Chapter 32

THE SCRAMBLE FOR

AFRICA 1870s – 1941

EUROPEAN COLONIES IN AFRICA, 1800s

353
EUROPEANS  in  AFRICA
On the continent of Africa, European nations had
traditionally traded with coastal kingdoms, never venturing
far into the continent. This changed in the mid-1800s, when
Europeans began sending explorers and missionaries inward.
DAVID LIVINGSTONE was a Scot tish missionary from
London who arrived in Africa in 1841 and spent thirty years
traveling the continent. Livingstone was looking for a river
route that would allow European commerce and Christianity to
“flow” into Africa. Livingstone’s letters were detailed enough
for people back in England to start drawing maps from them.

When Livingstone disappeared, an American newspaper

sent a young Welsh journalist named SIR HENRY MORTON
STANLEY to track him down. Stanley found Livingstone alive
in 1871 and ended up staying in Africa a few years. Stanley
explored the Congo River and told the Brits they should set
up camp there. The British turned down the idea, but KING
LEOPOLD II of Belgium was enthusiastic. He wanted to open
Africa to his idea of civilization-and make a profit.

The  SCRAMBLE  for  AFRICA
King Leopold II became the driving force behind
colonization in central Africa. In the late 1870s, through
Stanley, he set up Belgian set tlements in the Congo. New
trade routes were established, along with new rivalries.
The French hurried to plant their flag in northern Africa.
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Germany and Britain
each tried to claim land
in East Africa. Spain
claimed western Sahara
and part of Morocco,
Italy took over Libya and
most of Somalia, and
Portugal wanted Angola
and Mozambique. This
rush of colonial activity
and Europeans trying
to grab a piece of the
African continent is known as the SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA.

DISAGREEMENTS  AMONG
the  COLONIZERS  ARISE
In 1884-1885, these major European nations met at the BERLIN
CONFERENCE to settle disputes and formalize imperialist
policies in Africa without going to war. The group agreed to
PARTITION the continent. All this happened without the
knowledge of the many different groups of people living on
the continent, who would now be randomly divided (sometimes
across the lines of rival nations) and
partition
put to work based on the whims of to divide a country or
the Europeans. (No African leaders state into different parts,
were invited to the conference.) The usually with different types
of political rule
imposed borders bunched Africans
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 LOOKS LIKE THOSE IMPOSED
ARBITRARY BOR DERS ARE STILL
AFRICA TODAY (WITH 1800s EURO TERRITORIES) AFFECTING PEOPLE TODAY!

BELGIUM
FRANCE
GERMANY
ITALY
PORTUGAL
SPAIN
ENGLAND
IMAGINE IF SOMEONE TOLD YOU THAT YOU NO
LONGER LIVED IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY! CRAZY!

into arbitrary groups that didn’t represent their cultures

or heritage and confused the ownership of local resources.
(Many of these colonial borders still exist today, along with
troubling effects that come with imposing borders that
are arbitrary to the indigenous population.) Belgium, Spain,
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 exploit
Portugal, France, Great Britain, Italy, to take advantage of
in an unfair way
and Germany began to organize their
settlements, EXPLOITING the people already living there.
People were forced to endure such harsh working conditions
that by the early 1900s, anywhere from eight to sixteen million
Africans had died.

CECIL  RHODES  and  the  BOER  WAR
The Dutch were the first colonists in southern Africa, founding
Capetown in the seventeenth century. In 1806, when the British
took over the area (which they named CAPE COLONY), THE BOERS
WANTED TO KEEP
Dutch settlers (also called BOERS) decided to leave. SLAVERY, BUT THE
BRITISH DIDN’T, SO
The Dutch created two new republics, TRANSVAAL THE BOERS LEFT.

and the ORANGE FREE STATE. At the same time, the British
added their own new colony, NATAL, to the east of the Boer
states. The Dutch and British settlers were very different : In
the British colonies, any wealthy man could vote, regardless
of race; in the Boer republics, only white men could vote.
TR A
NS
SO UTH E RN AFRICA VA
AL
OR ANG E
FR EE
STATE

NATAL

own
• Ca p e T

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When the British discovered diamonds and gold in the Boer
republics, they swarmed into Boer territory in the Transvaal
looking to get rich quick. In 1895, the prime minister of Cape
Colony, CECIL RHODES, who was also the owner of diamond
and gold companies and a champion of British expansion
in Africa, secretly supported a British raid on Transvaal.
The JAMESON RAID was a disaster, and Rhodes was forced
to resign.

But the damage was done, and the SECOND BOER WAR (they
had already fought each other about twenty years earlier
over control of territory and taxes-the Boers won) broke out
between the British and the Dutch set tlers in 1899. In 1902,
the vast British army defeated the Boers, and the British
established a new country, the UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA,
combining the Boer republics with the British Cape Colony.

Rock paintings in Africa date from prehistoric times to

as recent as the end of the 19th century. For example,
paintings from the Drakensberg mountain range in South
Africa show battles between the indigenous San people
and the European colonists, who are shown riding on
horseback and holding rifles. The Drakensberg artists are
also known for their
three-dimensional
shading.

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w CheckYour Knowledge
1. What was trade like between Europeans and Africans
before the 1800s?

2. ___ _____ ______ _______ convinced King

Leopold II of Belgium to invest in Africa.

3. What led to the “scramble for Africa”?

4. What happened to African nations and groups after the

Berlin Conference?

5. The Dutch created two republics in southern Africa in 1806,

_________ and the ______ ____ _____ .

6. The Second Boer War was fought primarily over which of

two resources?
a. silver and gold
b. diamonds and gold
c. emeralds and gold
d. silver and bronze

answers 359