Debating the

Documents
Interpreting Alternative Viewpoints
in Primary Source Documents

Europe’s Scramble for Africa:

Why Did They Do It?
The 2008 World History Course Description of the College Board Advanced Placement
Program* lists five themes that it urges teachers to use in organizing their teaching. Each World
History Debating the Documents booklet focuses on one or two of these five themes.

The Five Themes

1. Interaction between humans and the environment (demography
and disease; migration; patterns of settlement; technology)
2. Development and interaction of cultures (religions; belief systems,
philosophies, and ideologies; science and technology; the arts and
architecture)
3. State-building, expansion, and conflict (political structures and
forms of governance; empires; nations and nationalism; revolts
and revolutions; regional, transregional, and global structures and
organizations).
4. Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems
(agricultural and pastoral production; trade and commerce; labor
systems; industrialization; capitalism and socialism)
5. Development and transformation of social structures (gender
roles and relations; family and kinship; racial and ethnic constructions;
social and economic classes)

This Booklet’s Main Themes:

1 Interactions between humans and the environment

3 State-building, expansion, and conflict

* AP and Advanced Placement Program are registered trademarks of the College Entrance Examination Board,
which was not involved in the production of and does not endorse this booklet.
©2008 MindSparks, a division of Social Studies School Service

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[email protected]

Permission is granted to reproduce individual worksheets for classroom use only.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 978-1-57596-274-0

Product Code: HS746

 Teacher
Introduction

Teacher Introduction
Using Primary Sources
Primary sources are called “primary” because they are first-
“Multiple,
hand records of a past era or historical event. They are the
raw materials, or the evidence, on which historians base conflicting
their “secondary” accounts of the past.

A rapidly growing number of history teachers today are perspectives are

using primary sources. Why? Perhaps it’s because primary
sources give students a better sense of what history is and
what historians do. Such sources also help students see the
among the truths
past from a variety of viewpoints. Moreover, primary sources
make history vivid and bring it to life. of history.
However, primary sources are not easy to use. They can
be confusing. They can be biased. They rarely all agree. No single
Primary sources must be interpreted and set in context.
To do this, students need historical background knowledge.
Debating the Documents helps students handle such
objective or
challenges by giving them a useful framework for analyzing
sources that conflict with one another. universal account
could ever put an
end to this endless
creative dialogue
within and
between the past
and the present.”

From the 2005 Statement on Standards of

Professional Conduct of the Council of the
American Historical Association.

Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 3

Teacher
Introduction

The Debating the Documents Series

Each Debating the Documents booklet includes the same sequence of reproducible
worksheets. If students use several booklets over time, they will get regular practice at
interpreting and comparing conflicting sources. In this way, they can learn the skills and
habits needed to get the most out of primary sources.

Each Debating the Documents Booklet Includes:

• “Suggestions for the Student” and an Introductory Essay. The student gets
instructions and a one-page essay providing background on the booklet’s topic.
A time line on the topic is also included.
• TWO Groups of Contrasting Primary Source Documents. In most of the
booklets, students get one pair of visual sources and one pair of written sources. In
some cases, more than two are provided for each. Background is provided on each
source. Within each group, the sources clash in a very clear way. (The sources are
not always exact opposites, but they do always differ in some obvious way.)
• Three Worksheets for Each Document Group. Students use the first two
worksheets to take notes on the sources. The third worksheet asks which source
the student thinks would be most useful to a historian.
• CD-ROM. The ImageXaminer lets students view the primary sources as a class,
in small groups, or individually. A folder containing all of the student handouts in
pdf format, including a graphic organizer for use with the ImageXaminer’s grid tool,
allows for printing directly from the CD.
• DBQs. Have students write an effective essay using all of the booklet’s primary
sources on one of the document-based questions (DBQs) on page 22.

How to Use This Booklet

All pages in this booklet may be photocopied for classroom use.

1. Have students read “Suggestions for the Student” and the

Introductory Essay.
Give them copies of pages 7–9. Ask them to read the instructions and then read the
introductory essay on the topic. The time line gives them additional information on that
topic. This reading could be done in class or as a homework assignment.

2. Have students do the worksheets.

Make copies of the worksheets and the pages with the sources. Ask students to study
the background information on each source and the source itself. Then have them take
notes on the sources using the worksheets. If students have access to a computer,

4 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa

 Teacher
Introduction

have them review the primary sources with the ImageXaminer. You may also ask them
to use its magnifying tools to more clearly focus their analysis.

3. “Debate the documents” as a class.

Have students use their worksheet notes to debate the primary source documents
as a class. Use the overheads to focus this discussion on each source in turn. Urge
students to follow these ground rules:
• Use your worksheets as a guide for the discussion or debate
• Try to reach agreement about the main ideas and the significance of each primary
source document
• Look for points of agreement as well as disagreement between the primary
sources
• Listen closely to all points of view about each primary source
• Focus on the usefulness of each source to the historian, not merely on whether
you agree or disagree with that source’s point of view

4. Have students do the final DBQ.

A DBQ is an essay question about a set of primary source documents. To answer
the DBQ, students write essays using evidence from the sources and their own
background knowledge of the historical era. (See the next page for a DBQ scoring
guide to use in evaluating these essays.)
The DBQ assignment on page 22 includes guidelines for writing a DBQ essay, as well
as a second AP-level question. Here are some additional points to make with students
about preparing to write this kind of essay.

The DBQ for this booklet (see page 22):

List in order of importance what you see as the major reasons for
Europe’s “scramble for Africa” and explain your choices.

• Analyze the question carefully

• Use your background knowledge to set sources in their historical context
• Question and interpret sources actively. Do not accept them at face value.
• Use sources meaningfully to support your essay’s thesis
• Pay attention to the overall organization of your essay

Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 5

Teacher
Introduction

DBQ Scoring Guide

Use this guide in evaluating the DBQ for this booklet. Use this scoring guide with students who
are already familiar with using primary sources and writing DBQ essays. For the AP* World
History core scoring rubric, see page 45 of the pdf file at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/
public/repository/ap07_worldhist_coursedesc.pdf

Excellent Essay
• Offers a clear answer or thesis explicitly addressing all aspects of the essay question
• Does a careful job of interpreting many or most of the documents and relating them
clearly to the thesis and the DBQ; deals with conflicting documents effectively
• Uses details and examples effectively to support the thesis and other main ideas;
explains the significance of those details and examples well
• Uses background knowledge and the documents in a balanced way
• Analyzes bias and point of view in sources where that is clearly called for
• Is well written; clear transitions make the essay easy to follow from point to point;
only a few minor writing errors or errors of fact

Good Essay
• Offers a reasonable thesis addressing the essential points of the essay question
• Adequately interprets at least some of the documents and relates them to the thesis
and the DBQ
• Usually relates details and examples meaningfully to the thesis or other main ideas
• Includes some relevant background knowledge
• Analyzes bias and point of view in one or more sources
• May have some writing errors or errors of fact, as long as these do not invalidate the
essay’s overall argument or point of view

Fair Essay
• Offers at least a partly developed thesis addressing the essay question
• Adequately interprets at least a few of the documents
• Relates only a few of the details and examples to the thesis or other main ideas
• Includes some background knowledge
• Has several writing errors or errors of fact that make it harder to understand the essay’s
overall argument or point of view

Poor Essay
• Offers no clear thesis or answer addressing the DBQ
• Uses few documents effectively other than referring to them in “laundry list” style, with no
meaningful relationship to a thesis or any main point
• Uses details and examples unrelated to the thesis or other main ideas; does not explain
the significance of these details and examples.
• Is not clearly written, with some major writing errors or errors of fact
6 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa
 Student
SUGGESTIONS

Suggestions to the Student

Using Primary Sources
A primary source is any record of evidence from the past. Many things are primary sources:
letters, official documents, photos, cartoons, stone carvings, coins, wills, maps, charts, etc.
They are called “primary” because they are first-hand records of a past event or time period.
This Debating the Documents lesson is based on two groups of primary source documents.
Within each group, the sources conflict with one another—that is, they express different or
even opposite points of view. You need to decide which source is more reliable, more useful, or
more typical of the time period. This is what historians do all the time. Usually, you will be able
to learn something about the past from each source, even when the sources clash with one
another in dramatic ways.

How to Use This Booklet

1. Read the one-page introductory essay.
This gives you background information that will help you
analyze the primary source documents and do the exercises
for this Debating the Documents lesson. The time line gives
you additional information you will find helpful.

2. Study the primary source documents for this lesson.

For this lesson, you get two groups of sources. The sources within each group conflict with
one another. Some of these sources are visuals; others are written sources. With visual
sources, pay attention not only to the image’s “content” (its subject matter), but also to its
artistic style, shading, composition, camera angle, symbols, and other features that add
to the image’s meaning. With written sources, notice the writing style, bias, even what the
source leaves out or does not talk about. Think about each source’s author, that author’s
reasons for writing, and the likely audience for the source. These things give you clues as to
the source’s historical value.

3. Use the worksheets to analyze each group of primary source documents.

For each group of sources, you get three worksheets. Use the “Study the Document”
worksheets to take notes on each source. Use the “Comparing the Documents” worksheet
to decide which of the sources would be most useful to a historian.

4. As a class, debate the documents.

Use your worksheet notes to help you take part in this debate.

5. Do the final DBQ.

“DBQ” means “document-based question.” A DBQ is a question along with several primary
source documents. To answer the DBQ, write an essay using evidence from the documents
and your own background history knowledge. The DBQ is on page 22.

Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 7

Introductory
ESSAY

• Europe’s Scramble for Africa •

Otto von Bismarck was the statesman who for a time. Millions may have died because of
united Germany as a single nation in 1871. When his terrible exploitation of forced labor there to
other European countries began their rush to produce rubber, ivory, and other goods. Even
seize most of Africa in the 1880s, Bismarck was other European imperialists were horrified by the
skeptical. He doubted that Germany needed atrocities. But profit was also a motive for many
African colonies at all. He also hoped to avoid of them as they followed Leopold’s lead and set
conflict with Britain and feared he would get into out to carve up Africa’s interior. Certainly this was
such conflict if he competed with it for colonies the case for Cecil Rhodes, who made a fortune
in Africa. Yet pressure from the press and pro- monopolizing South Africa’s diamond trade.
imperialist groups began to mount. Bismarck There were others like Rhodes, though perhaps
resisted the pressure for a time, but finally told not many with as grandiose a vision as his.
one German official, “All this colonial business is
Yet as Bismarck’s statement suggests, much of
a sham, but we need it for the elections.”
Africa was not that valuable from an economic
As a result, Germany by 1885 had acquired four standpoint. In the 1890s, for example, Great
colonies in Africa, none of very much value to Britain’s trade with tiny Belgium was greater than
Germany in any economic sense. its trade with all of Africa.
This story about Germany touches on many of Much of the European support for empire was
the themes that make the European “scramble no doubt motivated by missionary idealism and
for Africa” so complicated and so hard to fully humanitarian concerns. Of course, a powerful
understand. As late as the 1860s, very little of and arrogant sense of cultural superiority often
Africa was under European control. Portugal shaped this missionary spirit. In any case,
held two colonies in southern Africa. France European actions in Africa often failed to live
had begun to rule in Algeria. The British held up to such idealism. Yet there is no doubt that
the Cape Colony at the southern tip of Africa. this idealism was a real and sincere motive for
France, Portugal, and Great Britain held several many.
other small African coastal areas. Yet the vast
In some ways, the scramble for Africa simply
interior was still largely unknown to Europeans.
seemed to feed on itself. One nation sought
Starting in the 1870s, Europe rapidly conquered
colonies to keep other nations from getting them
almost all of Africa; a look at a map of Africa in
first or from gaining some other advantage over
1914 shows just how rapidly. By then, the entire
their rivals. Nationalist pride intensified this sort of
continent was carved into European-controlled
political and diplomatic jockeying. The unification
colonies, except for Ethiopia and Liberia. Why?
of Germany and Italy in the 1860s and 1870s
No one clear reason or factor seems able to added to such tensions. These new, powerful
explain fully the frenzy for empire building that (but insecure) competitors felt driven to acquire
seized Europeans in the late 1800s. The scramble colonies as insurance against facing off against
for Africa was only part of a much larger imperial one another in Europe itself. As Bismarck again
drive that led Europeans into many other regions later put it, “My map of Africa lies in Europe. Here
of the world as well. In no other region, however, is Russia and here is France, with Germany in the
was so much land seized—land whose value to middle; that is my map of Africa.”
Europe was so questionable.
As you seek to better understand the reasons for
A desire for profits was clearly a driving force for Europe’s imperial conquest of Africa, the sources
some. In 1876, King Leopold II of Belgium began for this lesson should give you many other ideas
acquiring land that would become the Congo to discuss and debate.
Free State, a territory he controlled privately

8 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa

 Europe’s Scramble for Africa
TIMELINE

Europe’s Scramble for Africa Timeline

1806 Great Britain takes control of Cape Colony in South Africa.
In the “Great Trek,” Dutch-speaking farmers, called “Boers,” leave the Cape
1834 Colony and ultimately found two Boer republics to the north: the Orange Free
State and Transvaal, or the South African Republic.
European explorers, including David Livingstone, travel through Africa and publish
1840s–1870s reports on it. The number of European missions in Africa grows.
King Leopold II of Belgium takes private control of the Congo Basin and its
1870s minerals. In 1884, he opens it to settlement as the Congo Free State.
In the First Anglo-Boer War, the Boers restore Transvaal’s independence after
1880–1881 losing it briefly in 1877.
The British invade and take over Egypt. They then must deal with Muhammad
Ahmad in Sudan, already fighting Egyptian control. He calls himself “the Mahdi,”
1882–1885 the redeemer of Islam. The British send Charles Gordon to withdraw Egyptian and
British troops from Sudan. Gordon acts to defeat the Mahdi, who soon beseiges
Khartoum. Khartoum falls in late January 1885, and Gordon is killed.
At the Berlin Conference, hosted by Otto von Bismarck, the European powers
grant Belgian King Leopold’s claim to the Congo Basin and set down rules by
1884-85 which a colonizer, to win recognition, must show “effective occupation” and an
ability to administer the colony and its economy.
1885 Germany announces a protectorate over a large part of East Africa.
France establishes new protectorates in West Africa, as the British are establishing
1885–1889 other protectorates in West, East, and Southern Africa.
Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company is granted a royal charter. It soon
1889 extends its authority over present-day Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. Rhodes
envisions a “Cape-to-Cairo” railway to help unite all of British-held Africa.
1896 Ethiopia defeats Italy, but the Italians gain control of Eritrea.
The British send Lord Kitchener to reconquer Sudan. At Omdurman, British and
Egyptian forces with machine guns defeat the Mahdists, killing 11,000 of them
while losing only 48 of their own soldiers. Soon after, the Fashoda Incident occurs
1896–1898 when France’s drive to link its West African colonies to the Nile clashes with
Britain’s aim to unite its African holdings from south to north. At Fashoda, the two
nations face off. The outnumbered French are forced to withdraw.
In the long Second Anglo-Boer War, the British take control of the Boer republics,
1899–1902 which later form parts of the Union of South Africa.
The 1903 Casement Report details massive atrocities in Leopold II’s Congo Free
1903–1908 State. In 1908, the Belgium parliament takes control of the territory, which will be
called Belgian Congo.
In the First Moroccan Crisis (1905–06), Germany tests a new British-French
alliance by opposing French plans to make Morocco a protectorate. The alliance
holds and Germany has to back down. In a Second Moroccan Crisis (1911–12),
1905–1912
the British and French again unite against German pressure, and Germany agrees
to French control over Morocco in exchange for land in French Equatorial
Africa.
Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 9
First Group of Documents
DOCUMENTs 1 & 2

Visual Primary Sources Documents 1 & 2

Document 1

Document 2

The Granger Collection, New York

The Granger Collection, New York

Information on Documents 1 & 2

Document 1. Among the explanations Document 2. The sincere efforts of
Europeans gave for their imperial ambitions missionaries often had a positive impact in
in Africa was the claim that they would bring Africa, as this photo of a missionary with his
the benefits of civilized life to that continent. students suggests. European nations also
This French magazine cover from 1911 often used missionary efforts as reasons for
suggests that France will bring civilization, further intervention in Africa, ostensibly to
peace, and wealth to Morocco. The phrase protect the missionaries but also to advance
the French used for this principle was their colonial interests.
Mission civilisatrice.

10 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa

 First Group of Documents
DOCUMENTs 3 & 4

Visual Primary Sources Documents 3 & 4

Document 3

Document 4

The Granger Collection, New York

The Granger Collection, New York

Information on Documents 3 & 4

Document 3. This photograph shows Document 4. Rivalries between European
Florence Preston in 1901 driving the nations were a major factor in the
last spike of the Uganda Railway at Port scramble to carve out colonial empires in
Florence (Kisumu) in Britain’s East Africa Africa. This 1903 French cartoon makes
Protectorate (present-day Kenya). Florence a humorous comment on the intense
was the wife of Ronald O. Preston, the competition between Spain, Germany,
chief engineer of the firm that constructed Britain, and French Algeria for Morocco.
the railroad. Europeans saw railroads and Soon after this cartoon appeared, Britain
other industrial development projects as and France formed a political alliance. In
among the greater benefits of imperial response, Germany put pressure on the
control in Africa, making it easier to ship new alliance by stepping up its efforts to
raw materials to Europe and to move thwart France’s plans for Morocco.
troops from place to place.

Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 11

Study the Document
First group of documents

Study the Documents: Visual Sources 1 & 2

Instructions: Take notes on these questions. Use your notes to discuss the documents and answer
the DBQ. The question numbers on the ImageXaminer match the ones below.

1 Main Idea or Topic

Referring to both images, write a brief
paragraph summing up the benefits that
Europeans thought their colonial empires
would bring to Africans.

2 Visual Features—Doc. 1
What details in the illustration help to
portray France’s Mission civilisatrice as a
noble undertaking?

3 Visual Features—Doc. 2
Notice two aspects of this photo: first,
how its subjects are arranged, and
second, how they are dressed. How
do these details help convey what
many Europeans felt about European
missionary efforts in Africa?

12 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa

 Study the Document
First group of documents

Study the Documents: Visual Sources 3 & 4

Instructions: Take notes on these questions. Use your notes to discuss the documents and answer
the DBQ. The question numbers on the ImageXaminer match the ones below.

1 Main Idea or Topic

Taken together, what do Documents 3
and 4 seem to suggest about European
motives for setting up colonies in
Africa?

2 Compare & Contrast I

Documents 1 and 3 both make use of
a female figure to convey an idea about
Europe’s colonial adventures in Africa.
What purpose(s) do you think these
female figures serve in these images?
What do they suggest about the role
of women in European society at that
time?

3 Compare & Contrast II

Documents 1 and 2 are examples
of one view of European motives for
colonizing Africa. Documents 3 and 4
display a much different set of motives.
Write a brief paragraph comparing and
contrasting these two views.

Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 13

Comparing the
DOCUMENTS

Comparing the Documents

The Visual Sources
Answer the question by checking one box below. Then complete the statements on the
“Comparison Essay” worksheet. Use all your notes to help you take part in an all-class
debate about these documents—and to answer the final DBQ for the lesson.

Which of these primary source documents would

be most useful to a historian trying to understand
Europe’s imperial scramble for Africa?
Document 1 Document 3
The Granger Collection,
New York

The Granger Collection,

New York
Document 4

Document 2

The Granger Collection, New York The Granger Collection, New York

Documents 1 & 2 Documents 3 & 4

14 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa
 Comparing the
DOCUMENTS

Comparison Essay

I chose Documents ______ because:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

I did not choose Documents ______.

However, a historian still might use the documents in the following way:
_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

KEEP THIS IN MIND: Some sources are very biased. A biased source is one that shows you
only one side of an issue. That is, it takes a clear stand or expresses a very strong opinion
about something. A biased source may be one-sided, but it can still help you to understand
its time period. For example, a biased editorial cartoon may show how people felt about an
issue at the time. The usefulness of a source depends most of all on what questions you
ask about that time in the past.

Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 15

Second Group of Documents
DOCUMENT 1

Written Primary Source Document 1

Information on Document 1
Below are passages from “The True Conception of Empire,” a speech given by British Colonial
Secretary Joseph Chamberlain (1836–1914) at the annual dinner of the Royal Colonial
Institute on March 31, 1897.

• Document 1 •
In carrying out this work of civilization, practices of barbarism, of slavery, of
we are fulfilling what I believe to be our superstition, which for centuries have
national mission, and we are finding scope desolated the interior of Africa, without the
for the exercise of those faculties and use of force; but if you will fairly contrast
qualities which have made of us a great the gain to humanity with the price which
governing force... No doubt, in the first we are bound to pay for it, I think you may
instance, when these conquests have been well rejoice in the result of such expeditions
made, there has been bloodshed, there as those which have been recently
has been loss of life among the native conducted with such signal success in
populations, loss of still more precious Nyassaland, Ashanti, Nenin, and Nupe...
lives among those who have been sent It seems to me that the tendency of
out to bring these countries into some the time is to throw all power into the
kind of disciplined order, but it must be
hands of those greater empires, and the
remembered that is the condition of the
minor kingdoms—those which are non-
mission we have to fulfill… progressive—seem to be destined to fall
You cannot have omelettes without into a secondary and subordinate place.
breaking eggs; you cannot destroy the

16 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa

 Second Group of Documents
DOCUMENT 2

Written Primary Source Document 2

Information on Document 2
The following is an excerpt from Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany’s “Speech to the North
German Regatta Association” in 1901. (C. Gauss, The German Kaiser as Shown in His
Public Utterances. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1915. pp. 181–183.) The Kaiser
is speaking here to a group interested in strengthening German sea power. The “Hansa”
and “Hanseatic cities” that he mentions refer to an alliance of German trading guilds that
controlled trade on the Baltic Sea in the late Middle Ages.

• Document 2 •
In spite of the fact that we have no one of the Hanseatic cities... We are now
such fleet as we should have, we have making efforts to do what, in the old time,
conquered for ourselves a place in the the Hanseatic cities could not accomplish,
sun. It will now be my task to see to it because they lacked the vivifying and
that this place in the sun shall remain protecting power of the empire. May it
our undisputed possession, in order that be the function of my Hansa during many
the sun’s rays may fall fruitfully upon our years of peace to protect and advance
activity and trade in foreign parts, that commerce and trade!
our industry and agriculture may develop As head of the Empire I therefore rejoice
within the state and our sailing sports over every citizen, whether from Hamburg,
upon the water, for our future lies upon the Bremen, or Lübeck, who goes forth with
water. The more Germans go out upon the this large outlook and seeks new points
waters, whether it be in races or regattas, where we can drive in the nail on which
whether it be in journeys across the ocean, to hang our armor. Therefore, I believe
or in the service of the battle flag, so much that I express the feeling of all your hearts
the better it will be for us. when I recognize gratefully that the director
For when the German has once learned of this company who has placed at our
to direct his glance upon what is distant disposal the wonderful ship which bears
and great, the pettiness which surrounds my daughter’s name has gone forth as a
him in daily life on all sides will disappear. courageous servant of the Hansa, in order
Whoever wishes to have this larger and to make for us friendly conquests whose
freer outlook can find no better place than fruits will be gathered by our descendants!

Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 17

Study the Document
SECOND group of documents

Study the Document: Written Source 1

Instructions: Take notes on these questions. Use your notes to discuss the documents and answer
the DBQ. The question numbers on the ImageXaminer match the ones below.

1 Main Idea or Topic

What does Chamberlain see as the
“national mission” of the British Empire,
and what does he say about the
colonized peoples to justify Britain’s efforts
to expand and maintain its empire?

2 Audience, Author, Purpose

From the tone of the speech, as well as
the information provided about it, describe
the audience Chamberlain appears to
be addressing. What sorts of people do
you think they are? What views do you
think they already have about the British
Empire?

3 Background Information
In talking about Great Britain, Chamberlain
speaks of “those faculties and qualities
which have made us a great governing
force.” Based on what you know of Great
Britain in the 1800s, what “faculties and
qualities” do you think he had in mind?

4 What Else Can You Infer?

What can you infer about public opinion
in Britain about its African colonies? Does
the speech suggest that the British public
agrees with Chamberlain? Why or why
not?

18 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa

 Study the Document
SECOND group of documents

Study the Document: Written Source 2

Instructions: Take notes on these questions. Use your notes to discuss the documents and answer
the DBQ. The question numbers on the ImageXaminer match the ones below.

1 Main Idea or Topic

What do you think Kaiser Wilhelm II
means by “a place in the sun,” and why
do you think he feels this is so important
for Germany?

2 Compare & Contrast

In what ways do Kaiser Wilhelm II and
Joseph Chamberlain (Written Source 1)
agree about the reasons for establishing
an overseas empire? In what ways are
their reasons different? Make a list of
similarities and differences you notice.

3 Background Knowledge
Think about Germany’s history in the
decades before this 1901 speech. Also
think about Germany’s place in Europe’s
balance of power at the time of the
speech. How do these things help explain
any differences between Kaiser Wilhelm’s
and a British imperialist’s view of empire?

Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 19

Comparing the
DOCUMENTS

Comparing the Documents

The Written Sources
Answer the question by checking one box below. Then complete the statements on the
“Comparison Essay” worksheet. Use all your notes to help you take part in an all-class
debate about these documents—and to answer the final DBQ for the lesson.

Which of these primary source documents

would be most useful to a historian trying to
understand Europe’s imperial scramble for
Africa?

Passages from a Passages from a

speech by British speech by Kaiser
Colonial Secretary Wilhelm II of Germany
Joseph Chamberlain to the North German
to the Royal Colonial Regatta Association in
Institute in 1897 1901

Document 1 Document 2

20 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa

 Comparing the
DOCUMENTS

Comparison Essay

I chose Document ______ because:

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I did not choose Document ______.

However, a historian still might use the document in the following way:
_________________________________________________________________________

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_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

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_________________________________________________________________________

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KEEP THIS IN MIND: Some sources are very biased. A biased source is one that shows you
only one side of an issue. That is, it takes a clear stand or expresses a very strong opinion
about something. A biased source may be one-sided, but it can still help you to understand
its time period. For example, a biased editorial cartoon may show how people felt about an
issue at the time. The usefulness of a source depends most of all on what questions you
ask about that time in the past.

Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 21

Document-Based
QUESTION

Document-Based Question
Your task is to answer a document-based question (DBQ) on Europe’s scramble for colonies in
Africa. In a DBQ, you use your analysis of primary source documents and your knowledge of
history to write a brief essay answering the question. Using all four sets of documents, answer
this question. Below are two DBQs. The first is somewhat less demanding than the second.
Use whichever DBQ your teacher assigns.

Document-Based Questions
List in order of importance what you see as the major reasons for
1 Europe’s “scramble for Africa” and explain your choices.
Or
In the scramble for Africa, some Europeans stressed an idealistic,
civilizing mission; others stressed economics and diplomatic rivalry.
2 Were these two sets of motives consistent with one another, or did
they contradict one another? Explain your answer.

Below is a checklist of key suggestions for writing a DBQ essay. Next to each item, jot down a few
notes to guide you in writing the DBQ. Use extra sheets to write a four- or five-paragraph essay.

Introductory Paragraph
Does the paragraph clarify the DBQ itself? Does it present a clear thesis, or overall answer, to that DBQ?

The Internal Paragraphs—1

Are these paragraphs organized around main points with details supporting those main ideas? Do all
these main ideas support the thesis in the introductory paragraph?

The Internal Paragraphs—2

Are all of your main ideas and key points linked in a logical way? That is, does each idea follow clearly
from those that went before? Does it add something new and helpful in clarifying your thesis?

Use of Primary Source Documents

Are they simply mentioned in a “laundry list” fashion? Or are they used thoughtfully to support main ideas
and the thesis?

Concluding Paragraph
Does it restate the DBQ and thesis in a way that sums up the main ideas without repeating old information
or going into new details?

22 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa

Additional Sources Online
NOTE TO THE TEACHER: If you are using these materials with an AP* World History class, an
honors class, or some other group of advanced and/or more knowledgable students, you may
want to use question #2 and make more written sources available to them on this topic. Below
are notes on several other sources, all of which are availble on the Internet. The most recent URL
for each source is provided. Most of the sources are quite brief. Some are a few pages in length.
Together they will provide several additional perspectives on the topic of this booklet. All of the
following links may be found at www.socialstudies.com/debatingworld.html

Additional Written Sources on Europe’s Scramble for Africa: Why Did

They Do It?
1. This is an account by the Earl of Cromer (the first British Viceroy of Egypt) explaining why the
British took over Egypt.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1908cromer.html

2. This is from a speech by Jules François Camille Ferry to the French Chamber of Deputies, on
March 28, 1884. Ferry was twice prime minister of France. He was an ardent advocate for a vast
extension of France’s colonial empire in Africa and elsewhere.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1884ferry.html

3. A passage from from Captain F. D. Lugard’s The Rise of Our East African Empire. In this
passage, Lugard offers various reasons justifying Great Britain’s decision to carve out an empire in
Africa. These all are given a sense of urgency by Lugard’s claim that for Great Britain to “allow other
nations to develop new fields, and to refuse to do so ourselves, is to go backward.”
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1893lugard.html

4. This is Rudyard Kipling’s 1899 poem “The White Man’s Burden.” This famous poem is about
British imperialism, but not specifically in Africa; it was written in response to the U.S. occupation of
the Philippines after the Spanish-American War.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/Kipling.html

Europe’s Scramble for Africa | Debating the Documents 23

Worksheet Answers and Guidelines
Some worksheet questions call for specific, factual answers. In these cases, correct answers are
provided here. Most worksheet questions are open-ended and call on students to offer their own
interpretations and personal reactions. In those cases, we offer suggestions based on the purpose of
the question and the sort of interpretive activity it calls for.

Worksheet 1
Visual Sources 1 & 2
1. Answers may include such things as “civilization,” greater prosperity, education, peace, religious inspiration,
etc.
2. Answers include the posture and bearing of the the female figure, the facial expressions of the colonial
subjects, what they are receiving from her, etc.,
3. The missionary sits in a dominant position well above his charges, who sit respectfully at his feet; everyone
appears neatly dressed. Advocates likely saw this as the desired outcome of missionary work: Africans
“tamed” and “civilized” through the efforts of white Europeans.

Worksheet 2
Visual Sources 3 & 4
1. Answers here should focus on economic interests and political rivalries as motives.
2. Answers may vary. The female figures appear to idealize or humanize some very difficult or dangerous
endeavor that women in reality had little part in. Women in European society were essentially relegated to
similar roles.
3. Broadly speaking, the first group offers an idealistic view of the intentions behind colonization; the second
group focuses on competition, economic self-interest, and diplomatic rivalry as motives for colonization

Worksheet 3
Written Source 1
1. Answers should stress the view that the colonial empire is needed to bring civilization and order to
disorderly and uncivilized peoples.
2. Chamberlain refers to his audience as “we,” and he seems to assume he is among those who already
agree with him. Considering the name of the organization, they are likely already actively involved in the
imperial effort.
3. Its advanced industry, scientific and educational achievements, its long tradition of ruling other lands
elsewhere around the globe, etc.
4. Students may sense that despite his confidence, Chamberlain is also defensive about the use of force to
maintain the empire. This implies he is aware of criticism on this issue in the public at large.

Worksheet 4
Written Source 2
1. He likely means imperial possessions on par with Britain’s in prestige and economic strength. He seems to
think that its lack of sea power has hampered Germany’s prosperity and emergence as a world power.
2. Lists may vary. Both seem confident of the right to rule others, though Kaiser Wilhelm II is less concerned
about the benefits of empire for colonized peoples than their economic and military value to Germany.
3. Students should list such things as Germany’s recent unification (1871), its confinement between other
powerful nations and empires, its naval inferiority to Great Britain, etc.

24 Debating the Documents | Europe’s Scramble for Africa