Hist 4053 Lecture 31: Legacies of Imperialism (December 9, 2003)
Thursday review in class: come prepared with sample IDs and essay questions
Late paper policy
if submitted after 4:00pm Thursday, half grade (5%) deducted
if submitted after 4:30pm Thursday, another half grade deducted
for each subsequent day late, lose another half grade (includes Saturday and Sunday)
Final exam format:
10 of 15 IDs
2 of 3 essay questions
no map section
will be more challenging than midterm
designed to reward those who have come to lecture and done the reading
focus on second half of semester; top-notch answers will incorporate entire term
Legacies of Colonization
legal, educational, transportation, & engineering systems
boundaries
African Boundaries
Berlin West Africa conference of 1884-85 delineated European spheres of influence
often (but not always) arbitrary
tend to lump together members of different social and linguistic groups
also tend to divide group
based on limited European knowledge of Africa
often based on physical features or lines of latitude/longitude
◦ some 30% of African boundaries consist of straight lines
Lord Salisbury: [we] have been engaged in drawing lines upon maps where no white mans foot ever trod; we have been giving away mountains and rivers and lakes to each other, only hindered by the small impediment that we never knew exactly where the mountains and rivers and lakes were.
ambiguous boundaries
Boundary Problemsor Not?
boundaries may weaken African states, particularly by diverting resources to military
◦ boundaries are a source of conflict
OR: boundaries may be a source of stability
◦ African boundaries have changed remarkably little since independence
Defining Neo-Colonialism
◦ influence exercised over an independent state/sector/area, usually through economic or cultural means
◦ by developed state, multinational corporation, etc.