Unit 4: Nationalism, Industrialism, and Imperialism
Lesson C: European Division of the African Continent
Activity 11: Africa during Imperialism
Africa During European Imperialism [1]
During European colonialism, several aspects of African civilizations changed. Think about what you have learned about Africa during imperialism and what you have read about Africa during imperialism in your textbook. Take a moment and also think of the questions in the PERSIA chart shown below.
| Political |
What type of government system did a civilization have? Who could participate in government decisions? What individual rights did people have? |
|---|---|
| Economic |
How did people make their daily living? What types of industries and trade did civilizations participate in? |
| Religion |
What were the basic beliefs and practices of people in past civilizations? How did religion impact people's daily lives? What role did religion play in the government? |
| Social |
How were different social groups treated in a civilization (women, slaves, etc.)? How difficult was it for people to move from one social group to another? How did people interact with each other? What types of social activities were common? |
| Intellectual |
What types of inventions and intellectual discoveries did civilizations invent or use? What type of medical care did civilizations have? |
| Artistic |
What types of art and architecture did civilizations develop? What types of literature and music did civilizations have? |
Classroom Activity - Comparing African Civilizations Before and During Imperialism
Directions: In order to consider what Africa was like during European imperialism, work with a partner to complete the Student Resource: Africa Organization Chart during Imperialism (doc). Be prepared to share your completed chart with your class. Save your completed chart, as you will use it again in another activity.
Discussion
Directions: Prepare a response to the discussion questions below. Follow your teacher's directions to participate in your class discussion.
- What specific aspects of African civilizations changed as a result of European imperialism?
- What specific aspects of African civilizations stayed the same?
- Which changes do you think were most significant in African civilizations? Why?
- How do you think Africans reacted to the changes? Why?
Select the link to review the Discussion Scoring Tool (pdf).
Page Notes:
[1] Source: This image from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colonial_Africa_1914_map.png is licensed under the terms of the GNU License Agreement.
