The Scramble for Africa

Who? What? Where? When? Why? The Scramble for Africa was the occupation, division, and colonization of African territory by European powers. Mostly: Belgium, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Between 1881 and 1914 Virtually all of the African continent

Africa Before the Scramble Mid-1800s: no modern borders. Rather, hundreds of ethnic and linguistic groups. As of 1880, Europeans controlled just 10% of the African continent.

Unable to conquer the continent. African armies resist, inland travel was almost impossible. Impassable rivers and disease frustrated Europeans

What changed? Steam power: travel upriver possible with steamboats. Maxim gun & other weapons = European supremacy. A need for resources

One example-- Belgian Congo and Atrocities King Leopold of Belgium interested in the Congo based on the stories of Henry Stanley Leopold and Stanley secure vast amounts of land. Real goal: To secure the sap from rubber trees.

Bear in mind: Social Darwinism Applying concept of natural selection to human society. A belief that European society was superior, so European expansion was “inevitable.”

Bear in mind: Social Darwinism Present in the thoughts & goals of Cecil Rhodes His goal: “Cape to Cairo” control by British Empire. Control lands in a continuous line from south to north, the “Cape to Cairo Red Line.”

In closing... European Governments scramble for control of African land. National pride, economic pressures, racism, and Social Darwinism all play a role in this demand.