European Imperialism: The Scramble For Africa

The Scramble for Africa was the invasion of African territory by European intelligence. The invasion took place during the time of Imperialism which took place between 1881 & 1914.It was also named he Partition of Africa or Conquest of Africa. In 1870, only 10% of Africa was under European control. But by 1914 the European control increased to 90% of the continent. Some parts of Africa were not colonized such as Ethiopia, parts of Somalia and Liberia. European exploration of Africa began at the end of the 18th century.

The Berlin Conference of 1884 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa. It is usually referred to as the starting point for the Scramble for Africa. The Berlin Conference took place during the New Imperialism period. A major outcome of the Berlin Conference was eliminating many forms of autonomy and self-governance. Germany, Great Britain & France competed to find more land which ultimately led to the Scramble for Africa. The German Chancellor called on the US to take part in the Berlin Conference with a joint policy.

Sub-Saharan Africa was one of the last regions to be untouched by Imperialism. Africa offered Britain, Germany and France an open market that gave them a trade advantage. Another temptation for Imperialism began from the demand of raw materials

The American Colonization Society offered immigration to Liberia but was later denied by the native people. Between 1825 & 1826 the American Colonization Society took steps to buy land along the coasts of Liberia. They later wanted to expand the territory and ended up trading 500 bars of tobacco, three barrels of rum, five casks of powder, five umbrellas, ten iron posts, and ten pairs of shoes with King Peter. The American Colonization Society controlled Liberia until about 1847 when they realized that the British might take away the settlement. Finally, Liberia was proclaimed an independent