Age of empire · 1881-1914

The Scramble for Africa and the Berlin Conference

In 1880 most of Africa is ruled by Africans. By 1914 only Ethiopia and Liberia are independent. Students compare the maps, look at the Berlin Conference, where no African was present, and at resistance such as the Ethiopian victory at Adwa.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1880 to AD 1900
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 1880 most of Africa is ruled by Africans. By 1914 only Ethiopia and Liberia are independent. Students compare the maps, look at the Berlin Conference, where no African was present, and at resistance such as the Ethiopian victory at Adwa.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Compare the map of Africa in 1880 and 1914 and describe the change.
  • Explain what the Berlin Conference (1884-1885) decided and what it did not.
  • Give examples of African resistance, such as Adwa (1896).
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1880

Africa in 1880

Open the map in 1880 and zoom out over Africa. Read the names of African states you can find. How much of the continent is shown as European colonies?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1914

Africa in 1914

Drag the slider to 1914. Which European countries now hold the largest areas? Which two African states are still independent?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1900

From the coast inland

Compare the coasts and the interior in 1880 and 1914. In 1880 most European holdings were near the coast. Why did Europeans now push inland?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. No African ruler was invited to Berlin. What does that tell us about how European governments saw Africa?
  2. The conference set rules for claiming land rather than drawing every border. Why did that speed up the race?
  3. Machine guns, quinine and steamboats helped European armies. Which do you think mattered most?
  4. Ethiopia defeated Italy at Adwa in 1896. Why was that victory so important across Africa?
  5. Many borders drawn in this period still exist. What problems can borders drawn by outsiders cause?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Mansa Musa in Rule History. In the 1300s Mali was one of the richest empires in the world and traded with Europe and the Middle East on equal terms. Discuss: how had the balance of power changed by 1884, and why?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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