How Did British Imperialism Affect South Africa
In the 1880s, the scramble for Africa began, which brought destruction to the continent. Europeans helped Africa in many ways but it was primarily for their benefits too. The westerners arrived with a main purpose of gaining for themselves with no regards for the effects they imposed on Africa. Although countries like Equatorial Guinea and Morocco improved slightly due to the Europeans, other countries, such as Nigeria and South Africa, suffered greatly.
Morocco didn't have roads before it became a French protectorate. Roads, buildings, and other infrastructures were constructed when the French arrived in the early 1900s . Railroads were built too to facilitate trade and transportation. France got Morocco started with their industries by building …show more content…
The British wanted the fertile soils, diamond mines, and gold deposits of South Africa, but the Zulu tribe stood in their way. The British sent 30,000 troops led by Lord Chelmsford to battle the Zulu nation. As a result, 15,000 Zulus died reducing them to a small quantity. In the final battle in 1899, the British completely wiped out the Zulus and their civilization. In effect, the rest of South Africa fell under British hands. Over in Kenya, the British fought and killed 12,000 Kenyans during the Mau Mau Rebellion, some of them died in confinement camps . A few thousands more were displaced or driven away from the country, leaving their people scattered in neighboring countries. Europeans didn't only bring troops over, they brought diseases too. Rinderpest, a European livestock disease killed off 90-95% of the live cattle in Africa and other grazing animals. The lack of grazing animals changed the landscape that made it easier for tsetse fly to nest. The tsetse flies spread a sleeping sickness that killed about 200,000 Ugandans from 1902-1906 . African tribes were very dependent on their livestock; as a result, tribes like the Maasai in Tanzania lost two thirds of their population. The livestock diseases also brought with it epizootic, a lung disease that hit many animals in South Africa . Other diseases from the Europeans that affected the continent greatly were smallpox and malaria because the Africans didn't have much immunity to them. Disease became a huge factor in the deaths of the African continent, both directly and indirectly; without livestock comes no food, which leads to starvation. However, these weren't the British's intentions. One of their main intentions of colonizing Africa was for their resources. Diamond mining was very profitable for the British in South Africa. They used slave labor force (the South Africans) to dig out the diamonds and left the higher and more important
Morocco didn't have roads before it became a French protectorate. Roads, buildings, and other infrastructures were constructed when the French arrived in the early 1900s . Railroads were built too to facilitate trade and transportation. France got Morocco started with their industries by building …show more content…
The British wanted the fertile soils, diamond mines, and gold deposits of South Africa, but the Zulu tribe stood in their way. The British sent 30,000 troops led by Lord Chelmsford to battle the Zulu nation. As a result, 15,000 Zulus died reducing them to a small quantity. In the final battle in 1899, the British completely wiped out the Zulus and their civilization. In effect, the rest of South Africa fell under British hands. Over in Kenya, the British fought and killed 12,000 Kenyans during the Mau Mau Rebellion, some of them died in confinement camps . A few thousands more were displaced or driven away from the country, leaving their people scattered in neighboring countries. Europeans didn't only bring troops over, they brought diseases too. Rinderpest, a European livestock disease killed off 90-95% of the live cattle in Africa and other grazing animals. The lack of grazing animals changed the landscape that made it easier for tsetse fly to nest. The tsetse flies spread a sleeping sickness that killed about 200,000 Ugandans from 1902-1906 . African tribes were very dependent on their livestock; as a result, tribes like the Maasai in Tanzania lost two thirds of their population. The livestock diseases also brought with it epizootic, a lung disease that hit many animals in South Africa . Other diseases from the Europeans that affected the continent greatly were smallpox and malaria because the Africans didn't have much immunity to them. Disease became a huge factor in the deaths of the African continent, both directly and indirectly; without livestock comes no food, which leads to starvation. However, these weren't the British's intentions. One of their main intentions of colonizing Africa was for their resources. Diamond mining was very profitable for the British in South Africa. They used slave labor force (the South Africans) to dig out the diamonds and left the higher and more important