African Civilizations and European Settlement

Africa: Birthplace of Humanity

• Africa is the birthplace of humanity.
• Sophisticated cities and kingdoms once thrived across the continent, but their remnants are scarce.
• The question is why did these civilizations vanish?

European Settlement in Southern Africa

• First European settlers arrived in Southern Africa in the mid-1600s.
• They landed at the Cape of Good Hope.
• They quickly established farms, growing wheat and barley, and raising cattle and sheep.
• Southern Africa is 5,000 miles from Europe. Geographic factors facilitated their success.

Geography and European Success

• The Cape of Good Hope and Europe lie at similar latitudes.
• This resulted in similar climates and temperatures.
• Europeans could successfully cultivate familiar crops and raise existing livestock.
• This enabled prosperous European settlements.

The Voortrekkers and the Zulus

• The Voortrekkers (Dutch settlers) used muzzle-loading rifles.
• They could reload and aim from horseback.
• By 1838, they reached 800 miles inland from the Cape.
• They encountered the Zulu, a powerful and sophisticated African state.
• The Zulus had a highly developed military and held an expansive territory.

The Battle of Blood River

• A significant conflict occurred between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus.
• The Battle of Blood River resulted in the deaths of 3500 Zulus.
• Only 3 Voortrekkers were injured.

Technological Superiority: The Maxim Gun

• This new weapon, the Maxim gun, was a significant advancement.
• It fired 500 rounds per minute.
• The equivalent firepower of about 100 men wielding single-shot firearms.
• This technology played a significant role in colonial expansions.

Further European Advance into Africa

• Expansion beyond Zulu lands continued.
• Further encounters with tribes like the Matabeles.
• The Matabeles had minimal defense against the powerful automatic weapons.
• Successful colonization conflicts concluded rapidly.

Difficulties Settling in Tropical Africa

• Europeans moved further North into Africa.
• Conditions encountered were drastically different.
• Regions close to the tropic of Capricorn were problematic.
• Rains, droughts, tropical diseases, and poor soil hampered their success.
• Crops and livestock that thrived in Europe failed in tropical climates.

African Agricultural Systems

• Unique and sophisticated African agricultural systems existed.
• These systems thrived in tropical environments.
• These systems were as much, if not more, developed than European.

Tropical Diseases in Africa

• Smallpox originated in Africa and spread to humans from animals.
• African populations developed methods/antibodies to counter smallpox.
• Malaria, a significant tropical disease, hampered European settlement.
• Africans were accustomed to the disease and naturally immune or with developed protections.

Factors Hindering European Colonization of Africa

• Unique African resistance to tropical diseases.
• Development of immunity in the African population to diseases.
• Their agricultural practices were well suited to the region.
• Geographic and climatic factors.

Exploitation & Conclusion

• European colonization of Southern Africa was successful in some contexts.
• Europeans failed to settle vast swathes of tropical Africa.
• Vast natural resources such as copper, diamonds, and gold in Africa, remained a powerful incentive for further colonization.
• Relocation and exploitation of Africans for labor were direct results of this expansion.