THE SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA: INTRODUCTION
What was the Scramble?
A "mad" rush by European countries to colonise the continent of Africa
Get as much as you can before the others do mentality.
European countries that were involved:
- Belgium
- Britain
- France
- Germany
- Portugal
- Spain
- Italy
What drove the Scramble?
- Nationalism: patriotic feelings of pride in your country, culture and civilization
- Colonialism: policy of acquiring overseas territory for exploitation
- Imperialism: policy of dominating other nations/countries by conquering their land (Empire building)
- The desire for resources
- It was believed that the African interior held vast untapped resources
Africa before the Scramble
For most of recorded History Europeans were content to stay on the coastal regions of Africa
1870s most of the continent was controlled by Africans
- Britain and the Boer Republics controlled south Africa
- France controlled Algeria
- Ottoman Empire controlled Egypt
- Portugal controlled the coastal regions of Angola and Mozambique
- France controlled the Senegal Valley
- Britain controlled Sierra Leone
- Britain controlled a small colony at Lagos
Conquering Africa
By WWI the entire continent had been colonised by European countries
- Two exceptions: Ethiopia and Liberia
Europeans powers exploited long standing rivalries between Africans
Europeans had newer and better technology
Africans had older technology
- It was not always easy for Europeans to conquer areas
- Long protracted wars or revolts