DBQ: How Did Africans React To British Colonialism?

DBQ: How did the Africans react to British colonialism? At the conclusion of 18th century, colonialism was uncommon and became a thing of the past. **Britain had lost its Thirteen Colonies in America, Spain and Portugal had lost most of South America and Holland was having difficulties holding onto the East Indies.
A hundred years later, however, a second wave of colonization took place. Within twenty years, from 1880 to 1900, every corner of the Earth was claimed by the British. It was divided up as if it had been a cake split between greedy European leaders. A company in specific called the Royal Niger Company, commissioned by the British government created a document in English for African leaders to sign in agreement to giving up their land and surrounding areas for the British to develop” (Doc 1). The Africans reacted out of fear and surrendered to the white men, acted diplomatically to agree with the British, and at
times, feel empowered to rebel against the Europeans and refuse their contracts and deals due to the European colonization. This was called the "Scramble for Africa".
Because the Europeans barged into African territory impulsively, the Africans reacted fearfully and threatened by these people of higher authority. The Africans surrendered to the white men during a raid and were told to go back to their homes and live their normal lives (Doc 4). They just barged in, treated the Africans like slaves, and dominated them with their machine guns. The Africans felt overwhelmed and surrendered out of fear and despair that they were going to lose anyway. Yaa Asantewa, the Ashanti queen mother, calls the chiefs of Ashanti out on acting cowardly and fearfully towards the white men. She claims that if the men of Ashanti will not go forward, then she will. “We the women… will fight the White men” (Doc 6). During the Maji Maji Rebellion in German East Africa, the chiefs gave magic medicine to a medicine man. This “medicine would give invulnerability, acting in such a way that enemy bullets would fall from their targets like raindrops from a greased body” (Doc 8). Africans were still fearful but on some accounts did try to better their conditions.
After a while, Africans got sick of the German uprising and felt a pinch of courage to rebel against the European forces.
Instead of completely giving up, the Africans would fight back in war even though they were killed every time (Doc 4). An African was lucky if he had an old rusty gun, but they were going against rifles and machine guns. Samuel Maherero, a leader of the Herero people sends a motivational letter to another African leader. In the letter he tells the other African leader “not to hold aloof from the uprising, but to make his voice heard so that all of Africa may take up arms against the Germans” (Doc 7). He wants to see his people fight for themselves and die fighting for them. *** During the Maji Maji Rebellion in German East Africa, the chiefs gave magic medicine to a medicine man. This “medicine would give invulnerability, acting in such a way that enemy bullets would fall from their targets like raindrops from a greased body” (Doc 8). Africans were still fearful but on some accounts did try to better their
conditions.
Although the Africans fought for themselves and stressed rebellions and going against the Germans, they still acted diplomatically towards the British on some accounts. Prempeh I, an African leader, was the first to refuse a British protectorate status. “…My kingdom of Ashanti will never commit itself to any such policy” (Doc 2). Even though he refuses the offer, he still says in the letter that “Ashanti will still remain friendly with all White men”. He still wants to be good alliances with the White men because he knows how powerful they are. He politely refuses the policy. Mennik II includes God in a letter to Great Britain, France, German, Italy, and Russia. He says that He will “keep and enlarge it in the future, and not for a moment does he think that He will divide Ethiopia among the distant Powers" (Doc 3). It was necessary for the Africans to stay good alliances with the European powers because they were already in deep with the British and wouldn’t want to get on anyone else’s bad side.