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
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