Parts of my Research That Were Most Helpful
Maps Promoted Colonialism
This is an excerpt from "Cartography and Empire Building in Nineteenth-Century West Africa" by Thomas Bassett. This article provides a viewpoint of how maps promoted colonialism. These points can be applied to all of the European countries at the Berlin Conference since they were all pursuing the same territories. Maps promoted colonial ventures because countries would often claim land that they had yet to explore. This actually forced countries to take over the areas that they marked or else they risked losing it. Countries wanted to control any unmarked territories that were left. [3]
The Case of South Africa
This is an excerpt from "How British was the British World? The Case of South Africa" by Saul Dubow. It shows that South Africa was very different from other territories controlled by Britain. Since the British suffered many losses to the indigenous people, there was a greater sense of respect towards them from the British. The British were also vastly outnumbered by the natives, which made it hard to get the same control that they had experienced in other territories. Britain was not able to assimilate the natives as much as they would have liked, and this led to many calling the territory "insufficiently British". [6]
A Picnic on the Great Pyramid
The top right picture was found in the book The British in Egypt, by Peter Mansfield. This picture shows two British men eating on top of a pyramid while flying the British flag. This happened eight years before the British occupation of Egypt, which shows that they expected one day to control this land. Britain had this attitude towards all of the territories it pursued, looking down on groups they deemed inferior. [1]
Suez Canal and Cargo Tonnage
These two sources are from East and West of Suez, by D.A. Farnie. The line graph shows northbound cargo tonnage, southbound cargo tonnage, and the total cargo tonnage to pass through the Suez Canal over a forty-five year span. Since northbound cargo was much higher than southbound, we can see that the Suez Canal was primarily used for transporting goods from India to Europe. The chart also shows cargo tonnage through the Suez Canal by year. The column on the very right is the percentage of British cargo tonnage that went through the canal. This high volume shows how Britain became the most influential country in world trade. [13]
Victoria College
This picture of Victoria College, bottom left, was also found in The British in Egypt, by Peter Mansfield. Although Britain was more concerned with the economic benefits of Egypt than education, they did build a few colleges. These were run very similarly to public schools in Britain, which provided the Egyptians with a good education. Victoria College was one of the schools built by the British. It was named after Queen Victoria, which means it was a very respected school during this time period. [14]
Table of Contents of West Africa Under Colonial Rule
This Table of Contents is from the book West Africa Under Colonial Rule, by Michael Crowder. Starting in section three of Part Two, the book talks about the British occupation of Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone, and Gambia. In these sections Crowder talks about how easily the British invaded these territories and the types of tactics they used. Part Three then discusses how the British assimilated with the indigenous populations and how they affected local politics. The British helped the local governments form more efficient ways to administer policies, which made it easier for the British to indirectly rule these areas. [5]
Europe and Africa in the 19th Century
This is a portion of "Europe and Africa in the 19th century" by Jim Jones. The most important part of this excerpt is the spread of technology to the African colonies. As the British and other countries spread through Africa, they brought new medical practices, advanced weaponry, and railroads. Weaponry was the most important technology that the British brought because it allowed them to defeat any army the Africans could muster. [10]