The Scramble for Africa (1884-1914) – World Governments, Natural Resources, and Colonialism
Also called the Partition of Africa, this global event was centered on the movements of several European nations to capture the natural resources of mainland Africa. Out of thousands of small areas previously controlled by tribes, Europeans created fifty-three “nations.” It has been estimated that 90% of the continent of Africa was divided up among the major European nations after the official partition in Berlin 1884-1885.
Background Material Link: General background on “The Scramble for Africa” can be found here: The Scramble for Africa | St John's College, University of Cambridge.
Download image: Caricatura sobre conferencia de Berl
Video Links
Video Link: “The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885” (PBS Learning)
Primary Source Links
- Primary Source Link: “The Partition of Africa, 1920” from the British Foreign Office
- Primary Source Link: “Mammon in Africa: Railroads Projected All Over the Dark Continent, France Jealous of What Great Britain may do after the War – All Nations Interested in African Resources” from the Akron Daily Democrat, December 28, 1899
- Primary Source Link: “The Partition of Africa” map 1911
- Primary Source Link: Modern Illustration of The Partition of Africa
Primary Source Questions for Students
- Which European nations participated in the conference to partition Africa?
- What are the consequences of having different nations claiming this amount of foreign land?
- How did European colonialism impact traditional borders of African nations and tribes and the lives of those living in these spaces?
- What types of criminal activity was observed by independent outsiders who visited colonized areas of Africa like the Belgian Congo?
