Imperialism+in+South+Africa

Background Terms:

Imerialism: The policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political hegemony.

Racism: the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races

Social Darwinism: A theory that the laws of evolution by natural selection also apply to social structures

Berlin Conference 1884-1885: A conference of European nations held in 1884-1885 under the leadership of German leader Otto van Bismarck. Here, the European powers made a plan to colonize Africa in order to take advantage of its natural resources.

Shaka: (sometimes spelled Tshaka, Tchaka or Chaka; ca. 1787 – ca. 22 September 1828) was the most influential leader of the Zulu Empire.

Boer: Decendents of the Dutch settlers in Cape Colony, fought as a rebel force against the British in the Boer War.

Great Trek: The Great Trek was an eastward and north-eastward migration during the 1830s and 1840s of the Boers, to escape the influece of the British colonial government.

Boer War: A war fought in South Africa, then the colinal holding of Cape Colony, from between 1899-1902, between the Dutch and the British. It was the fist war where Canada sent troops overseas to serve. The english were eventually victorious.

POWERPOINT: Here is a powerpoint addressing many of the required points in the assignment. This powerpoint is a rundown of everything you could possibly need to know about Imperialism in south Africa.

MAP: Here is a map of the Cape Colony region. The capital, Cape town is circled in red and labeled such, as is Kimberly, where large diamond deposits are located. Included are other images of the "Map" that help to explain why Imperialism targeted South Africa.



VISUAL AIDS: The following two visual aids are a video and politcal cartoon media type="youtube" key="E6WvjZbOvDs" height="344" width="425" This video is pertinant because it gives background to the Beor war and the Western European expansion into South Africa. It does a good job describing the specific purposes and reasons for early dutch explorers who were charged by their government to settle in the region. It also gives details to the British presence in South Africa. However, it does not delve into the effects on the native Africans. However, if one is to understand Imperialism in the region, one must understand how the imperialist powers came to be there.

This not only shows the culture view of Europe at the time, but how economic growth in the netherlands and Great Britian in Souh Africa was built on the backs of the indiginous Africans. This cartoon goes far, because it anylyzes the feelings of the time. White Europeans felt that it was their duty to enlighten the rest of the world, and to tame the savage civilizations of Africa. However, they did not mention that it was their duty to become rich from their exploitation of weeker societies, or that the social oppression that it entailed was part of the obligation.