Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa 1880-1914

1880-1914 THE NEW IMPERIALISM

Somewhat like the 18th century variety, the new imperialism was characterized by a frantic competition among European nations to gobble up as much of the world map as possible. This led these nations into conflicts with native peoples and with each other.

One of the biggest stories of the NEW IMPERIALISM was "THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA", which was a sensational issue and well covered in the press. In Europe, people followed news of colonial conquests and disputes with other nations on a daily basis. Governments were under constant pressure to acquire more colonies and assert their domination over their European rivals.

Before 1880 only 10% of Africa was controlled by European Powers. Colonies dotted along the coast of West Africa from the defunct slave trade, settlements in southern Africa by Dutch, English & Portuguese, and Algeria in the north, conquered by the French.

By 1900 only Ethiopia and Liberia remained free of European control. By this point in history, even the Dutch Afrikaaner Republics in South Africa were conquered by the English in the infamous Boer War.
 

How & why did it happen?

Two main reasons:

1) In part, the attraction of imperialism  was the Glory of Conquest

2) in part the so-called "White Man's Burden" to "rescue" the rest of the world from themselves and "civilize" the native people of Africa and Asia.
 

Leopold and the Belgians
In 1865 Leopold II becomes King of Belgium and begins the New Imperialist rant; that is he starts giving speeches in which he pushes the glories of exploration and conquest. In the 1870s Leopold sets his sights on the heart of Africa and in 1876 sends H. M. Stanley up the Congo River to establish trading posts and the beginnings of a Belgian colony in central Africa. This begins a competition for  control of the bulk of southern Africa

In 1880 France establishes a French Protectorate on the north bank of the Congo in direct response to the Belgian Congo on the south bank (hence the division that still stands between the two Congos.)

In 1882 Britain conquers Egypt, heating up fierce, unbridled competition among all the powers of Western Europe for control of the African continent, leading to the. . .

1884-85 BERLIN CONFERENCE

This was series of meetings between the major powers of Europe. At these meetings they lay down the rules for dividing up Africa, mainly establishing the principle of "effective occupation" to claim territory.

Simply put, they agree to recognize any areas that are already occupied or being developed by other European nations. This leads to the GREAT PUSH into the interior reaches of the continent by competing European armies, as the European powers rush to establish legitimate claims to areas unoccupied by other European powers.
 

After the BERLIN CONFERENCE

Bennet, Norman R. Africa and Europe: From Roman Times to National Independece. 2nd ed. Holmes and Meier, 1984.

Bohannan, Paul and Philip Curtin. African and Africans. 4th ed. Waveland Press, 1995.

Curtin, Philip, ed. African History: From Earliest Time to Independece. 2nd ed. Addison Wesley, 1995.