Reasons for the scramble for and partition of Africa

Reasons for the scramble for and partition of Africa

Industrial development in Europe caused economic problems which made Europeans come to Africa and establish colonies in the last quarter of the 19th century. European powers competed for markets for their industrial products. They also competed for raw materials, cheap human labour and suitable areas for further economic investment. Generally, they competed for areas which had many development opportunities.

The areas were as follows

1. Coastal strips which had important trade points;
2. Areas with good climate and fertile agricultural lands. Some of these areas were on the slopes of mountains like the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and the Southern Highlands of Tanzania. Other areas were along river valleys like those of the River Congo, the River Nile, the River Niger and the Suez Canal;
3. Areas with big lakes and big rivers for transporting raw materials to their factories. In Tanganyika they were attracted to areas around Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa; and
4. Areas rich in minerals and other resources like forests and wild animals. The above-mentioned competitions among European powers could have caused wars. In order to prevent wars from breaking out, the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck (see Figure 1) called a conference of all the conflicting nations in Berlin so that they could discuss the division of the African continent.

Chancellor Otto von Bismarck of Germany

The Berlin Conference

The Berlin Conference was held between November 1884 and February 1885. The countries which attended the conference were Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the United States of America, Denmark, Holland, Russia, Greece, Austria-Hungary, Britain and Sweden.

These countries drew up an agreement on how to divide Africa. The Berlin Conference adopted the following resolutions:

1. Any European country which had seized a territory on any African coast, like the Germans who had seized the East African coast, should inform other European countries;
2. Any European country that seized an area must establish effective occupation. She must have an army capable of fighting against the indigenous people and defend their people and the activities done in the area;
3. King Leopold of Belgium was recognized as the ruler of Congo, while the British ruled the areas around the River Niger. It was further agreed that all big rivers should be open to all the countries for transport. The rivers were Niger, Congo, Senegal and Zambezi; and
4. The slave trade must be stopped in all the colonies. East Africa was not divided at the Berlin Conference; thus two bilateral agreements were signed to partition the region between the British and the Germans, as explained below.