Scramble for Africa
European continental carve-up
The Scramble for Africa was the rapid colonization of the African continent by European powers during the late nineteenth century, roughly 1881 to 1914.
Also called the Partition of Africa, it saw Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, and Spain carve up nearly the entire continent among themselves, often with arbitrary borders that ignored existing ethnic and political boundaries.
The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 set ground rules for this division.
The Scramble for Africa left a legacy of exploitation and artificial borders that continues to affect the continent.
- Berlin ConferenceMeeting that divided Africa
- Menelik IIEthiopian modernizing monarch
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- EuropeansPeople from that continent
hegemony · civilizing mission · missionary zeal · Treaty of Berlin · imperialism · partition · indigenous resistance · conquest · forced labor · territories · domination · Otto von Bismarck · Congo · spheres of influence · exploitation · subjugation · invasion · resources
- conquestwar of conquest, capture, invasion, domination, subjugation
- African historyNubia, Dahomey, Oyo Empire, Berlin Conference, colonial era
- colonialismcolony, colonization, colonial rule, colonial powers, colonizer
- imperialismempire building, colonization, imperial expansion, British Empire, colonies
- 19th Century Diplomacyambassador, ambassadors, envoy, envoys, Congress of Vienna
- Colonial WarsFrench and Indian War, Boer Wars, King Philip's War, Boer War, Mahdist War
Scramble for Africadiplomatic settlement
Negotiated resolution between parties
Scramble for AfricaPan-Africanism
Continental and diaspora solidarity ideology
African Union · Bandung Conference · indigenization · Africanization
scramble, scrambled, Africa, African, scrambling, scrambles, Africans, scrambler, Afrikaans