SCRAMBLE FOR AND PARTITION OF AFRICA
SCRAMBLE FOR AND PARTITION OF AFRICA
SCRAMBLE FOR AFRICA
Literally
the word “Scramble” means fighting, scuffle or struggling for something between
two people or sides.
Scramble for Africa
refers to the sudden rush or struggle to acquire different parts in Africa by
the European imperialist powers.
Or
Scramble for Africa
refers to the struggle or competition among European nations in Africa in order
to acquire areas of economic influences.
Or
Scramble for Africa refers to
the fighting for colonies or spheres of influence among European imperialist
powers in Africa.
The process of scramble for Africa had two
major stages which were: -
a)
Phase/
stage one (From 1830‘s – 1880’s)
During
this stage, the major participants were Britain, France and Belgium.
Britain had
colonized South Africa since
1795 as a
colony for settlement
which she took
it after intensive
scramble against the
Boers. She had also
occupied Sierra Leone
as a colony
for the ex-slaves
in America since
1810.
France had monopolized
Senegal, Gambia and Ivory Coast
as the major
sources of their
industrial development. The two
powers were also
scrambling to monopolize
and control River Niger
in West Africa.
Belgium in other hand
struggled to monopolize and control Congo River and the basin in Central
Africa. This was done under the leadership of King Leopold II.
b)
Phase/
stage two (From 1880’s – 1890’s)
This
stage was characterized by intervention of
the late comers
who were Germany
and Italy in
process of scramble
for Africa.
PARTITION
Partition
simply means “divide” or “to slice,
to divide or to break” something into pieces.”
Partition of Africa refers
to the process whereby African continent was divided into pieces among European
Or
Partition of Africa refers
to the process of dividing African continent among European nations who were
scrambling each other.
The partition
process of Africa
was done so
as to avoid
the scrambling or
struggle of the
imperialist nations in
Africa which could
result into fighting
or wars. This process of dividing the African continent
was done
during the Berlin conference
of 1884 to
1885 which was held in
Berlin, Germany under Otto Von
Bismarck as the chairman of the conference.
REASONS FOR SCRAMBLE FOR AND PARTITION OF
AFRICA
The scramble
for Africa reached
its zenith towards the last
quarter of 19th
century. There are two
perspectives/ views or approaches
which explain the
causes of scramble
for Africa. These are:
a)
Eurocentric views/ perspectives
b)
Afro centric views/ perspectives
A. EUROCENTRIC APPROACH/VIEWS
These
were explanations propounded by capitalist scholars in Europe. According to
Eurocentric historians, scramble for
and partition of Africa
was due to
the humanitarian reasons. The
following are the reasons for scramble for and partition of Africa:
i.
European
Nationalism.This was union of various small European
states which were ruled by princes into bigger empires. In Germany the
unification was made under Otto Von Bismarck. This unification made their
countries to praise their culture and declared a mission to civilize other
cultures hence Germany and Italy rushed to scramble for colonies in Africa.
ii.
European
Balance of Power. The balance of power was disrupted by
Franco-Prussian war of 1870 -1871 [The wart between France and Germany]. Germany
rose to power after defeating France and seizing her two provinces that is
Alsace for production of coal and Lorraine for iron. There after France began
to scramble for colonies in order to regain its power and compensate for the
lost provinces.
iii.
Strategic
Reasons/ Consideration. Scramble
for and partition of
Africa was influenced
by protection of
commercial interests of
the European nations
in Africa. Eurocentric Historians
claims that, European powers
scrambled because they
wanted to protect
her trade interests
in Middle East
and Far East
or Asia.
iv.
National
Prestige. The possession of colonies was considered as a symbol of
greatness and respect. For example Germany and Italy struggled for colonies
with the aim of acquiring national prestige.
v.
Civilization
Mission. European nations claimed
that they scrambled
in Africa because
they wanted to
civilize the regrettable
Africans. They scrambled because they wanted to remove barbaric culture
like: Killing twins, believing in many Gods, Women circumcision, Polygamy etc.
They further claimed
that, it was their burden to
civilize the Africans through
education and religion, hence scramble
for Africa.
vi.
Superiority
Complex. European nations scrambled for African colonies because
they regarded themselves as superior race. They
regarded Africans and
Asians as an
inferior race which
was to be
controlled or dominated
by superior race, this
myth forced European
to rush in
Africa so as
to prove their
superiority.
vii.
Social
Darwinism. Charles Darwin was among the prominent
theorists in 19th c in Europe. He
proposed a theory “ Struggle for
existence and survival
of the fittest” which explain
the natural selection
for organisms. The European
nations used this
theory to Scramble
for Africa and
colonization of Africa, because to
have colonies was
a sign of
fitness.
viii.
Humanitarian
Factor. European
nations scrambled in
Africa because they
wanted to abolish
slavery and slave
trade because it was against human rights. They claimed
that, Africans could not
stop this trade
and mode of
production, therefore they
scrambled because each
nation wanted to
participate in abolishing
this evil.
ix.
To
spread legitimate trade. The European claimed that they wanted to
spread legitimate trade that deals with raw materials, and other natural goods.
B. AFROCENTRIC APPROACH/VIEWS
These
are views propounded by African scholars. According to Afro
centric historians, the scramble
for and partition
of Africa was
due to the development of imperialism especially
during the stage of the Industrial revolution ( Development of
Industrial production) which
took place in
Europe.
The
Industrial revolution which
took place in
Europe had a lot
of problems ( impacts) which faced
European nations. In order to
solve these problems, they decided
to come in
Africa, a thing which
led to scramble
for and partition
of Africa.
The following were the impacts (problems) of
Industrial revolution which led to Scramble for and partition of Africa
according to Afro-centric historians:
i.
The
need of raw materials (Overproduction).
This was due to the use of
machines in production that increased
production something which led to the
Shortage of raw materials
in Europe. Therefore in order
to solve this
problem, European nations decided
to come in
African to find
raw materials. This led to
scramble for and partition of Africa.
ii.
The
need of markets (Under consumption).
After the Industrial
revolution, there was failure of the people to purchase the goods produced in
industries effectively. This led to shortage of
markets and failure
of business to
many European nations. As
a result they
decided to come
in Africa to search
for markets in order
to sell their
goods. This led to
scramble for and
partition of African
among European nations.
iii.
The
need of areas for settlements.
After the Industrial
revolution there was increase of population in different nations. This was due
to many reasons
such as availability
of plenty of
food, improvement of health
services and urbanization. This led
to shortage of
settlements as houses
in towns and
cities could not
fit the increased
population. Therefore, European nations decided to
come in Africa
to find areas
where they could
establish settlements so that to
reduce government expenditure. This led
to scramble for and partition of Africa.
iv.
The
need of cheap labour (The rise of working class movements).
At
the last
quarter of the 19th c
there was shortage
of workers ( Cheap labor) due
to the rise
of working class
movement like Chartism, Luddism, new model trade unions etc. The rise
of working movements
was due to
payments of low
wages by the
capitalists, poor working condition
and lack of
insurance especially in
Britain. Therefore in Europe, it
was difficult to get cheap
labor who could
work in industries
and other production areas, as
a result Europeans
decided to come
in Africa to
find cheap labor
that could help
the production of
raw materials. This eventually
led to the scramble for and partition of Africa
v.
The
need of areas for investment (Production of surplus capital).
After
industrialization, European nations increased
the rate of
production, a thing which
prompted production of surplus
capital ( super profit). This led
to the demand (shortage) of investment areas in Europe. European nations
demanded opportunities where they could
invest their surplus
capital, but in Europe, there
were no areas
to invest. Therefore, they
decided to come in Africa where they could invest their surplus capital.
AREAS THAT HAD INTENSIVE SCRAMBLE AND THE
REASONS
There
were different areas which had intensive scramble by the European powers. These
areas included:
- Egypt
- CONGO
(River and Basin)
- Central
Africa
- South
Africa
- Niger
Delta
- East
Africa.
Reasons for some areas in Africa to
experience more intensive scramble than others are as follows:
i.
Fertile
land.
These areas which seemed to have a fertile land like Zimbabwe and some parts of
Kenya like the Kikuyu highlands experienced more intensive scramble than other
areas. Also Congo had
plenty of fertile
soil which supported
agricultural activities.
ii.
Presence
of valuable minerals. Minerals also made some areas in Africa to
experience more intensive scramble than others; for example South Africa where
Diamonds and Gold were available in large quantity, also Congo where Gold was
available. Those European nations wanted minerals because they used them as raw
materials for industrial productions.
iii.
Presence
of navigable rivers. European
nations scrambled there because
they wanted to dominate them
so as to
simplify transportation. Example
Suez Canal and Congo Basin are some areas which experienced more intensive
scramble. For example the Congo Basin was scrambled for by Belgium, Britain,
France and Portugal. And Suez Canal was scrambled for by both the British and
the French.
iv.
Large
population (Population pressure). These areas which were
having large population also experienced more intensive scramble example Congo
basin had high population that could help availability of markets for European
goods and labourers who could work in European projects.
v.
Good
climate condition. Areas that
had good /favorable climate which
could enable the European
to establish settlement
and invest their
capital experienced intensive scramble than the other. For example Egypt
and Congo had good climate
condition which allowed
European settlements and
establishment of investment projects especially
in all areas
around the Nile basin and
Congo River respectively.
vi.
Strategic
reasons. For example Britain wanted to protect her economic
interest in Asia as Britain had earlier
colonies in Asia
which were India, Burma, Pakistan, Australia and
New Zealand. As a result wanted
to control Egypt because she wanted to
use the Suez
Canal to reach
her colonies.
vii.
Reliable
rainfall. Also the region that had adequate
rainfall which supported
activities like agriculture experienced intensive scramble.
Therefore every European
power wanted these regions
so as to develop agriculture
in order to
produce raw materials. Those areas include East Africa,
Congo basin and Nile basin.
viii.
Presence
of great Lakes. Areas with great lakes also experienced
intensive scramble than the other. The present of great lakes like Lake
Victoria, Nyasa and Tanganyika of which they could use these lakes in
agricultural activities throughout the year through irrigation method, hence
every European nation wanted these areas.
Therefore, the
Europeans only scrambled for areas with those characteristics mentioned above.
And these areas which were scrambled and eventually partitioned by the
Europeans, had economic importance to the European powers.
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