambique Strait to the shores of East Africa: modern Tanzania and Kenya.

Rice. 2. Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama ()

It was this event that marked the beginning of European colonization. The Omani Empire could not withstand the competition with Portuguese and other European sailors and collapsed. The remnants of this empire are considered to be the Sultanate of Zanzibar and a few sultanates on the coast of East Africa. TO end of the 19th century centuries, they all disappeared under the onslaught of Europeans.

The first colonialists to settle in sub-Saharan Africa were Portuguese. First, the sailors of the 15th century, and then Vasco da Gama, who in 1497-1499. circumnavigated Africa and reached India by sea, exerted their influence on the policies of local rulers. As a result, the coasts of countries such as Angola and Mozambique had already been studied by them by the beginning of the 16th century.

The Portuguese extended their influence to other lands, some of which were considered less effective. The main interest of European colonialists was the slave trade. There was no need to found large colonies; countries set up their trading posts on the coast of Africa and exchanged European products for slaves or conquests with the aim of capturing slaves and went to trade them in America or Europe. This slave trade continued in Africa until the end of the 19th century. Gradually different countries prohibited slavery and the slave trade. At the end of the 19th century, there was a hunt for slave ships, but all this was of little use. Slavery continued to exist.

The conditions of the slaves were monstrous (Fig. 3). In the process of transporting slaves through Atlantic Ocean at least half died. Their bodies were thrown overboard. There was no accounting of slaves. Africa lost at least 3 million people, and modern historians claim up to 15 million, due to the slave trade. The scale of trade changed from century to century, and it reached its peak at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries.

Rice. 3. African slaves are transported across the Atlantic Ocean to America ()

After the appearance of the Portuguese colonialists, other European countries began to lay claim to the territory of Africa. In 1652, Holland showed activity. At that time Jan van Riebeeck(Fig. 4) captured a point in the extreme south of the African continent and called it Kapstad. In 1806, this city was captured by the British and renamed Cape Town(Fig. 5). The city still exists today and bears the same name. It was from this point that the Dutch colonialists began to spread throughout South Africa. The Dutch colonialists called themselves Boers(Fig. 6) (translated from Dutch as “peasant”). Peasants made up the bulk of the Dutch colonists who lacked land in Europe.

Rice. 4. Jan van Riebeeck ()

Rice. 5. Cape Town on the map of Africa ()

Exactly the same as in North America, the colonists encountered Indians; in South Africa, the Dutch colonists encountered local peoples. First of all, with the people Xhosa, the Dutch called them Kaffirs. In the struggle for territory, which was called Kaffir Wars, the Dutch colonists gradually pushed the native tribes further and further towards the center of Africa. The territories they captured, however, were small.

In 1806, the British arrived in southern Africa. The Boers did not like this and refused to submit to the British crown. They began to retreat further to the North. This is how people appeared who called themselves Boer settlers, or boortrekkers. This great march continued for several decades. It led to the formation of two independent Boer states in the northern part of what is now South Africa: Transvaal and Orange Republic(Fig. 7).

Rice. 7. Independent Boer states: Transvaal and Orange Free State ()

The British were unhappy with this retreat of the Boers, because she wanted to control the entire territory South Africa, and not just the coast. As a result, in 1877-1881. The first Anglo-Boer War took place. The British demanded that these territories become part of the British Empire, but the Boers categorically disagreed with this. It is generally accepted that about 3 thousand Boers took part in this war, and the entire English army was 1200 people. The Boer resistance was so fierce that England abandoned attempts to influence the independent Boer states.

But in 1885 deposits of gold and diamonds were discovered in the area of ​​modern Johannesburg. The economic factor in colonization has always been the most important, and England could not allow the Boers to benefit from gold and diamonds. In 1899-1902 The second Anglo-Boer War occurred. Despite the fact that the war was fought on the territory of Africa, it took place, in fact, between two European peoples: the Dutch (Boers) and the British. The bitter war ended with the Boer republics losing their independence and being forced to become part of the British South African colony.

Along with the Dutch, Portuguese and British, representatives of other European powers quickly appeared in Africa. Thus, in the 1830s, France carried out active colonization activities, which captured vast territories in Northern and Equatorial Africa. Active colonization was also carried out Belgium, especially during the reign of the king LeopoldII. The Belgians created their own colony in central Africa called Congo Free State. It existed from 1885 to 1908. It was believed that this was the personal territory of the Belgian King Leopold II. This state was m only in words. In fact, it was characterized by a violation of all principles of international law, and the local population was forced to work on royal plantations. A huge number of people died on these plantations. There were special punitive squads that were supposed to punish those who collected too little rubber(Hevea tree sap, the main raw material for rubber production). As proof that the punitive detachments had completed their task, they had to bring to the point where the Belgian army was located the severed hands and feet of the people they were punishing.

As a result, almost all African territories by the endXIXcenturies were divided between European powers(Fig. 8). The activity was so great European countries by the annexation of new territories, that this era was called "race for Africa" ​​or "fight for Africa". The Portuguese, who owned the territory of modern Angola and Mozambique, counted on capturing the intermediate territory, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, and thus creating a network of their colonies in African continent. But it was impossible to implement this project, since the British had their own plans for these territories. Premier of the Cape Colony, headquartered in Cape Town, Cecil John Rhodes believed that Great Britain should create a chain of its own colonies. It should start in Egypt (Cairo) and end in Cape Town. Thus, the British hoped to build their own colonial strip and stretch a railway along this strip from Cairo to Cape Town. After the First World War, the British managed to build a chain, and Railway turned out to be unfinished. It does not exist to this day.

Rice. 8. Possessions of European colonialists in Africa by the beginning of the 20th century ()

In 1884-1885 European powers organized a conference in Berlin, at which a decision was made on the issue of which country belongs to this or that sphere of influence in Africa. As a result, almost the entire territory of the continent was divided between them.

As a result, by the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, Europeans had mastered the entire territory of the continent. There were only 2 floors left independent states: Ethiopia and Liberia. This is due to the fact that Ethiopia was difficult to colonize, because one of their main tasks was the spread of Christianity by the colonialists, and Ethiopia since the time early Middle Ages was a Christian state.

Liberia, in fact, was a territory created by the United States. It was in this territory that former American slaves were located, taken from the United States by decision of President Monroe.

As a result, the British, French, Germans, Italians and other peoples began to conflict in England. The Germans and Italians, who had few colonies, were dissatisfied with the decisions of the Berlin Congress. Other countries also wanted to get their hands on as many territories as possible. IN 1898 happened between the British and the French Fashoda incident. Major French army Marchant captured a stronghold in modern-day South Sudan. The British considered these lands theirs, and the French wanted to spread their influence there. The result was a conflict during which relations between England and France deteriorated greatly.

Naturally, the Africans resisted the European colonialists, but the forces were unequal. Only one successful attempt can be identified in the 19th century, when Muhammad ibn abd-Allah, who called himself Mahdi(Fig. 9), created a theocratic state in Sudan in 1881. It was a state based on the principles of Islam. In 1885, he managed to capture Khartoum (the capital of Sudan), and even though the Mahdi himself did not live long, this state existed until 1898 and was one of the few truly independent territories on the African continent.

Rice. 9. Muhammad ibn abd-Allah (Mahdi) ()

The most famous Ethiopian ruler of this era fought against European influence. MenelikII, reigned from 1893 to 1913. He united the country, carried out active conquests and successfully resisted the Italians. He also supported a good relationship with Russia, despite the significant distance between these two countries.

But all these attempts at confrontation were only isolated and could not produce a serious result.

The revival of Africa began only in the second half of the 20th century, when African countries, one after another, began to gain independence.

Bibliography

1. Vedyushkin V.A., Burin S.N. History textbook for grade 8. - M.: Bustard, 2008.

2. Drogovoz I. Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902. - Minsk: Harvest, 2004.

3. Nikitina I.A. Capture of the Boer republics by England (1899-1902). - M., 1970.

4. Noskov V.V., Andreevskaya T.P. General history. 8th grade. - M., 2013.

5. Yudovskaya A.Ya. General history. Modern History, 1800-1900, 8th grade. - M., 2012.

6. Yakovleva E.V. The colonial division of Africa and the position of Russia: The second half of the 19th century. - 1914 - Irkutsk, 2004.

Homework

1. Tell us about European colonization in Egypt. Why did the Egyptians not want the Suez Canal to open?

2. Tell us about the European colonization of the southern part of the African continent.

3. Who were the Boers and why did the Boer Wars break out? What was their outcome and consequences?

4. Were there any attempts to resist European colonization and how did they manifest themselves?

GENERAL OVERVIEW OF AFRICA

The name "Africa" ​​comes from the Latin africus - frost-free,

from the Afrig tribe who lived in northern Africa.

The Greeks have “Libya”.

AFRICA, the second largest continent after Eurasia. 29.2 million km2 (with islands 30.3 million km2).

The Atlantic is washed from the west. approx., from the north - Mediterranean, from the north-east. - Red m., with E. - Indian approx. The banks are slightly indented; max. cr. hall. - Guinean, Somalia Peninsula. Geologically, it is advantageous. platform with a Precambrian crystalline base overlain by younger sedimentary rocks. Fold mountains are located only in the north-west. (Atlas) and to the south (Cape Mountains). Wed. altitude 750 m. The relief is dominated by high stepped plains, plateaus and plateaus; in internal districts - extensive tectonic depressions (Kalahari in South Africa, Congo in Central Africa, etc.). From Krasny m. and to the river. The Zambezi A. is fragmented by the world's largest system of fault basins (see East African Rift System), partially occupied by lakes (Tanganyika, Nyasa, etc.). Along the edges of the depressions are the Kilimanjaro volcanoes (5895 m, highest point A.), Kenya, etc. Minerals of world importance: diamonds (Southern and Western A.), gold, uranium (Southern A.), ores of iron, aluminum (Western A.), copper, cobalt, beryllium , lithium (mainly in South Africa), phosphorites, oil, natural gas (North and West Africa).

In A. to the N. and S. from the eq. zone. climate zones follow: subequivalent, tropical. and subtropical climate. Wed.-Mon. summer temperatures approx. 25-30oC. In winter, high temperatures also prevail. temperatures (10-25 oC), but in the mountains there are temperatures below 0 oC; Snow falls annually in the Atlas Mountains. Naib. amount of precipitation in eq. zone (average 1500-2000 mm per year), on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. up to 3000-4000 mm. To the north and south of the equator, precipitation decreases (100 mm or less in deserts). Basic the flow is directed to the Atlantic Ocean: rivers: Nile (the longest in Africa), Congo (Zaire), Niger, Senegal, Gambia, Orange, etc.; cr. Bass river Ind. OK. - Zambezi. OK. 1/3A. - internal area drain in main time watercourses. Naib. cr. lakes - Victoria, Tanganyika, Nyasa (Malawi). Ch. vegetation types - savannas and deserts (the largest is the Sahara), occupying approx. 80% square A. Wet eq. evergreen forests are characteristic of eq. zones and coastal areas subeq. zones To the north or south of them are sparse tropics. forests turning into savannas and then into desert savannas. In the tropics A. (main sample in nature reserves) - elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, zebras, antelopes, etc.; lions, cheetahs, leopards, etc. predators. Monkeys, small predators, and rodents are numerous; in dry areas there is an abundance of reptiles. Many birds, including ostriches, ibises, flamingos. Damage to the farm is caused by termites, locusts, and tsetse flies.

Africa political map

History of African colonization

Even at the end of the 19th century, there were only a few feudal monarchies in Africa (in Morocco, Ethiopia, Madagascar); the territories of Egypt, Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and Tunisia were formally part of Ottoman Empire. To the south of the Sahara (in the territory of Sudan, Mali, Benin) early feudal states also developed, albeit weaker than in northern Africa. The majority of the population lived in a primitive communal system at the level of tribal unions. The Bushmen and Pygmies lived in the Stone Age. In general, the history of sub-Saharan Africa is poorly understood.

It began with Vasco da Gama's journey to India in 1498. Initially, only coastal territories were developed, where Europeans established trading posts and bases for the slave trade, ivory, gold, etc. In the 17th century, the Portuguese founded colonies in Guinea, Angola, Mozambique, in the so-called. Zanzibar (the coast of modern Kenya), etc., the Dutch - small lands in the Gulf of Guinea and the Cape Colony in southern Africa (it was inhabited by the Boers - descendants of the Dutch in 1806, conquered by Great Britain, the Boers went inland, where they founded the Transvaal, Natal and Orange Free state. In 1899-1902 conquered by Great Britain), the French - in Madagascar. TO mid-19th century, there was no significant increase in the area of ​​occupied territories in Africa; only new colonialists appeared, primarily the British, who began to develop with might and main a little later. By 1870, the Portuguese possessions were localized (Portuguese Guinea, Angola, Mozambique), the Dutch disappeared, but the French expanded (Algeria, Senegal, Coast Ivory, Gabon). The Spaniards penetrated into northern Morocco, Western Sahara and Rio Muni (Equivalent Guinea), the British - into the Slave Coast, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, southern Africa.

The massive penetration of Europeans into the interior of Africa began in the late 70s of the 19th century. The British captured the Zulu lands, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, Bechuanaland, Nigeria, and Kenya in 1881-82. Egypt (formally remaining subordinate Turkish Sultan, Egypt was a British colony), in 1898 Sudan (formally Sudan was an Anglo-Egyptian co-ownership). In the 1880s, the French conquered vast but sparsely populated areas in the Sahara, Sahel and equatorial Africa (French West Africa, French Equatorial Africa), as well as Morocco and Madagascar. Belgium got Ruanda-Urundi, the huge Belgian Congo (from 1885 to 1908, the personal possession of King Leopold II). Germany captured South-West Africa and German East Africa (Tanganyika), Cameroon, Togo, Italy - Libya, Eritrea and most of Somalia. There were no US possessions. By 1914, when I World War for the redistribution of the world, there were only 3 independent states in Africa: Ethiopia (never was a colony, only in 1935-41 it was occupied by Italy and included in Italian East Africa), Liberia (in December 1821, the American colonization society bought from local leaders Kwa tribe a plot of land and settled freed slaves from the United States on it. In 1824, the settlement was named Monrovia after US President J. Monroe. Later, the territory of a number of settlements was named Liberia, and on July 26, 1847, the American capital was proclaimed there. firmly occupied key positions in the economy of the republic, the United States stationed military bases in Liberia.) and South Africa (since 1910, a British dominion; since 1948, the National Party (Afrikaner) began to pursue a policy of apartheid (separate living), based on the concentration of all political and economic power in the hands of whites. Since 1961, it left the Commonwealth and became South Africa). After World War I, the German colonies were transferred to Great Britain (Tanganyika), South Africa (South-West Africa), and France (Cameroon, Togo).

Egypt was the first country to free itself from colonialism in 1922.

Until 1951	Until 1961	Until 1971
	Libya 12/24/1951	Sierra Leone 04/27/1961
Sudan 01/1/1956	Burundi 07/1/1962
Tunisia 03/20/1956	Rwanda 07/1/1962
Morocco 03/28/1956	Algeria 07/3/1962
Ghana 6.03.1957	Uganda 09/09/1962
Guinea 10/2/1958	Kenya 09/09/1963
Cameroon 01/1/1960	Malawi 07/6/1964
Togo 04/27/1960	Zambia 10/24/1964
Madagascar 06/26/1960	Tanzania 10/29/1964
DR Congo (Zaire) 06/30/1960	Gambia 02/18/1965
Somalia 07/1/1960	Benin 08/1/1966
Niger 3.08.1960	Botswana 09/30/1966
Burkina Faso 08/5/1960	Lesotho 4.10.1966
Cote d'Ivoire 08/07/1960	Mauritius 03/12/1968
Chad 08/11/1960	Swaziland 09/06/1968
CAR 08/13/1960	Eq. Guinea 10/12/1968
Congo 08/15/1960
Gabon 08/17/1960
Senegal 08/20/1960
Mali 09/22/1960
Nigeria 10/1/1960
Mauritania 11/28/1960

European colonization affected not only North and South America, Australia and other lands, but also the entire African continent. There is no trace left of the former power of Ancient Egypt, which you studied in 5th grade. Now all these are colonies, divided between different European countries. From this lesson you will learn how the process of European colonization in Africa took place and whether there were any attempts to resist this process.

In 1882, popular discontent broke out in Egypt, and England sent troops into the country under the pretext of protecting its economic interests, which meant the Suez Canal.

Another powerful state that extended its influence over African states in modern times was Oman Empire. Oman was located in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Active Arab traders carried out trading operations along almost the entire coast of the Indian Ocean. As a result, numerous trades came under their influence. trading posts(small trading colonies of merchants of a certain country on the territory of another state) on the coast of East Africa, on the Comoros Islands and in the north of the island of Madagascar. It was with Arab traders that the Portuguese navigator encountered Vasco da Gama(Fig. 2), when he managed to go around Africa and pass through the Mozambique Strait to the shores of East Africa: modern Tanzania and Kenya.

Rice. 2. Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama ()

It was this event that marked the beginning of European colonization. The Omani Empire could not withstand the competition with Portuguese and other European sailors and collapsed. The remnants of this empire are considered to be the Sultanate of Zanzibar and a few sultanates on the coast of East Africa. By the end of the 19th century, they all disappeared under the onslaught of Europeans.

The first colonialists to settle in sub-Saharan Africa were Portuguese. First, the sailors of the 15th century, and then Vasco da Gama, who in 1497-1499. circumnavigated Africa and reached India by sea, exerted their influence on the policies of local rulers. As a result, the coasts of countries such as Angola and Mozambique had already been studied by them by the beginning of the 16th century.

The Portuguese extended their influence to other lands, some of which were considered less effective. The main interest of European colonialists was the slave trade. There was no need to found large colonies; countries set up their trading points on the coast of Africa and engaged in the exchange of European products for slaves or carried out campaigns of conquest to capture slaves and went to trade them in America or Europe. This slave trade continued in Africa until the end of the 19th century. Gradually, different countries banned slavery and the slave trade. At the end of the 19th century, there was a hunt for slave ships, but all this was of little use. Slavery continued to exist.

The conditions of the slaves were monstrous (Fig. 3). At least half of them died in the process of transporting slaves across the Atlantic Ocean. Their bodies were thrown overboard. There was no accounting of slaves. Africa lost at least 3 million people, and modern historians claim up to 15 million, due to the slave trade. The scale of trade changed from century to century, and it reached its peak at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries.

Rice. 3. African slaves are transported across the Atlantic Ocean to America ()

After the appearance of the Portuguese colonialists, other European countries began to lay claim to the territory of Africa. In 1652, Holland showed activity. At that time Jan van Riebeeck(Fig. 4) captured a point in the extreme south of the African continent and called it Kapstad. In 1806, this city was captured by the British and renamed Cape Town(Fig. 5). The city still exists today and bears the same name. It was from this point that the Dutch colonialists began to spread throughout South Africa. The Dutch colonialists called themselves Boers(Fig. 6) (translated from Dutch as “peasant”). Peasants made up the bulk of the Dutch colonists who lacked land in Europe.

Rice. 4. Jan van Riebeeck ()

Rice. 5. Cape Town on the map of Africa ()

Just as in North America, the colonists encountered Indians, in South Africa, the Dutch colonists encountered local peoples. First of all, with the people Xhosa, the Dutch called them Kaffirs. In the struggle for territory, which was called Kaffir Wars, the Dutch colonists gradually pushed the native tribes further and further towards the center of Africa. The territories they captured, however, were small.

In 1806, the British arrived in southern Africa. The Boers did not like this and refused to submit to the British crown. They began to retreat further to the North. This is how people appeared who called themselves Boer settlers, or boortrekkers. This great campaign continued for several decades. It led to the formation of two independent Boer states in the northern part of what is now South Africa: Transvaal and Orange Republic(Fig. 7).

Rice. 7. Independent Boer states: Transvaal and Orange Free State ()

The British were unhappy with this retreat of the Boers, because they wanted to control the entire territory of southern Africa, and not just the coast. As a result, in 1877-1881. The first Anglo-Boer War took place. The British demanded that these territories become part of the British Empire, but the Boers categorically disagreed with this. It is generally accepted that about 3 thousand Boers took part in this war, and the entire English army was 1200 people. The Boer resistance was so fierce that England abandoned attempts to influence the independent Boer states.

But in 1885 deposits of gold and diamonds were discovered in the area of ​​modern Johannesburg. The economic factor in colonization has always been the most important, and England could not allow the Boers to benefit from gold and diamonds. In 1899-1902 The second Anglo-Boer War occurred. Despite the fact that the war was fought on the territory of Africa, it took place, in fact, between two European peoples: the Dutch (Boers) and the British. The bitter war ended with the Boer republics losing their independence and being forced to become part of the British South African colony.

Along with the Dutch, Portuguese and British, representatives of other European powers quickly appeared in Africa. Thus, in the 1830s, France carried out active colonization activities, which captured vast territories in Northern and Equatorial Africa. Active colonization was also carried out Belgium, especially during the reign of the king LeopoldII. The Belgians created their own colony in central Africa called Congo Free State. It existed from 1885 to 1908. It was believed that this was the personal territory of the Belgian King Leopold II. This state was m only in words. In fact, it was characterized by a violation of all principles of international law, and the local population was forced to work on royal plantations. A huge number of people died on these plantations. There were special punitive squads that were supposed to punish those who collected too little rubber(Hevea tree sap, the main raw material for rubber production). As proof that the punitive detachments had completed their task, they had to bring to the point where the Belgian army was located the severed hands and feet of the people they were punishing.

As a result, almost all African territories by the endXIXcenturies were divided between European powers(Fig. 8). So great was the activity of European countries in annexing new territories that this era was called "race for Africa" ​​or "fight for Africa". The Portuguese, who owned the territory of modern Angola and Mozambique, hoped to capture the intermediate territory, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, and thus create a network of their colonies on the African continent. But it was impossible to implement this project, since the British had their own plans for these territories. Premier of the Cape Colony, headquartered in Cape Town, Cecil John Rhodes believed that Great Britain should create a chain of its own colonies. It should start in Egypt (Cairo) and end in Cape Town. Thus, the British hoped to build their own colonial strip and stretch a railway along this strip from Cairo to Cape Town. After the First World War, the British managed to build the chain, but the railway turned out to be unfinished. It does not exist to this day.

Rice. 8. Possessions of European colonialists in Africa by the beginning of the 20th century ()

In 1884-1885, the European powers held a conference in Berlin, at which a decision was made on the issue of which country belongs to this or that sphere of influence in Africa. As a result, almost the entire territory of the continent was divided between them.

As a result, by the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, Europeans had mastered the entire territory of the continent. There were only 2 semi-independent states left: Ethiopia and Liberia. This is due to the fact that Ethiopia was difficult to colonize, because the colonialists set one of their main goals to spread Christianity, and Ethiopia has been a Christian state since the early Middle Ages.

Liberia, in fact, was a territory created by the United States. It was in this territory that former American slaves were located, taken from the United States by decision of President Monroe.

As a result, the British, French, Germans, Italians and other peoples began to conflict in England. The Germans and Italians, who had few colonies, were dissatisfied with the decisions of the Berlin Congress. Other countries also wanted to get their hands on as many territories as possible. IN 1898 happened between the British and the French Fashoda incident. French Army Major Marchand captured a stronghold in modern-day South Sudan. The British considered these lands theirs, and the French wanted to spread their influence there. The result was a conflict during which relations between England and France deteriorated greatly.

Naturally, the Africans resisted the European colonialists, but the forces were unequal. Only one successful attempt can be identified in the 19th century, when Muhammad ibn abd-Allah, who called himself Mahdi(Fig. 9), created a theocratic state in Sudan in 1881. It was a state based on the principles of Islam. In 1885, he managed to capture Khartoum (the capital of Sudan), and even though the Mahdi himself did not live long, this state existed until 1898 and was one of the few truly independent territories on the African continent.

Rice. 9. Muhammad ibn abd-Allah (Mahdi) ()

The most famous Ethiopian ruler of this era fought against European influence. MenelikII, reigned from 1893 to 1913. He united the country, carried out active conquests and successfully resisted the Italians. He also maintained good relations with Russia, despite the significant distance between the two countries.

But all these attempts at confrontation were only isolated and could not produce a serious result.

The revival of Africa began only in the second half of the 20th century, when African countries, one after another, began to gain independence.

Bibliography

1. Vedyushkin V.A., Burin S.N. History textbook for grade 8. - M.: Bustard, 2008.

2. Drogovoz I. Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902. - Minsk: Harvest, 2004.

3. Nikitina I.A. Capture of the Boer republics by England (1899-1902). - M., 1970.

4. Noskov V.V., Andreevskaya T.P. General history. 8th grade. - M., 2013.

5. Yudovskaya A.Ya. General history. Modern History, 1800-1900, 8th grade. - M., 2012.

6. Yakovleva E.V. The colonial division of Africa and the position of Russia: The second half of the 19th century. - 1914 - Irkutsk, 2004.

Homework

1. Tell us about European colonization in Egypt. Why did the Egyptians not want the Suez Canal to open?

2. Tell us about the European colonization of the southern part of the African continent.

3. Who were the Boers and why did the Boer Wars break out? What was their outcome and consequences?

4. Were there any attempts to resist European colonization and how did they manifest themselves?

The history of Africa dates back thousands of years; it is from here, according to the scientific world, that humanity originated. And here many peoples returned, however, only in order to establish their dominance.

The proximity of the north to Europe led to the fact that Europeans actively penetrated the continent in the 15-16th centuries. Also the African West, at the end of the 15th century it was controlled by the Portuguese, they began to actively sell slaves from the local population.

The Spaniards and Portuguese were followed by other states from Western Europe: France, Denmark, England, Spain, Holland and Germany.

As a result of this, East and North Africa found themselves under European yoke; in total, more than 10% of African lands were under their rule in the mid-19th century. However, by the end of this century, the extent of colonization had reached more than 90% of the continent.

What attracted the colonialists? First of all, natural resources:

• wild trees of valuable species in large quantities;
• growing a variety of crops (coffee, cocoa, cotton, sugar cane);
• gems(diamonds) and metals (gold).

The slave trade also gained momentum.

Egypt has long been drawn into the capitalist economy at the global level. After the Suez Canal was opened, England actively began to compete to see who would be the first to establish their dominance in these lands.

The British government took advantage difficult situation in the country, prompting the creation of an international committee to manage the Egyptian budget. As a result, an Englishman became the Minister of Finance, a Frenchman was in charge community service. Then difficult times began for the population, which was exhausted from numerous taxes.

The Egyptians tried in various ways to prevent the creation of a foreign colony in Africa, but eventually England sent troops there to take over the country. The British were able to occupy Egypt by force and cunning, making it their colony.

France began the colonization of Africa from Algeria, where for twenty years it proved its right to rule by war. The French also conquered Tunisia with prolonged bloodshed.

Agriculture was developed in these lands, so the conquerors organized their own huge estates with vast lands on which Arab peasants were forced to work. Local peoples were convened to build facilities for the needs of the occupiers (roads and ports).

And although Morocco was a very important object for many European countries, it remained free for a long time thanks to the rivalry of its enemies. Only after strengthening power in Tunisia and Algeria did France begin to subjugate Morocco.

In addition to these countries in the north, Europeans began to explore southern Africa. There, the British easily pushed the local tribes (San, Koikoin) into uninhabited territories. Only the Bantu peoples did not submit for a long time.

As a result, in the 70s of the 19th century, the English colonies occupied the southern coast, without penetrating deep into the mainland.

The influx of people into this region is timed to coincide with the discovery in the river valley. Orange diamond. The mines became centers of settlements, and cities were created. Formed joint stock companies have always taken advantage of the cheap power of the local population.

The British had to fight for Zululand, which was included in Natal. The Transvaal could not be completely conquered, but the London Convention implied certain restrictions for the local government.

Germany also began to occupy these same territories - from the mouth of the Orange River to Angola, the Germans declared their protectorate (southwest Africa).

If England sought to extend its power in the south and then France directed its efforts inland in order to colonize the continuous strip between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. As a result, the territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Guinea came under French rule.

The British also owned some West African countries - mainly the coastal territories of the Gambia, Niger and Volta rivers, as well as the Sahara.

Germany in the west was able to conquer only Cameroon and Togo.

Belgium sent forces to the center of the African continent, so Congo became its colony.

Italy got some lands in northeast Africa - huge Somalia and Eritrea. But Ethiopia was able to repel the attack of the Italians; as a result, it was this power that was practically the only one that retained independence from the influence of Europeans.

They didn't European colonies only two:

• Ethiopia;
• Eastern Sudan.

Former colonies in Africa

Naturally, foreign ownership of almost the entire continent could not last long; the local population sought to gain freedom, since their living conditions were usually deplorable. Therefore, since 1960, the colonies quickly began to be liberated.

That year, 17 African countries became independent again, most of them former French colonies in Africa and those under UN control. In addition to this, they also lost their colonies:

• UK - Nigeria;
• Belgium - Congo.

Somalia, divided between Britain and Italy, united to form the Somali Democratic Republic.

And although Africans mostly became independent as a result of mass desire, strikes and negotiations, in some countries wars were still fought to gain freedom:

• Angola;
• Zimbabwe;
• Kenya;
• Namibia;
• Mozambique.

The rapid liberation of Africa from colonists led to the fact that in many established states geographical boundaries do not correspond to the ethnic and cultural composition of the population, and this becomes the reason for disagreements and civil wars.

And new rulers do not always comply with democratic principles, which leads to massive dissatisfaction and a deterioration of the situation in many African countries.

Even now in Africa there are such territories that are governed by European states:

• Spain - Canary Islands, Melilla and Ceuta (in Morocco);
• Great Britain - Chagos Archipelago, Ascension Islands, St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha;
• France - Reunion, Mayotte and Eparce islands;
• Portugal - Madeira.