---
title: "Ethnic Segregation — AP World Definition & Exam Guide"
description: "Ethnic segregation was the spatial separation of Europeans and Africans in colonial cities. A core example of imperial control in AP World Unit 6, Topic 6.2."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-world/key-terms/ethnic-segregation"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP World History: Modern"
unit: "Unit 6"
---

# Ethnic Segregation — AP World Definition & Exam Guide

## Definition

In AP World, ethnic segregation refers to the deliberate spatial and social separation of groups in colonial cities, especially in Africa, where Europeans and immigrant communities lived in new, well-serviced districts while colonized populations were confined to separate quarters or older neighborhoods.

## What It Is

Ethnic segregation is what [imperialism](/ap-world/unit-6/rationales-for-imperialism-1750-1900/study-guide/SpRzOFVRtT5Quq4copYW "fv-autolink") looked like on a city map. As [European powers](/ap-world/key-terms/european-powers "fv-autolink") expanded their empires across Africa from 1750 to 1900, they didn't just take territory, they reorganized daily life. Colonial cities were built or rebuilt with Europeans and favored immigrant communities in new districts that got the paved roads, clean water, and railway stations. African residents were pushed into separate quarters, older districts, or the urban edges, often with legal restrictions on where they could live and move.

This wasn't accidental sorting. It was a tool of [state power](/ap-world/unit-4/state-power-1450-1750/study-guide/x3Js208xx6AEye7b1nJQ "fv-autolink"). Keeping colonizers and colonized physically apart reinforced the racial hierarchy that justified empire in the first place, and it made colonial populations easier to police, tax, and control. The same logic showed up in settler colonies, where Europeans claimed the best land and pushed indigenous peoples onto marginal territory. Ethnic segregation is the urban version of that land grab.

## Why It Matters

Ethnic segregation lives in **[Unit 6](/ap-world/unit-6 "fv-autolink"): Consequences of Industrialization (Topic 6.2, Expansion of Imperialism)** and supports learning objective **6.2.A**, which asks you to compare how state power shifted around the world from 1750 to 1900. The essential knowledge behind this objective covers European states using [warfare](/ap-world/key-terms/warfare "fv-autolink") and diplomacy to expand empires in Africa and establishing settler colonies in parts of their empires. Segregated colonial cities are concrete evidence of that shift in state power. They show how empires didn't just conquer territory but restructured societies on the ground. Thematically, this term hits Governance (how empires maintained control) and Social Interactions and Organization (how imperialism created and enforced racial hierarchies). If you can describe a segregated colonial city, you have a ready-made piece of evidence for any prompt about the effects of imperialism on colonized societies.

## Connections

### [Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 (Unit 6)](/ap-world/key-terms/berlin-conference-of-1884-1885)

The [Berlin Conference](/ap-world/key-terms/berlin-conference "fv-autolink") carved Africa into European colonies on a map in Berlin. Ethnic segregation is what happened next, on the ground. Once a power claimed a territory, segregated cities became the physical infrastructure of control.

### [British colonialism in Africa (Unit 6)](/ap-world/key-terms/british-colonialism-in-africa)

British colonies, including [settler colonies](/ap-world/key-terms/settler-colonies "fv-autolink") in southern and eastern Africa, are the clearest examples of ethnic segregation in action. Europeans took the fertile highlands and built whites-only urban districts while African workers were confined to separate quarters.

### [British control of Egypt (Unit 6)](/ap-world/key-terms/british-control-of-egypt)

Cairo under British influence shows the pattern outside settler colonies too. A modern, European-style city grew up alongside the older Egyptian districts, with services and investment flowing to the European side.

### Apartheid and decolonization (Unit 8)

Colonial segregation didn't end when the colonizers left. In South Africa, it hardened into [apartheid](/ap-world/key-terms/apartheid "fv-autolink"), a legal system of racial separation that lasted until the 1990s. This is a perfect continuity-over-time link between Units 6 and 8.

## On the AP Exam

You're most likely to meet ethnic segregation inside a stimulus, such as a colonial city map, a photograph of a European district next to an African quarter, or an account from a colonized resident. Multiple-choice questions will ask what the source reveals about imperial control or social hierarchy, so connect the spatial separation to state power, not just geography. No released FRQ has used this term verbatim, but it's strong evidence for LEQs and DBQs on the effects of imperialism (Unit 6) or continuity and change in colonized societies. The move that earns points is linking the physical layout to the bigger claim. Don't just say Europeans and Africans lived apart; explain that segregation enforced the racial hierarchy that made imperial rule work.

## ethnic segregation vs Apartheid

Ethnic segregation in colonial cities (Unit 6, 1750-1900) was the broad pattern of spatial separation across European empires in Africa. Apartheid was a specific, formal legal system South Africa built after 1948 (Unit 8 territory). Think of colonial segregation as the precedent and apartheid as its most extreme, codified descendant. On the exam, don't call 19th-century colonial segregation 'apartheid,' the term is anachronistic before 1948.

## Key Takeaways

- Ethnic segregation was the deliberate spatial separation of Europeans and colonized peoples in colonial cities, with Europeans in new districts and African populations in separate quarters or older areas.
- It belongs to Topic 6.2 (Expansion of Imperialism) and supports learning objective 6.2.A on how state power shifted from 1750 to 1900.
- Segregation was a tool of imperial control, not random sorting, because it reinforced the racial hierarchy that justified empire and made colonized populations easier to govern.
- Settler colonies showed the same logic at a larger scale, with Europeans claiming the best land and pushing indigenous peoples to the margins.
- Colonial segregation is a strong continuity argument because patterns established in the 1800s persisted after independence, most visibly in South African apartheid.

## FAQs

### What is ethnic segregation in AP World History?

It's the spatial and social separation of groups in colonial cities, especially in Africa from 1750 to 1900, where Europeans lived in new, well-serviced districts and colonized populations were confined to separate quarters. It appears in Unit 6, Topic 6.2 (Expansion of Imperialism).

### Is ethnic segregation the same thing as apartheid?

No. Colonial ethnic segregation was a broad pattern across European empires in the 1800s, while apartheid was the specific legal system South Africa created in 1948. Apartheid grew out of colonial segregation, but using 'apartheid' for the 19th century is anachronistic.

### Why did European colonizers segregate cities in Africa?

Segregation reinforced the racial hierarchy that justified imperial rule and made colonized populations easier to police, tax, and control. It also funneled resources like clean water, paved roads, and railways toward European districts.

### How does ethnic segregation connect to the Berlin Conference?

The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 divided Africa among European powers on paper. Segregated colonial cities were how those claims got enforced in everyday life, turning lines on a map into physical separation on the ground.

### Will ethnic segregation show up on the AP World exam?

Probably as supporting evidence rather than as a term to define. Expect it in stimulus-based multiple choice (city maps, colonial photographs) or as evidence in LEQs and DBQs about the effects of imperialism on colonized societies.

## Related Study Guides

- [6.2 Expansion of Imperialism](/ap-world/unit-6/state-expansion-1750-1900/study-guide/1cZ7mAyPbmI8R9RbU46U)

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