Questions and Answers
What was the outcome of the European conquest and imperial rule on African modernization programs?
What was the primary characteristic of the pre-colonial years of the 19th century in Africa?
What was the outcome of the empire-building and religious crusading in Africa during the 19th century?
What has been the traditional view of historians regarding the empire-building in Africa during the pre-colonial era?
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What has been the impact of the empire-building and religious crusading in Africa on the continent's history?
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Study Notes
WARS OF IMPERIAL CONQUEST IN AFRICA
- European conquest of most of Africa in the late 19th century was seen as bringing innovation and progress to a supposedly static and savage continent.
- However, modern historians disagree, and research has shown that African societies and polities were constantly evolving and changing before European invasions.
AFRICA ON THE EVE OF CONQUEST
- Recent historians have highlighted trends towards greater economic integration and social change in Africa before European conquest.
- New commercial classes, similar to 19th-century Europe's dynamic bourgeoisie, were emerging in Africa, challenging traditional establishments for social dominance.
- African states, particularly larger entities, were undertaking significant modernization programs, including military ones.
- This internal change was halted by European conquest and the imposition of European priorities under imperial rule.
EMPIRE-BUILDING IN AFRICA
- Pre-colonial Africa saw a trend towards greater centralization of power in larger polities, such as the Zulu empire, jihad states, and empires in West Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Ghana.
- Empire-building in Africa was mainly African, writes Philip Curtin.
- This trend was previously viewed as a positive development, foreshadowing nation-building in the post-independence era, but also had negative consequences for African peoples.
WARFARE IN AFRICA
- Wars in Africa during the first three-quarters of the 19th century were more frequent, lasted longer, and led to greater bloodshed.
- The implications of this upheaval for Africa's political, economic, and social history have not been sufficiently addressed in textbooks.
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Description
Quiz on European colonization of Africa in the late 19th century and its impact on the continent. Learn about the views of European soldiers and statesmen and how historians today see colonialism in Africa.
