“The Scramble for Africa” New Imperialism “The Scramble for Africa”

Conditions Prior to Imperialism of Africa European economic interests were minimal in Africa. The coastal trade that took place during the 1700s was the only source of profit. This profit, the slave trade, was the main source of European profit. Furthermore, disease, political instability, lack of transportation and unpredictable climate all discouraged Europeans from seeking territory. This was all able to take place without the need of political control over the region as African rulers and merchants served as mediators.

What Changed? End of the Slave Trade – Left a need for trade between Europe and Africa. Europeans still felt the need to exploit the continent. Innovation in technology – The steam engine and iron hulled boats allowed Europeans to travel further into the heart of Africa.

What Changed? 3. Discovery of new raw materials – Explorers located vast raw materials and resources and this only spurred on imperialism with Europe in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. 4. Politics – Unification of Germany and Italy left little room to expand in Europe. Germany and Italy both needed raw materials to “catch up” with Britain and France so they looked to Africa. Coupled with this was the growing European rivalries, as countries would begin losing locations to other European nations through war.

The Scramble for Africa The scramble started in 1880. Although some coastal land had previously been acquired before 1880, the need for territory quickly accelerated as European countries looked to get deeper into Africa. Within 20 years, virtually all of the continent had been placed under imperialistic rule.

Who was Involved? Great Britain France Germany Italy Portugal Belgium Spain

Violent Affairs Violence broke out multiple times when European nations looked to claim the same territory. German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, attempted to avert the possibility of violence against the European powers. In 1884, Bismarck organized a conference in Berlin for the European nations.

The Berlin Conference The conference looked to set ground rules for future annexation of African territory by European Nations. From a distant perspective, it looked to reduce tensions among European nations and to avert war. At the heart of the meeting, these European countries negotiated their claims to African territory, made it official and then mapped their regions. Furthermore, the leaders agreed to allow free trade among imperialized territory and a framework for negotiating future European claims in Africa was established.

Further Push After the conference, European powers continued to expand their claims in Africa so that by 1900, 90% of the African territory had been claimed.

A Turn towards Colonization? Upon the imperialization of African territory, European nations had little interest in African land unless it produced economic wealth. Therefore, European governments put little effort and expense into these imperialized regions. In most cases, this meant a form of indirect rule. Thus, governing the nation without sufficient settlement and from within the mother country. This indirect rule was various, whether it was nations having local rulers to simply fly their flag on their government buildings to officials to maintained a central administration and overlook the collection of resources.

Some Exemptions There were some exemptions though in Africa, as colonization was a necessity for some regions in Africa. Some regions were diamonds and gold were present, governments looked to colonize the regions and establish direct rule and settlement in the regions. One such example of this is South Africa.

Conclusion Although it may appear that the Berlin Conference averted war in the midst of the African Scramble, imperialism eventually brought the world into worldwide conflict. With the continued desire to create an empire by European nations, World War I would soon break out which can be linked to this quest of Imperialism.