Estudios Regionales IV: África, Trata de Esclavos y Conflictos del Congo

Examen de Estudios Regionales IV: África

EL EXAMEN VA A SER TAL QUE ASÍ:

• 5 preguntas cortas conceptuales de un punto cada una
• 1 pregunta larga a desarrollar (nos dará un texto para que lo relacionamos con eso)-> dice que será alguno en el que ha incidido más.

Congo sí entra, Sahel no (de los casos prácticos). El tema 1 no entra.

UNIT 2: ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA

SLAVE TRADE: Why and how did it start?

They enslaved the Africans because ... (well because they were assh"les, but we can't say that in the exam): There are also very important trade routes in the Sahel, integrated with the Mediterranean, through which gold was traded; most of the gold coming from the mines in the Sahel at the time. Integration of Sudan-Sahel region with Europe towards the mediterranean through long distance trade. Which meant that there was interdependence between regions, what happened in one of these regions affected the rest. Take into account that during this time the economic system was mercantilist (based on trade and wealth based on precious metals).

The African slaves were sent to America because of other structural changes: When the Ottoman Empire fell, the routes to Asia were closed and the Europeans were forced to look at the Atlantic (there was a shift in the commercial focus). To sum up, in America there is a high demand for labor (they have found so much land there to exploit) and they find that labor in Africa (those motherfu.)

Small note: Racism was an ideology that attempted to justify the horrors of the transatlantic slave triangle. The economic reasons for it were that because the ottoman empire controlled the mediterranean. Also, because there was a big and increasingly high demand in the Americas (Caribbean sugar plantations ... ) the British first try to enslave the Irish but it did not work (fight between Irish and British and Irish not fit to work in those hard conditions and the heat). La diferencia principal entre la esclavitud en los middle ages y el transatlantic es que en el transatlántico hay un sistema económico entero basado en eso.

Impacts of the slave trade:

1. Lack of work force in Africa, the "best" (young, fit male) are taking into slavery.
2. Demographic crisis (obviously, huge loss of population, not only because of those taken away but because they don't reproduce themselves, if you know what I mean)
3. Weakening of the African kingdoms: sociopolitical structure and bad of the African trade routes as well.
4. Permanent state of war and people fleeing constantly: shift of focus towards military activities; therefore ...
5. Activities that required stability to boost, such as farming or mining couldn't be developed.

Abolition of slavery

1807: British Empire abolishes slavery trade routes (not slavery in itself). However, it continues without records (smuggling) which is why the numbers aren't precise, the data wasn't recorded. Afterwards, there was an abolitionism movement (ethical and religious) which eventually led to the abolition of slavery altogether by the British Empire in 1832. Nonetheless, rejection of slavery had been present for a long time, so many reasons contributed to the end of slavery:

1. It wasn't as profitable anymore, following Adam Smith's ideas, they realized that it was better (economically for them) to pay them. To understand this, you have to consider that the slave owners had to pay for everything they required.
2. Before, slavery was beneficial for the landowners (who needed cheap raw materials) but with the industrial revolution, the industrialists grew the most. The commercial system changes from protectionism (motherland and colonies trade) to a free trade era, where the old system wasn't the best fit to the now major economic force that wanted an open market where the may get cheaper raw materials elsewhere. It's important to understand the economic interests of those who were most powerful because that it what drove them and they were the ones that got the votes to decide in UK. Esto entenderlo bien con los apuntes chapuza de clase y con el mail del profe (aunque dice que esto no va a caer), pero básicamnete: The manufacturers didn't want slavery because that would mean for them to lose their negotiating position and their power and because they were fans of everything that was negative for their competitors, and their competitors were still benefitting from slavery.

CAUSES THAT LED TO COLONIALISM

Bismark: Europe is changing (diplomatic alliances) and also because of nationalisms. Financial crisis to difficulty to find places to make profitable investment (no easy way to put the wealth into something). All this started to push into a new way of expanding territory. At first, Bismark did not like the idea of imperialism, but popular idea amongst the German population and the future Keiser, the prince, was excited about imperialism.

2 reasons why Bismarck finally caves in:

• He seeks an equilibrium of power and can tell that the main source of conflict for the Europeans is going to be the control of the "unclaimed lands of the war", decide adelantarse y repartirlo pacificamente para que luego no haya movidas (claramente le sale el tiro por la culata)
• Elections in Germany were coming (and we've already established that the germans were eager to "go to Africa").

Sooo he reluctantly changes his mind and:

Berlin conference (1884-1885):

Areas of influence are established, as well as the criteria for effective possessions.

• Main aims: avoid war between europeans, reach an agreement to pursue imperialism peacefully and maintain the peaceful diplomatic system.
• Main agreements: recognition of Leopold's Congo (not a colony of the State, but rather a private property of the King, pretty greedy, no?). Free trade agreement. Principle of effective ocupation. Partition (spheres of influence). End of the slave trade in Africa.
• Legal significance questioned: more of a symbolic importance.
• The allotment: how they decided to part the territories, the actual origin of how it is distributed today.

The ocupation was very fast, almost complete in 3 mere decades. But, there were in fact resistances. For instance, against the german ocupation: Maji Maji Rebellion (peasants rebelled against planting cotton, brutally repressed, famine used against population which is considered a genocidial tactic) and the Herero-Nama genocide (also very brutally repressed, in fact, medical experimentation and "scientific" research// extermination order where he commanded to kill everyone, even children, in the territory; when they fled the germans poisoned the scarce water Wells and those who survived where sent to what the germans called concentration camps// debate to whether this was a precedent to nazi 's holocaust: race superiority, extermination factor, working until death by exhaustion, medical experimentation, some nazis oficial where here when it happened ... ).

Small note: Germany lost African colonial territories after WWI, so in WWII now other European powers are looking for territorial expansion.

Juridical statuses:

• Colony: directly ruled, but not incorporated as own territory and they had different laws, but they were made at the metropolis. Mainly by UK. The Cape, Gold Coast.
• Protectorate: agreement that implied there would be a tutorized control for later Independence. Botswana, Zanzibar, Morocco, Chad.
• Dominion: high degree of administrative and legal autonomy, settlers. South africa, Australia, ceylon.
• Mandate: after WWI, league of nations. German and ottoman areas; tanganyka, SWA, Togo, Cameroon.
• Province: directly annexed as territory of the monopoly. Argelia, angola, mozambique, reunion.

UNIT 3 & 4: EUROPEAN COLONIALISM (I & II)

Colonial ideologies:

• Civilizing mission: a White man's burden. Considered a liability, more than a way of obtaining wealth (como que era un poco su deber, pero era una carga que tenia que soportar). Related to the growing ocncept of nationalist state.
• The rise of scientific racism: using science to try to demonstrate racial superiority. However, not as clearly hierarchical until 19th century. It was only seriously scientificly chanllenged at mid 20th century (until then it was pretty much widely accepted).

Causes for imperialism:

• Economic: not necessarily because it increased GDP, but because it presented itself as a profitable investment (mentioned before that wealthy people and companied did not know where to invest). Also because of monopoly capital: Banks became the key actors in capitalists economies. Also, new territories is a way of expanding the markets and another way of obtaining cheaper materials.
• Others: political and direct coercion.

Economic mechanisms:

It was a different way, they basically "tricked" the people into planting what they wanted (acuérdate del libro de bajo el sol de Kenia). Therefore, there is a fundamental change from exporting slaves to exporting commodities (mostly agricultural), they were mostly pursuing free trade (obvioulsy not in a very ethical way but you know), and there were still some assholes who were using slaves, but the trade was different. So the key here is how the colonial Powers managed to compel (or trick) the inhabitants to produce what they wanted.

How did they manage to compel them?

1. Monopolize: if you have a monopoly, you decide what the demand is, the supplier has no choice but to produce what you are demanding. Si tu te crees el rey del bambo y controlas todo y dices pues me apetecen mangos, pues como eres el único que crea demanda a los de ahí no les queda más opción que producir el p*to mango. Therefore, they were able to determine the production and control of prices.
2. Taxation: you need to pay taxes (punishment could be slavery if you didn't comply with the obligations imposed by the colonists) and to pay taxes they needed cash and they could only obtain cash from the colonialists. It was a way of imposing the need to have cash, which they could only get from the settlers (taxes became absurd, they would tax anything and everything like huts, numbers of dogs ... ). Fucking twisted, if you ask me.

Non- economic mechanisms; como que consiguen liarsela parda sin ejercer un control directo, apariencia de mercado libre y tal pero que al final son los conquistadores los que cortan el balacalao.

1. Political mechanisms: support akin elites, indirect rule. The chief, traditional leader, made an agreement with these f*cking colonialists (cuando digo colonialists son los blancos que llegan y la lian, tener en cuenta que si es un mandato pues no tiene sentido llamarles colonialists).
2. Mechanisms of direct coercion: forced worked labor (for example some days a year were obligated to work for them, in infrastructure mostly) and sometimes this is used as a way of punishment (for tax evasion for example). Traditional authorities, appointed, paid and supervised by colonial admin which was key for the dual leagl- administrative system. Tribal or ethnic political organization. Accumulation of Powers in Chiefs (TCs) formulate traditional law (legislative power) and applied it to collect taxes, recruit laborers (executive power) but also to decide the penalties used to punish offenders (judiciary system). Colonial power destroy the somewhat check and balances system that previosuly existed, they pervert the existing pre- colonialist system (existía un sistema que llegan los blancos y se lo cargan, pero claro la gente como que no puede decir mucho porque en teoría es el sistema