EMCC Libraries: African History in Credo: Slavery and Colonialism

Topics

Slavery
Institution based on a relationship of dominance and submission, whereby one person owns another and can exact from that person labor or other services.
Slave Trade
A trade in Africa which started in ancient times.
Triangle Trade
From Encyclopedia of World Trade From Ancient Times to the Present
Atlantic trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries.
Abolitionism
A movement culminating in the late 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed first to end the slave trade, and then to abolish the institution of slavery and emancipate slaves. The movement took place in Europe, mainly in the UK, and in the USA.

"White Man's Burden"
From Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable
In the days of imperialism the duty supposed to be imposed upon the white races, especially the British, to govern and to educate the more 'backward' coloured peoples.
African Diaspora
From Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and HistoryIn Encyclopedia of Race and Racism
The concept of “diaspora” suggests the spread or scattering of a specific population or race of people to different and far-flung places throughout the world.
Apartheid
Racial-segregation policy of the government of South Africa from 1948 to 1994.
Colonization
Extension of political and economic control over an area by a state whose nationals have occupied the area and usually possess organizational or technological superiority over the native population.
Colony
Country under the control of immigrants who remain subject to the jurisdiction of the parent state.
Discrimination
Discrimination is negative behavior directed at individuals or at groups of individuals because of their social group membership. Discrimination is based on social categories that individuals do not generally choose to belong to, including gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, stigma, age, and physical appearance.
Imperialism
Broadly, the extension of rule or influence by one government, nation, or society over another.
Orientalism
Orientalism, as an area of study, has multiple definitions: It is an academic field that seeks to study the Orient, as well as a term for a more general interest in all things “Oriental.”
Protectorate
In The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Formerly in international law, a small state under the direct or indirect control of a larger one. Former British protectorates include Aden, Zanzibar, Nigeria, Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia, and Uganda.
Uitlanders
From Chambers Dictionary of World History
The name given to Europeans of a variety of national origins who flocked to the Transvaal after the discovery of gold there in 1886.

"Scramble for Africa"
In The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Drive by European nations to establish colonies in Africa. It began in the 1880s, and by 1914 only two African countries remained completely independent.
African Colonialism and Independence
From World Politics Since 1945
Europeans were interested in Africa long before they occupied it.
British Empire
Empire covering, at its height in the 1920s, about a sixth of the landmass of the Earth, all of its lands recognizing the United Kingdom (UK) as their leader.
Europe: Explorers, Adventurers, Traders
From Encyclopedia of African History
Between about 1770 and 1880, exploration of Africa made possible accurate maps and publishable information on the continent.

Berlin Conference
From Encyclopedia of Race and Racism
The Berlin Conference (1884–1885) occurred after the culmination of the era of free trade (1830–1880), a period characterized by the exploration and occupation of the African interior by various European countries, including France, Portugal, and Germany. Although the Berlin Conference did not formally “carve up” the African continent, it did serve as the catalyst for the colonial project. By the beginning of the twentieth century, European nations occupied more than 90 percent of the African continent. Only three countries were able to maintain their territorial integrity: Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia. The colonial era fundamentally redrew the map of Africa and altered the continent's social, political, and economic structure in ways still felt in the present day.
Tripolitan War
1800–1815, conflict between the United States and the Barbary States.
Great Trek (1836–1840s)
From Encyclopedia of South Africa
The Great Trek began in 1836 and lasted into the 1840s, as increasing numbers of Boer farmers became disgruntled with British rule in the Cape Colony and feared that their culture and identity were being threatened. Another major impetus for the Great Trek was the fact that Boers in the Eastern Cape were running out of land for pasture since there was little additional land to conquer. These Voortrekkers, as they came to be known, journeyed into the interior of South Africa where they often came into conflict with local African ethnic groups and had to wage bloody battles for their survival, in particular with the Zulu and the Ndebele groups.
Discovery of Gold on the Witwatersrand
From Encyclopedia of African History
After initial prospecting success in 1886, major gold reserves were considered well proven by the early 1890s.
Jameson Raid
From The Oxford Companion to British History
At the time (29 December 1895) this was presented as a brave attempt by a troop of part-time cavalry led by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson, the British South Africa Company's representative in Rhodesia, to rescue English women and children persecuted by a wicked Boer government in the Transvaal. It turned out, however, to be a sordid conspiracy by Cecil Rhodes, almost certainly with the British colonial secretary Joseph Chamberlain's prior knowledge, to seize the Transvaal for the British empire. It failed ignominiously, and sullied Rhodes's, Chamberlain's, and the empire's reputations.
Second Boer War (1899-1902)
From Encyclopedia of the Early 20th Century
Also known as: Anglo-Boer War; Great Boer War; South African War. A conflict between Great Britain and the Boers, or Dutch settlers, in South Africa. The Boers were mostly farmers who had settled as early as the 18th century in South Africa. The British wanted to unify their Cape Colony and Natal colonies and the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic. The discovery of gold in Transvaal in 1886 led more English settlers to South Africa. These new settlers, called Uitlanders by the Boers, raised Boer concerns over the possible loss of valuable farmland to the English, who were predominantly interested in the mineral resources of South Africa.
Conquest of Abyssinia
From Chambers Dictionary of World History
The bellicose venture by Mussolini aimed at winning popular support at home, an increase in Italian prestige and strategic gains to pressurize the British in the Eastern Mediterranean.

De Beers Consolidated Mines
From Chambers Dictionary of World History
The diamond mining company formed by Cecil Rhodes in 1887 from the amalgamation of several companies operating at Kimberley, Cape Province.

Coal
Fuel substance of plant origin, largely or almost entirely composed of carbon with varying amounts of mineral matter.
Coffee
A tree, its seeds, and the beverage made from them.
Diamond
Mineral, one of two crystalline forms of the element carbon (see allotropy), the hardest natural substance known, used as a gem and in industry.
Gold
Gold has been known from prehistoric times and was possibly the first metal used by humans.
Ivory
Type of dentin present only in the tusks of the elephant. Ivory historically has been obtained mainly from Africa.
Palm Oil / Oil Palm
From Library of Health and Living: The Encyclopedia of Nutrition and Good Health
A palm that is a major source of edible oil. The oil palm yields more oil per acre than any other plant. It originated in West Africa, and plantations now exist in Malaysia, China, and Indonesia, as well as Tanzania, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and other regions.

Gold Coast
From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Section of the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, western Africa. Extending approximately from Axim, Ghana, in the west to the Volta River in the east, it was so called because it was an important source of gold. It was an area of intense colonial rivalry from the 17th century. Acquired as a colony by the British in the 19th century and named the Gold Coast, the area achieved independence as the Republic of Ghana in 1957.
Kimberley
From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather guide
Diamond-mining capital city of Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Its mines have been controlled by De Beers Consolidated Mines since 1887.
Transvaal
Former province, NE South Africa.
Witwatersrand
Economic heartland of Gauteng province, South Africa. Gold was first found here in 1853.

Expand List

Leo Africanus
From Encyclopedia of African History
Africanus completed his magnum opus on African geography, according to his own words, on March 10, 1526.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821)
Shortly after landing at Aboukir (Abu Qir), he won a brilliant victory over the Mamluks in the battle of the Pyramids (July, 1798). His successes, however, were made useless when the French fleet was utterly destroyed (Aug. 1–2) by Nelson in Aboukir Bay.
Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797)
In his autobiography and his later Miscellaneous Verses, Equiano idealized his African past, taking pride in his race yet condemning those Africans who trafficked in slavery.
Lord Frederick John Dealtry Lugard
From An African Biographical Dictionary
Lord Frederick John Dealtry Lugard was a British imperialist and colonial administrator who drafted the most comprehensive theory of colonialism, which became the basis of much British colonial management.
William Wilberforce (1759-1833)
English reformer. He was instrumental in abolishing slavery in the British Empire.
Leopold II
From An African Biographical Dictionary
Chief Shaka forged a new nation out of an assortment of Nguni clans and made this Zulu people one of the greatest powers of Africa in his time.
David Livingstone (1813-1873)
1813–73, Scottish missionary and explorer in Africa, the first European to cross the African continent.
Henry Morton Stanley
From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
British-U.S. explorer of central Africa.
Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius
From An African Biographical Dictionary
Founder of the Transvaal Republic; one of the leaders of the Great Trek, during which much of the Afrikaner population moved away from British dominance to establish their own independent states.
Barney Barnato
From An African Biographical Dictionary
Barnett Isaacs Barnato—financier, speculator and diamond merchant—was prominent among the White entrepreneurs who became wealthy in South Africa before the Boer War.
Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902)
A trip in 1875 through the rich territories of Transvaal and Bechuanaland apparently helped to inspire Rhodes with the dream of British rule over all southern Africa; later he spoke of British dominion "from the Cape to Cairo."
Leander Starr Jameson
From An African Biographical Dictionary
Friend and confidant of Cecil Rhodes; a leading figure in early South African politics; best remembered as the commander of a disastrous military attack against the Transvaal Republic, for which he was tried and imprisoned.
Paul Kruger
From An African Biographical Dictionary
President of the Transvaal (1883–1902), born in Colesberg, Cape Colony, SC South Africa.

People

Leo Africanus

From Encyclopedia of African History
Africanus completed his magnum opus on African geography, according to his own words, on March 10, 1526.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821)

Shortly after landing at Aboukir (Abu Qir), he won a brilliant victory over the Mamluks in the battle of the Pyramids (July, 1798). His successes, however, were made useless when the French fleet was utterly destroyed (Aug. 1–2) by Nelson in Aboukir Bay.

Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797)

In his autobiography and his later Miscellaneous Verses, Equiano idealized his African past, taking pride in his race yet condemning those Africans who trafficked in slavery.

Lord Frederick John Dealtry Lugard

From An African Biographical Dictionary
Lord Frederick John Dealtry Lugard was a British imperialist and colonial administrator who drafted the most comprehensive theory of colonialism, which became the basis of much British colonial management.

William Wilberforce (1759-1833)

English reformer. He was instrumental in abolishing slavery in the British Empire.

Leopold II

From Encyclopedia of African History
King of Belgium (r. 1835: 1865-1909); closely associated with the “Scramble” for Africa, the formation of the Congo State, and Belgian colonial expansion.

David Livingstone (1813-1873)

1813–73, Scottish missionary and explorer in Africa, the first European to cross the African continent.

Henry Morton Stanley

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
British-U.S. explorer of central Africa.

Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius

From An African Biographical Dictionary
Founder of the Transvaal Republic; one of the leaders of the Great Trek, during which much of the Afrikaner population moved away from British dominance to establish their own independent states.

Barney Barnato

From An African Biographical Dictionary
Barnett Isaacs Barnato—financier, speculator and diamond merchant—was prominent among the White entrepreneurs who became wealthy in South Africa before the Boer War.

Cecil Rhodes (1853-1902)

A trip in 1875 through the rich territories of Transvaal and Bechuanaland apparently helped to inspire Rhodes with the dream of British rule over all southern Africa; later he spoke of British dominion "from the Cape to Cairo."

Leander Starr Jameson

From An African Biographical Dictionary
Friend and confidant of Cecil Rhodes; a leading figure in early South African politics; best remembered as the commander of a disastrous military attack against the Transvaal Republic, for which he was tried and imprisoned.

Paul Kruger

From An African Biographical Dictionary
President of the Transvaal (1883–1902), born in Colesberg, Cape Colony, SC South Africa.