Scramble for Africa

A history of the Scramble for Africa from early European engagement to factors triggering the Scramble for Africa in the 19th Century and colonialism. The path to the Scramble was paved by several interconnected developments that unfolded throughout the 19th century, primarily in Europe itself.

For centuries prior, European engagement with Africa had largely been confined to coastal trading posts, primarily for the transatlantic slave trade, which by this period was largely abolished, though its destructive impact lingered. Despite this, slavery was still endemic within Africa itself, with local chiefs further inland culturally reluctant to give up their use of slaves. When reports that the practice was still rife filtered back to places like London, abolitionists took it upon themselves to stop it.

Together with explorers such as David Livingstone, Henry Morton Stanley, Richard Burton, and John Hanning Speke (often funded by European geographical societies and newspapers), they ventured deep into the continent's interior, mapping rivers, discovering vast natural resources, and, perhaps most significantly, demystifying the "dark continent" for European audiences. These forays to reach out to inland chiefs revealed large population centres but, more importantly, a mass of raw materials from palm oil, timber, sugar, coffee and rubber, amongst others. To financiers who had lost a major source of income following the end of the slave trade, not only were these newly identified population centres a new market for European goods, but an abundant source of raw materials from which to make them.

Their accounts fuelled the public imagination and, crucially, identified regions ripe for exploitation. Concurrently, Christian missionaries established outposts, aiming to convert local populations and, wittingly or unwittingly, often softening the ground for imperial expansion by familiarising Europeans with local customs and languages, and sometimes acting as intermediaries or even direct agents of colonial powers. Yet by the period of the Scramble for Africa, European presence in Africa was limited. The United Kingdom had Freetown in Sierra Leone, Lagos, and forts in the Gambia, as well as Cape Colony in South Africa. Portugal had bases in Angola and Mozambique, whilst Spain held small areas of North-West Africa. France's interests included settlements in Senegal (Dakar and St Louis), Cote d'Ivoire (Assinie and Grand Bassam), Benin and some of Algeria, the Ivory Coast, Benin and Algeria, whilst the fading Ottoman Empire controlled most of northern Africa from Tunisia, Libya to Egypt.

Several interconnected factors then converged in the late 19th century to ignite the intense competition for African territory, triggering the Scramble for Africa: Cont/...

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Scramble for Africa

Africa History

Before you travel to Africa as a volunteer, explore the rich and varied history of the continent.
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Berlin Conference

The Berlin Conference was the outcome of this scramble and effectively divided the continent up.
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Colonisation Africa

About the colonisation of Africa at the end of the 19th Century together details of each African country.
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Independence

A list of African countries independence dates with the colonial powers they gained independence from.
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<h5>Scramble for Africa Video Documentary</h5>

International Association of the Congo

Industrial Revolution and Economic Imperatives: Europe's burgeoning industrial economies demanded vast quantities of raw materials – rubber, timber, minerals (gold, diamonds, copper), and agricultural products like cotton and palm oil – which Africa possessed in abundance. Furthermore, newly industrialised nations sought captive markets for their manufactured goods and lucrative investment opportunities.

Technological Advancements: Innovations such as steamships dramatically reduced travel time, allowing easier access to Africa's interior via its rivers such as the Zambezi, which was then not only fully accessible, but open to the transport of bulk materials. Additionally, the development of quinine provided a defence against malaria, a major impediment to earlier European penetration. Crucially, military superiority afforded by the Maxim gun and other advanced weaponry gave European forces an overwhelming advantage against indigenous forces and resistance.

Political Rivalry and National Prestige: The rise of powerful new states like a unified Germany and Italy, alongside established empires like Britain and France, fuelled intense nationalistic competition. Acquiring colonies became a symbol of national power, status, and strategic advantage, with each nation vying to outmanoeuvre its rivals. Acquiring colonies offered strategic advantages – coaling stations for naval fleets, control over vital trade routes like the Suez Canal (opened in 1869) – and a means to prevent rival nations from gaining too much influence. This highly competitive environment meant that a perceived threat of another nation claiming territory often spurred rivals to stake their own claims.

Furthermore, there emerged ideological justifications for the Scramble for Africa. Social Darwinism, a pseudo-scientific theory applied Darwinian concepts of "survival of the fittest" to human societies, suggesting that European dominance was a natural outcome of their supposed racial and cultural superiority. Then there was what was known as the "Civilising Mission" (Mission Civilisatrice), with Europeans often rationalising their actions as a moral duty to "civilise" what they perceived as "backwards" or "savage" African societies. This mission encompassed introducing Christianity, European education, medicine, and forms of governance, often disregarding or actively suppressing existing African cultures and institutions. The economic depression that gripped Europe from 1873 to 1896 further intensified this search for captive markets and profitable ventures abroad.

A pivotal moment, often described as an accelerant, was King Leopold II of Belgium's personal acquisition and brutal exploitation of the Congo Basin (bottom, left). His formation of the 'International Association of the Congo' and his private mercenary force, which operated with extreme brutality to extract rubber and ivory, sent shockwaves through European capitals, igniting fears that a single power could monopolise vast swathes of resources and strategic territory unless clear rules were established.

It was this potent mixture of economic ambition, technological superiority, nationalist pride, and the very real prospect of inter-European conflict over African territories that led Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor of Germany, to convene the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885. Ironically, Bismarck himself was initially ambivalent about colonial ventures, considering them a costly distraction. However, he recognised the need to manage the escalating tensions. The main plenipotentiaries at this momentous gathering represented Great Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden-Norway, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Russia, and the United States. Crucially, not a single African representative was invited or present. Cont/...

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