The partition of East Africa

The partition of East Africa

After the Berlin Conference, the colonialists divided Africa among themselves. East Africa was portioned and occupied by Britain and Germany. The division was done between 1886 and 1890. Two agreements were signed by the Germans and the British. These were

1. the 1886 Anglo-German Agreement
2. the Heligoland Agreement of 1890.

The 1886 Anglo-German Agreement

In 1886 the governments of Germany and Britain, as well as the Sultanate of Zanzibar met to divide East Africa. The Germans were given Tanganyika, Rwanda and Burundi, which were then known as German East Africa. Also, the area from Witu to the north of Mombasa was put under the Germans. The British were given the area which is today called Kenya. The Sultanate of Zanzibar remained with the islands of Pemba, Unguja and a strip of 16 kilometres along the East African coast (see Figure 3). By this agreement, these colonialists agreed to operate in the area without interfering with each other.

Map of East Africa showing colonial divisions after the 1886 Agreement

The Heligoland Agreement of 1890

The 1890 Agreement, known as the Heligoland Agreement, modified the 1886 Agreement. This agreement was between the British and German governments. The aim of the Heligoland Agreement was to change the boundaries which had been agreed upon and to reallocate areas which were not in the 1886 Agreement, including Uganda. The Heligoland Agreement set conditions upon which the areas of conflict were to be resolved. The decisions included in the new agreement were:

1. The area of British administration was increased from the east to the west of Lake Victoria. Thus, Uganda was put under British rule;
2. Germany agreed that the British would rule over Witu, Zanzibar and the whole area under the Sultan;
3. The British agreed to give Heligoland Island in the North Sea to the Germans. The Germans liked Heligoland Island because it was an important navy marine base to them; and
4. The 16-kilometre strip was taken from the Sultanate of Zanzibar and given to Germany.

East Africa after the Heligoland Agreement of 1890

After the Berlin Agreement of 1885 and other agreements, the African continent was conquered by imperial powers like German, Britain, France and Belgium. The conquest was necessary because Africans were not ready to be under the European powers.