The scramble for Africa
I can recall Britain’s role in the scramble for Africa.
The scramble for Africa
I can recall Britain’s role in the scramble for Africa.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Economic interests and imperial expansion drove European interest in African colonies in the 19th century.
- In 1875 Britain bought shares in the Suez Canal and effectively controlled Egypt until the 1950s.
- The 1884-5 Berlin Conference partitioned Africa and led to British dominance.
- European colonisation had far-reaching and enduring consequences that have shaped Africa's history.
Keywords
Partition - to divide into parts
Arbitrary - something that is decided or done without any clear reason, logic, or fairness
Effective occupation - the principle that European countries could control parts of Africa if they could establish that they already exerted influence there
Common misconception
Britain and competing European powers met at the Berlin Conference before the scramble for Africa had begun.
Britain and competing European powers had already been 'scrambling' for Africa for the majority of the 19th century. The Berlin Conference was an attempt to put an end to the fighting between European powers over Africa's land and resources.
To help you plan your year 10 history lesson on: The scramble for Africa, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 history lesson on: The scramble for Africa, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 history lessons from the Migration: how did Britain expand its control over India and Africa? unit, dive into the full secondary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
- Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
- Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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