WAW: Lesson - Early Anti-Imperial Movements: Africa

Early Anti-Imperial Movements: Africa

Content warning: this page contains an image that depicts graphic suffering. This image is posted due to the historical significance of the photograph. Additionally, the person shown in the image consented to the photograph (this is not always the case when for photographs depicting human misery) - the goal was to inform the world of their suffering.

Anti-Imperial Movements in Africa

Many parts of Africa fiercely resisted imperialism, especially in the decade following the Scramble for Africa. West African groups successfully held out for a decade; Egyptians revolted against Ottomans, French & British, and briefly led their own government for the first time in 2000 years; the Swahili Coast lost 100,000 men in their last hope to retain independence.

In South Africa, the Dutch (who settled in the 1600s) unsuccessfully tried to hold off the imperializing British in the Anglo-Boer War from 1899 to 1902 CE. Tragically, the British rounded up nearly 160,000 Boers and Africans into concentration camps. By the end of the war, nearly 28,000 Boers and 14,000 native Africans—including women and children—had died in these camps. The most successful military resistance was in Ethiopia. Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu Betul successfully repelled Italian forces and saved Ethiopia’s sovereignty at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.

Image note (above): Ethiopian painting of the Battle of Adwa, where the Ethiopians defeated the Italians. They are shown having similar numbers and weapons, with dead soldiers from both sides in the middle. Notably, Emperor Menelik II is in the top left & Empress Taytu Betul is in the bottom left – and she is actively firing weapons. Even the warrior St. George, the patron saint of Ethiopia, is seen at the top, “fighting” on the side of Ethiopia above the battle. The painting is from around the year 1940, but the artist is unknown.

Anti-Imperialism in Africa: Backlash

Ethiopia’s success was an anomaly. Non-military resistance began in the face of political imperialism. The British demanded Ashanti’s Golden Stool (a throne with deep religious significance) when they took over. Instead, the Ashanti made a fake and hid the real one in the jungle. In the Congo, Belgian King Leopold II’s ruthless acquisition of rubber & ivory and forced labor policies led to thousands of unnecessary amputations and the deaths of 10 million people. In 1904, Nsala, a brave Congolese worker, snuck the remains of his murdered daughter to Alice Seeley Harris. Nsala told Alice Seeley Harris that his daughter, wife, and son had been killed because he didn’t harvest enough rubber. She photographed proof of the king’s atrocities and published it throughout Europe. These photos, along with the testimonies of other Africans, Christian missionaries, writers, and British diplomat Roger Casement, incensed Europeans. the Belgian government took control of the Congo away from the king.

Practice Activity

Answer the question presented on each slide.

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