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7 European nations 3) By 1914, the independent states of Africa were completely taken over by 7 European nations. The only two states still independent were Liberia and Ethiopia.

Which countries held colonies in Africa in 1914?

Seven European countries held African colonies in 1914. Name the countries that held African colonies by 1914? Belgium, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

How many European countries held African colonies by?

Map of Africa in 1878 indicates far less colonial presence. At the Congress of Berlin in 1884, 15 European powers divided Africa among them. By 1914, these imperial powers had fully colonized the continent, exploiting its people and resources.

How many European countries held African colonies by 1914 which African nations remained independent?

Partition of Africa Image ©The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History The Partition of Africa began in earnest with the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, and was the cause of most of Africa’s borders today. This conference was called by German Chancellor Bismarck to settle how European countries would claim colonial land in Africa and to avoid a war among European nations over African territory.

• All the major European States were invited to the conference.
• Germany, France, Great Britain, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Spain were all considered to have a future role in the imperial partition of Africa.
• The United States was invited because of its interest in Liberia but did not attend because it had no desire to build a colonial empire in Africa.

Also invited were Austria-Hungary, Sweden-Norway, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, and Russia who all were considered minor players in the quest for colonizing Africa, though Italy would claim some colonial possessions in Northeast Africa. Most notably there were no Africans present at this conference, nor were any Europeans present to ensure that native Africans had any say in the proceedings.

• The task of this conference was to ensure that each European country that claimed possession over a part of Africa must bring civilization, in the form of Christianity, and trade to each region that it would occupy.
• Also a country’s claim of a territory was valid only if it informed the other European powers and established some occupying force on the ground.

This occupying force was often a few military outposts on the coast and interior waterways with little to no actual settlement. Specific lands were obtained by having African indigenous rulers sign an “x” to a general agreement for protection by a European power.

1. Often these rulers had no idea what they were signing since most could not read, write, or understand European languages.
2. The conference only dealt with territories yet to be acquired in Africa.
3. This meant that the interior of Africa, about which little was known, was the land area available.
4. Most coastal land had already been claimed by various European countries, as had much of Southern Africa and Africa north of the Sahara.

Few Europeans had set foot into the interior of sub-Saharan Africa prior to this conference. Following the Berlin Conference there was still little exploration into the interior of Africa beyond gaining initial treaties. Most Europeans continued to stay on the coastal regions while a few missionaries followed rivers inland to find Christian converts.

By 1900, though, more Europeans moved into the African interior to extract raw materials such as rubber, palm oil, gold, copper, and diamonds. These natural resources made Africa a vital resource for the European economy. Although most of these African colonies were controlled by nations, the Berlin Conference allowed King Leopold II of Belgium to become the sole owner of the vast area that is today the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa.

This area was given to Leopold by the other European powers with the intent that this be an area of Free Trade for all Europeans in Africa. Leopold agreed to this stipulation as well as bringing Christian missionaries to the interior of this area, but in practice he kept out most other European traders as he granted concessions to various corporations to exploit the region’s resources.

• In 1908 it was revealed that under King Leopold’s instructions native people of the Congo were forced to farm wild rubber as a form of tax payment to the colonial government.
• Those who were unable to reach their rubber quota often had a hand or foot chopped off, or were killed by Leopold’s agents.
• Once news of these abuses of power were brought to the public light, King Leopold was stripped of his colony and the vast Congo region was ruled by the Belgium government until it became independent in 1960.

By 1914, 90% of Africa had been divided between seven European countries with only Liberia and Ethiopia remaining independent nations. Many of the boundaries drawn up by Europeans at the Berlin Conference still endure today with little regard to natural landmarks or historic ethnic or political boundaries established by the Africans themselves.

The disregard of these boundaries, most of which were retained after independence, often continues to generate conflict in Africa today. African nations began to emerge from colonial rule first with Ghana which gained its independence in 1957. By 2000 virtually all of the former colonies had gained independence.

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Which European country had the most colonies in Africa by 1914?

Through the use of direct military force, economic spheres of influence, and annexation, European countries dominated the continents of Africa and Asia. By 1914, Great Britain controlled the largest number of colonies, and the phrase, ‘the sun never sets on the British Empire,’ described the vastness of its holdings.

How much of Africa did Europe control in 1914?

In 1870, only 10 percent of Africa was under formal European control; by 1914 this had increased to almost 90 percent of the continent, with only Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and Liberia remaining independent, the latter of which was a former United States colony.

Did Germany have colonies in Africa in 1914?

Page 2 – On 12 November 1918, near the Zambian town of Kasama, German (African soldiers) skirmished with troops of the, In Europe, the Armistice had silenced the guns on the the day before this last clash in Africa. had four African colonies in 1914: Togo (today: Togo and territory in eastern Ghana), Cameroon (Cameroon and territory in northeastern Nigeria), German Southwest Africa (Namibia) and German East Africa (Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania except Zanzibar).

When the war began, British decision-makers saw Germany’s colonies as a threat to Allied shipping in the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic. Colonial shortwave stations and ports could be used to support German commerce raiders. Given the superiority of Allied naval and colonial forces, and were eager to end the threat and take advantage of their adversary’s vulnerable position.

From an African perspective these territories were already under foreign before World War One began. The war changed the nationalities of the occupiers, but colonial rule remained under the new guise of the mandates. This essay focuses on how military campaigns during World War One and the redrew the map of colonial Africa.

What are the 7 European countries that colonized Africa?

Grade 8 – Term 3: The Scramble for Africa: late 19th century The colonisation of Africa was part of a global European process reaching all the continents of the world. European colonisation and domination changed the world dramatically. Historians argue that the rushed imperial conquest of the African continent by the European powers started with King Leopold II of Belgium when he involved European powers to gain recognition in Belgium.

1. The Scramble for Africa took place during the New Imperialism between 1881 and 1914.
2. The focus of this lesson will be on the causes and results of European colonisation of the African continent, with special focus on the Ashanti kingdom (colonised by the British as the Gold Coast, and today the independent African country of Ghana).

European colonisation of Africa in the late 19th century Africa before European colonisation Due to worldwide insufficiency of world knowledge, the size and abilities of Africa as a continent was majorly undermined and oversimplified. Before colonisation, Africa was characterised by widespread flexibility in terms of movement, governance, and daily lifestyles.

The continent consisted not of closed reproducing entities, equipped with unique unchanging cultures, but of more fluid units that would readily incorporate outsiders into the community with the condition that they accepted its customs, and where the sense of obligation and solidarity went beyond that of the nuclear family.

Pre- colonial societies were highly varied, where they were either stateless, run by the state or run by kingdoms. The notion of communalism was accepted and practiced widely; land was held commonly and could not be bought or sold, although other things, such as cattle, were owned individually. Africa before European colonialism The use of iron tools marks a significant turning point in African civilization. Iron tools enhanced weaponry, allowed groups to manage and clear dense and thick forests, plough fields for farming, and making everyday life more convenient.

Because the iron tools allowed Africans to flourish in their natural environment, they could live in larger communities which led to the formation of kingdoms and states. With this creation came the formation of modern civilizations, common languages, belief and value systems, art, religion, lifestyle and culture.

Another unique characteristic of pre- European Africa was the favouring of oral tradition within these societies. Stories were told and handed down generations in verbal form. This poses a threat to the survival of these stories because certain aspects could be forgotten or told in a different way.

• National borders were also not much of a concern before colonization.
• European countries fought over African countries mainly for their natural resources.
• Lines were drawn through African communities which had existed for many years, and these lines can presently be seen as national borders.
• A brief history of European Colonisation in Africa” Berlin Conference 1884 The Conference of Berlin and British ‘New’ Imperialism, also known as the “Congo conference” began.

In 1884 at the request of Portugal, German Chancellor Otto von Bismark called together the major western powers of the world to negotiate questions and end confusion over the control of Africa. The countries represented at the time included Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway (unified from 1814-1905), Turkey, and the United States of America.

1. Of these fourteen nations, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal were the major players in the conference, controlling most of colonial Africa at the time.
2. Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain were competing for power within European power politics.
3. One way to demonstrate national pre-eminence was through the acquisition of territories around the world, including Africa.

Another reason for European interest in Africa is the industrialization when major social problems grew in Europe: unemployment, poverty, homelessness, social displacement from rural areas, etc. These social problems developed partly because not all people could be absorbed by the new capitalist industries.

Europe saw the colonization of Africa as an opportunity to acquire a surplus population, thus settler colonies were created. With this invasion, many European countries saw Africa as being available to their disposal. However, several disputes took place regarding which European country would colonise a specific African country.

Thus, in 1884, Portugal proposed a conference in which 14 European countrieswould meet in Berlin regarding the division of Africa, without the presence of Africa. The first meeting at the Berlin Conference, 1884 The initial task of the conference was to agree that the Congo River and Niger River mouths and basins would be considered neutral and open to trade. Despite its neutrality, part of the Kongo Basin became a personal Kingdom (private property) for Belgium’s King Leopold II and under his rule, over half of the region’s population died.

At the time of the conference, only the coastal areas of Africa were colonized by the European powers. At the Berlin Conference the European colonial powers scrambled to gain control over the Interior of the Continent. The conference lasted until February 26, 1885 – a three month period where colonial powers haggled over geometric boundaries in the interior of the continent, disregarding the cultural and linguistic boundaries already established by the Native Indigenous African population.

What ultimately resulted was a hodgepodge of geometric boundaries that divided Africa into fifty irregular countries.

• “The Scramble for Africa and the Berlin Conference”
• Causes of colonisation

The reasons for African colonisation were mainly economic, political and religious. During this time of colonisation, an economic depression was occurring in Europe, and powerful countries such as Germany, France, and Great Britain, were losing money.

• Africa seemed to be out of harm’s way and had an abundance of raw materials from which Europe could make money from.
• Due to cheap labour of Africans, Europeans easily acquired products like oil, ivory, rubber, palm oil, wood, cotton and gum.
• These products became of greater significance due to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution.

Africa’s colonisation was also as a result of European rivalries, where Britain and France had beenin a dispute since the Hundred Year’s War. These countries became involved in a race to acquire more territory on the African continent, but this race was open to all European countries.

1. Britain had had some success in halting the slave trade around the shores of Africa.
2. But inland the story was different – Muslim traders from north of the Sahara and on the East Coast still traded inland, and many local chiefs were reluctant to give up the use of slaves.
3. During the nineteenth century barely a year went by without a European expedition into Africa.

The boom in exploration was triggered to a great extent by the creation of the African Association by wealthy Englishmen in 1788, and as they travelled, they started to record details of markets, goods, and resources for the wealthy philanthropists who financed their trips. A map of Africa depicting the natural resoures that the continent has. Missionaries began to focus on the large working class with the goal of bringing spiritual salvation to the workers and their families. The bible was made available to workers. Due to their large successes, missionaries began to look beyond Europe.

• Missions were established all over Africa.
• Missionaries did not serve as direct agents of European imperialism, yet they drew European governments deeper into Africa.
• In their efforts to preach Christianity, to bring western-style education to Africa and to ingrain monogamy in African societies, missionaries often felt threatened by warfare within Africa.

Hence, missionaries called on European governments for protection and intervention. Second, for centuries, European explorers have travelled throughout the African continent in their attempts to discover new things and to chart the African continent. Trade would be well instantiated; the work of the Suez Canal Company at the north-eastern tip of Africa had been completed in 1869.

Lastly, Livingstone believed that civilisation could be achieved through goodgovernment andeducation. The combination of these three elements, Livingstone believed, would end human suffering in Africa, and the ultimate level of civilisation would be achieved within the continent.,Christianity would therefore provide the moral principles that would guide Africans, while education and commerce would encourage Africans to produce their own goods to trade with Europeans.

For this to work a functioning and legitimate governing system was needed to ensure the civil rights of the people. Patterns of colonisation: which countries colonised which parts of Africa By 1900 a significant part of Africa had been colonized by mainly seven European powers—Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

• After the conquest of African decentralized and centralized states, the European powers set about establishing colonial state systems.
• The colonial state was the machinery of administrative domination established to facilitate effective control and exploitation of the colonized societies.
• Colonial states were authoritarian, bureaucratic systems, partly due to their origins in military conquest and the racist ideology of the imperialist enterprise.

The French directed their attention to the active economies of the Niger Delta, the Lagos Hinterland and the Gold Coast. Why European Countries were able to colonise Africa so quickly The European countries were able to colonise African countries rapidly because there were rivalries between African leaders.

These kings and chiefs were competing with each other to be the richest and most powerful within their tribes. During these rivalries, European leaders would take advantage of the situation and persuaded some leaders to be on their side to fight against other leaders. Natural disasters also played a big role in the rapid and easy colonisation of Africa.

In 1895, a serious drought reached many regions in Africa which was caused by a sudden decline in rainfall. Hardly any crops were produced, and the food shortage which followed caused the death of many people and animals. The little crops that were produced were destroyed by a plague of locusts.

• In addition to this plague, the cattle plague broke outduring the 1890’s which killed cattle, sheep and goats.
• This led to even more deaths of animals and people, and due to their physical and mental weakness, they were unable to fight against European powers.
• European powers could easily take control of any source of land by using force and violence.

They accomplished this by using more powerful weapons, and had the advantage of the newly invented machine gun called the Maxim gun which was invented in the 1880’s. This gun could fire eleven bullets per second, and outdid the weapons that the African forces had.

African armies did not manage to get hold of European weapons because it was not sold to them. Thus Africans were at a military disadvantage. An outbreak of new diseases made an appearance during the late 1890’sand the first one was a range of smallpox epidemics. The Europeans who were already in Africa had developed immunity to these diseases due to past experiences of these outbreaks in Europe.

The indigenous African population had no immunity or resistance to these diseases and thus weakened the African population. A large number of the African population thus died out, or became too weak to fight back. Results of colonization The impact that colonisation had on Africa can be described as both good and bad.

In terms of European political practice in Africa, all colonising countries share similar attributes. Colonial political systems were un-democratic; Law and Order, as well as Peace, was a primary objective of colonial governments; Colonial governments lacked capacity and Colonial governments practiced “divide and rule.” Firstly, colonial governments did not allow popular participation, and all political decisions were made by the small political elite with no or little input from the African population.

Secondly, the African population was not satisfied with the way that Europeans imposed on their governing system without any proper representation, thus the maintenance of peace under the African population was made an important priority for the colonial government.

• Thirdly, seeing as most colonial governments were not rich, they did not fund the governing of their colonies fully.
• Although they were responsible for raising the money for their own colonies, they still lacked the incometo properly develop and maintain a successful governing system.
• This meant that colonial governments were not able to provide basic infrastructure, such as roads and communication networks, nor were they able to provide basic social services such as education, health care, and housing.

Lastly, the principle of “divide and rule” meant that policies that intentionally weakened indigenous power networks and institutions were implemented. Due tothe lack of revenue within the colonies, little attention was given to promoting social change or development.

1. Although all the colonies did not experience the same extent of social change, these colonies share the same characteristics in terms of social change.
2. Firstly, colonial and political practices caused a large scale movement of people.
3. In some areas, migrations were primarily from one rural area to another.

In other places, the migration was from rural areas to urban areas. These movements resulted in dislocation of peoples that impacted society and culture. Social and cultural beliefs and practices were challenged by these migrations. Long-held practices had to be adapted, and at times were completed abandoned, to fit the new colonial circumstances.

Secondly, and partly due to the first consequence, the dislocation of families also occurred. Men mainly left the household to work in mines and on plantations, leaving their wives and children behind. As a result, women and adolescents were forced to take on new roles and to cope in absence of their husbands and fathers.

Due to colonialism, the African family structure had been severely changed. Prior to colonialism, the extended family structure (family that extends beyond the immediate family) was the norm in most African societies, but by the end of colonial era, the nuclear family (family consisting of a pair of adults/ parents and their children) was becoming the norm in many African countries.

1. Thirdly, urbanization emerged as colonization was imposed.
2. During colonialism, urbanization occurred fairly rapidly in many African colonies.
3. A number of pre-colonial African societies had towns and small cities.
4. However, even in these societies, most people were engaged in agriculture in rural villages or homesteads.

Urban living resulted in changes in economic activities and occupation, and in changes in the way people lived. These changes often challenged existing values, beliefs, and social practices. Fourthly, the religious beliefs of Africans were adapted or changed.

A small percentage of the African population regarded themselves as Christians, and today more than half of the African population is Christians. Colonial rule provided an environment in which Christianity, in many forms, spread in many parts of Africa. While Islam was widespread in Africa prior to the coming of colonialism, it also benefited from colonialism.

British and French colonial officials actively discouraged Christian mission work in Muslim areas. Lastly, the public education system of African was also changed. The majority of colonial governments did little to support schools. Most formal schooling African colonies were a result of the work of missionaries.

Missionaries felt that education and schools were essential to their mission. Their primary concern was the conversion of people to Christianity. Missionaries believed that the ability of African peoples to read the Bible in their own language was important to the conversion process. However, most mission societies were not wealthy, and they could not support the number of schools that they really wanted.

Consequently, with limited government support, most African children did not go to school during the colonial era. In fact at the end of colonial rule, no colony could state that more than half of their children finished elementary school, and far fewer attended secondary school.

1. “Colonialism’s impact on Africa”
2. Case Study: The Ashanti kingdom
3. The coast of West Africa before the arrival of Europeans
4. The city of Elmina, located in the Gold Coast West Africa, in the late 19th century.

West Africans developed an extensive self-contained trading system, based on skilled manufacture. From the 8th century Muslim traders, from North Africa and Arab countries, began to reach the region. Gradually, communities began to convert to Islam. By the end of the 11th century some entire states, and influential individuals in others, were Muslim.

At the same time, West African trade slowly expanded towards Egypt and possibly India. Arabic texts mention that from the late 8th century Ghana was considered ‘the land of gold’. Mali also possessed great wealth. In 1324-5, when Mansa Musa, its emperor, made a pilgrimage to Mecca, he took so much gold with him that in Egypt, which he also visited, the value of the metal was debased.

Prior to the European voyages of exploration in the fifteenth century, African rulers and merchants had established trade links with the Mediterranean world, western Asia, and the Indian Ocean region. Within the continent itself, local exchanges among adjacent peoples fit into a greater framework of long-range trade.

The Ashanti and their early contact with European traders and explorers The Ashanti kingdom, or Asante, dominated much of the present-day state of Ghana. It was ruled by an ethnic group called the Akan, which in turn was composed of up to 38 subgroups, such as the Bekiai, Adansi, Juabin, Kokofu, Kumasi, Mampon, Nsuta, Nkuwanta, Dadussi, Daniassi, Ofinsu, and Adjitai.

Gold Coast began encountering European traders in the mid-1400s, when the Portuguese began trading with coastal peoples. By the seventeenth century, many European trading giants including the British, Dutch and French began building fortifications along the coastline in order to assert their positions.

1. These interactions were to have a profound effect on African coastal settlements and African institutions came under considerable European influence very early on.
2. West Africa had a long history of connection to trans-Saharan gold trade, and from the 15th century was drawn into trade with Europe, in gold and increasingly in slaves.

The Ashanti kingdom had emerged from the mid- 17th century, benefitting from access both to rich agricultural resources and gold, much of the labour for production of which was provided by a domestic slave trade. The Expansion of the Asante Kingdom,1700-1807 Many parts of West Africa was still unknown to the rest of the world, thus By the late 15th century and early 16th century many European nations like Portugal started to send the missionaries and explorers to investigate various parts of Africa and West Africa in particular.

As early as in the 19th century European powers like France, Germany, and Britain likewise sent number of missionaries, explorers, traders and philanthropists in West Africa. These groups were sent in Africa to investigate the needed knowledge about Africans, their history and culture, mostly knowledge about raw materials, visibility, potential areas and the nature of African population British traders had operated off what was to become known as the “Gold Coast” with little direct intervention by British authorities.

When the Ashanti kingdom showed ambitions to expand its control southwards in negotiating treaties with African authorities and protecting trading interests, the British invaded Ashanti in 1874 and burnt its capital. The majority of European Explorers spent their time to investigate and to detail the interior and coast of West Africa to help European powers that were searching areas with potential materials as European countries were experiencing mushrooming of industries.

Explores assisted the European merchant groups; penetration of west Africa interior in 18th century was real a hard and difficult but with the aid of explorers, European merchant groups had advantage of trading in West Africa freely with assurance of security of themselves and their trading commodities.

The British and the colonisation of the Gold Coast As Britain increasingly colonised more and more African countries, the British had become the dominant power along the coast, and they began annexing and laying claim to territory gradually. The expansion of the Asante kingdom towards the coast was the major cause of this, as the British began to fear that the Asante would come to monopolise coastal trade in their place.

The British placed the Governor of neighbouring Sierra Leone, which was already annexed, in charge of British forts and settlements along the coast. He formed an unfavourable opinion of the Asante, and began the long process of attempting to bring them under British control. However, disputes over jurisdiction of the area known as Ashanti led to war between the British and the Asante, and in 1824, the Asante succeeded in killing the Governor as well as seven of his men.

In retaliation, the British (with the help of tribes oppressed by the Asante, including the Fante and the Ga) beat the Asante back in 1826, and successfully ended their dominance of coastal regions. The establishment of British law and jurisdiction in the colony was a gradual process, but the 1844 Bond with the Fante is popularly considered to be its true beginning.

1. This recognised the power of British officials and British common law in the Gold Coast and over the Fante people.
2. In 1850, a Governor was appointed to Gold Coast who was not also Governor of Sierra Leone, and this is how the colony of Gold Coast was born.
3. A supreme court was established in 1853, and led to British common law becoming enforced.

However, all of this brought financial challenges, and saw the policy of making the colonies pay come in to force in the Gold Coast for the first time. European troops entering Kumane during the second Anglo- Ashanti War. The British fought against the Ashanti four times in the 19th century and suppressed a final uprising in 1900 before claiming the region as a colony. The first Anglo-Ashanti War began in 1823 after the Ashanti defeated a small British force under Sir Charles McCarthy and converted his skull into a drinking cup.

1. It ended with a standoff after the British beat an Ashanti army near the coast in 1826.
2. After two generations of relative peace, more violence occurred in 1863 when the Ashanti invaded the British “protectorate” along the coast in retaliation for the refusal of Fanti leaders to return a fugitive slave.

The result was another stand-off, but the British took casualties and public opinion at home started to view the Gold Coast as a quagmire. In 1873, the Second Ashanti War began after the British took possession of the remaining Dutch trading posts along the coast, giving British firms a regional monopoly on the trade between Africans and Europe.

The Ashanti had long viewed the Dutch as allies, so they invaded the British protectorate along the coast. A British army led by General Wolseley waged a successful campaign against the Ashanti that led to a brief occupation of Kumasi and a “treaty of protection” signed by the Ashantehene (leader) of Ashanti, ending the war in July 1874.

This war was covered by a number of news correspondents (including H.M. Stanley) and the “victory” excited the imagination of the European public. In 1894, the Third Anglo-Ashanti War began following British press reports that a new Ashantehene named Prempeh committed acts of cruelty and barbarism.

1. Strategically, the British used the war to insure their control over the gold fields before the French, who were advancing on all sides, could claim them.
2. In 1896, the British government formally annexed the territories of the Ashanti and the Fanti.
3. In 1900, a final uprising took place when the British governor of Gold Coast (Hodgson) unilaterally attempted to depose the Ashantehene by seizing the symbol of his authority, the Golden Stool.

The British were victorious and reoccupied Kumasi permanently. On September 26, 1901 the British created the Crown Colony of Gold Coast. The change in the Gold Coast’s status from “protectorate” to “crown colony” meant that relations with the inhabitants of the region were handled by the Colonial Office, rather than the Foreign Office.

That implied that the British no longer recognized the Ashanti or the Fanti as having independent governments. Results of colonisation of the Ashanti kingdom and Britain In December 1895, Sir Francis Scott left Cape Coast with an expedition force. It arrived in Kumasi in January 1896. The Asantehene directed the Ashanti to not resist.

Shortly thereafter, Governor William Maxwell arrived in Kumasi as well. Asantehene Agyeman Prempeh was deposed and arrested. Britain annexed the territories of the Ashanti and the Fanti in 1896, and Ashanti leaders were sent into exile in the Seychelles.

The Asante Union was dissolved. Robert Baden-Powell led the British in this campaign. The British formally declared the coastal regions to be the Gold Coast colony. A British Resident was permanently placed in the city, and soon after a British fort. As a final measure of resistance, the remaining Asante court not exiled to the Seychelles mounted an offensive against the British Residents at the Kumasi Fort.

The resistance was led by Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen-Mother of Ejisu. From March 28 to late-September 1900, the Asante and British were engaged in what would become known as the War of the Golden Stool. On March 28, 1900 Governor Frederick Hodgson met with the chiefs at Kumasi and demanded that the Asante hand over the sacred Golden Stool to him.

On April 25 the telegraph wires were cut, and Kumasi was surrounded. Thirty British were dying per day in June. On June 23 three officers and 150 made a sortie and managed to escape. Governor Hodgson reached Cape Coast on July 10. The British sent 1,400 troops from other parts of Africa, and the Asante’s nine-month struggle for independence failed.

In March 1901 Governor Matthew Nathan visited Kumasi, and he deported 16 Ashanti leaders and imprisoned 31 at Elmina. The people were disarmed, and only licensed hunters could carry guns. The British annexed the Asante confederacy as a Crown Colony and did not allow chiefs to rule in Kumasi until Prempeh became Kumasihene in 1926.

• In the end, Asantewaa and other Ashanti leaders were also sent to Seychelles to join Prempeh I.
• In January 1902, Britain finally added Asante to its protectorates on the Gold Coast.
• Asante was forcibly incorporated into the British Gold Coast colony in 1902, along with further territory to its immediate north which had not belonged to the kingdom itself.

The later addition of British Togoland creates borders for the colony that are essentially those that exist for modern Ghana. When the British defeated the Ashanti people, they collected all the gold treasures of the area. In addition to this, the Ashanti people lost their independence.

• They did not receive any political rights in the Gold Coast and power was taken away from legitimate Ashanti leaders.
• People were forced off their land onto farms or factories which ultimately made the British richer.
• The British then spent money on things that will improve their ability to remove wealth and natural resources from the Gold Coast.

They built railroads and roads, but only to their own benefit in order for products to be shipped off to Europe. : Grade 8 – Term 3: The Scramble for Africa: late 19th century

How many countries were in Africa in 1914?

3) By 1914, the independent states of Africa were completely taken over by 7 European nations. The only two states still independent were Liberia and Ethiopia.

How many independent African nations remained by 1914?

The Scramble for Africa | St John’s College, University of Cambridge

This map of Africa is from a 1917 atlas. It is colour coded to show what each European power owns. The key is in the bottom left-hand corner. The divisions were arbitrarily decided by the colonising countries. They were not based on existing tribal or geographical boundaries. Some of the new boundaries split tribes in half. Others made huge territories that were difficult to control. This led to conflicts in the twentieth century, when the colonised countries became independent. Click on the map to see a larger version.

“The horror! The horror!” Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad European explorers and missionaries began in the nineteenth-century. Adventurers like revealed that Africa was full of raw materials that could be exploited to fuel the industrial revolution. They saw it as a new place to invest the money made in industry. European powers were slow to realise the benefits of claiming land in Africa but when one or two started the rest did not want to miss out. In 1884–5 the Scramble for Africa was at full speed. Thirteen European countries and the United States met in Berlin to agree the rules of African colonisation. From 1884 to 1914 the continent was in conflict as these countries took territory and power from existing African states and peoples. The Europeans called Africa the ‘Dark Continent’ because it was unknown to them. This got mixed up with the more sinister idea of ‘Darkest Africa’ a place where the inhabitants were savage and brutal. Europeans, after the industrial revolution, considered industrial towns and technology to be signs of civilisation. African peoples did not have these, so they were branded uncivilised. These attitudes allowed European colonists to ignore the established African tribes and kingdoms with their rich histories and cultures. By 1914, the only independent African states were Liberia and Ethiopia. The area of West Africa that is now called the Democratic Republic of Congo is a good example of what happened to many African countries during the Scramble for Africa,

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1. Before 1874 For centuries the Congo River basin was inhabited by tribes and kingdoms with individual cultures. Many of these peoples spoke Bantu languages. They did not have much contact with Europe, but in the 1400s and 1500s one of the kingdoms had contact with, Click on the image below to see a 1944 map of the tribes of the Democratic Republic of Congo, This map comes from a Geographical Handbook on The Belgian Congo printed for the Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War. It shows how tribal divisions survived the colonial period.2. King Leopold’s Playground In the nineteenth century explored the Congo river. He returned from his travels with tales of the rich resources available in the Congo. The British Government ignored them but King Leopold II of Belgium sent Stanley to claim the land for him. Stanley set up what was known as the Congo Free State from 1885-1908. King Leopold presented good motives for doing this: to help the people of the Congo region and do scientific research there. In fact King Leopold’s administrators exploited the people and the environment for rubber and ivory. In 1902 Joseph Conrad wrote a story called the Heart of Darkness set in Leopold’s Congo. It was the beginning of growing criticism of the African colonies. Marlow, the main character in Heart of Darkness travels up the Congo river by steamboat to meet a colonial administrator. He is disgusted by the greed and brutality of the ivory traders in Africa. The picture above is a steamboat from ‘s journey up the Congo river to find a real colonial administrator twenty years earlier. Click on the picture to see more. 3. The Belgian Congo In 1908 King Leopold was forced to hand the country over to the Belgian state because his administrators had run it badly. It was renamed the Belgian Congo. Not much was done to solve the problems that King Leopold’s administrators had created. Christian missionaries who set up schools were some of the only people who tried to aid the region. This is an extract from a letter written in 1940. It is from a woman who was probably a missionary in the Congo region to a Fellow of St John’s College who was involved in organising missions to the Congo. She has been travelling in Africa. How does she view the African people? 4. Independence? In 1959 the Belgian Congo was made independent and renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo. People were starting to acknowledge the human cost of colonialism, but did not know how to the put the problems right. Tim Butcher’s 2007 book about his journey in ‘s footsteps, Blood River, shows that the Democratic Republic of Congo is still a troubled country.

The Scramble for Africa | St John’s College, University of Cambridge

How many countries had African colonies?

The history of external colonisation of Africa can be dated back from ancient, medieval, or modern history, depending on how the term colonisation is defined. Ancient Greeks, Romans, Arabs and potentially the Malays as it pertains to distinguishing between immigration and settler colonialism, all established colonies on the African continent, some of which endured centuries.

In popular parlance, discussions of colonialism in Africa usually focus on the European conquests of the New Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa (1884-1914) era, followed by gradual decolonisation after World War II. The principal powers involved in the modern colonisation of Africa are Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy,

In nearly all African countries today, the language used in government and media is the one imposed by a recent colonial power, though most people speak their native African languages.

What had European nations colonized over 90% of by 1914?

The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, or the Conquest of Africa, was the invasion, annexation, division, and colonization of most of Africa by seven Western European powers during an era known as New Imperialism (between 1833 and 1914).

The 10 percent of Africa that was under formal European control in 1870 increased to almost 90 percent by 1914, with only Liberia and Ethiopia remaining independent. The Berlin Conference of 1884, which regulated European colonization and trade in Africa, is usually accepted as the beginning. In the last quarter of the 19th century, there were considerable political rivalries between the European empires, which provided the impetus for the Scramble.

The later years of the 19th century saw a transition from ” informal imperialism ” – military influence and economic dominance – to direct rule. Most of Africa was decolonised during the Cold War, The imperial boundaries and economic systems imposed by the Scramble still affect the politics and economy of Africa today.

Who owned most of Africa in 1914?

Britain and France ultimately controlled the largest territories; Britain’s goal was to control one continuous territory that stretched the length of the continent, from Egypt to South Africa (which they eventually achieved following the First World War), while France’s aim was for one continuous territory stretching

Which European country Colonised most of Africa?

Factors that led to Colonialism in Africa – The rivalry between Britain and France in the quest for colonialism in Africa also saw them fighting over the acquisition of the continent’s territories. By 1900, the majority of Africa had been colonised by seven European powers, Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

These powers established colonial state systems, which were authoritarian and bureaucratic, and were the machinery of administrative domination to facilitate effective control and exploitation of the colonised societies. However, these European countries were successful in colonising Africa rapidly mainly because of the rivalries between African leaders.

Kings and Chiefs were competing with themselves over who was the wealthiest and most powerful and the Europeans took advantage of this by luring some leaders to their sides to join forces with them to fight their rivals. The Ashanti King Prempeh submits to British rule in West Africa in 1896. Also, the sophisticated weapons which the Europeans possessed and the Africans lacked, made the continent vulnerable to their domination. They took control of colonies using force and violence.

Some natural disasters equally played a large part in the rapid colonialism in Africa. Drought in 1895 led to a food shortage which caused the death of both man and animals and also weakened the population. There was also a plague of locusts which destroyed the few crops grown. Cattle plague also broke out leading to the death of cattle, sheep and goats.

All these incidents worked against the African continent and made them prey for the Europeans. The British and French colonised more than 95% of the African continent. While Britain colonised 22 African states, France colonised 20. France retained control of the Northern, Western and parts of Central Africa while Britain had control of Eastern and Southern Africa.

How many countries in Africa did Germany control by 1914?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia German colonies in Africa in 1914 Germany colonized Africa during two distinct periods. In the 1680s, the Margraviate of Brandenburg, then leading the broader realm of Brandenburg-Prussia, pursued limited imperial efforts in West Africa, The Brandenburg African Company was chartered in 1682 and established two small settlements on the Gold Coast of what is today Ghana,

1. Five years later, a treaty with the king of Arguin in Mauritania established a protectorate over that island, and Brandenburg occupied an abandoned fort originally constructed there by Portugal,
2. Brandenburg — after 1701, the Kingdom of Prussia — pursued these colonial efforts until 1721, when Arguin was captured by the French and the Gold Coast settlements were sold to the Dutch Republic,

Over a century and a half later, the unified German Empire had emerged as a major world power. In 1884, pursuant to the Berlin Conference, colonies were officially established on the African west coast, often in areas already inhabited by German missionaries and merchants.

The following year gunboats were dispatched to East Africa to contest the Sultan of Zanzibar ‘s claims of sovereignty over the mainland in what is today Tanzania, Settlements in modern Guinea and Nigeria ‘s Ondo State failed within a year; those in Burundi, Cameroon, Namibia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Togo quickly grew into lucrative colonies.

Together these six countries constituted Germany’s African presence in the age of New Imperialism, They were invaded and largely occupied by the colonial forces of the Allied Powers during World War I, and in 1919 were transferred from German control by the League of Nations and divided between Belgium, France, Portugal, South Africa and the United Kingdom,

What two countries had the largest control over Africa by 1914?

Summary – Historians generally agree that the Scramble for Africa, the rushed imperial conquest of the Africa by the major powers of Europe, began with King Leopold II of Belgium. After reading a report in early 1876 that the rich mineral resources of the Congo Basin (the modern-day Republic of the Congo) could return an entrepreneurial capitalist a substantial profit, the Belgian king ordered the creation of the International African Association, under his personal direction, to assume control over the Congo Basin region.

When Leopold asked for international recognition of his personal property in the Congo, Europe gathered at the Berlin Conference, called to create policy on imperial claims. The conference, after much political wrangling, gave the territory to Leopold as the Congo Free State. The conference further decreed that for future imperialist claims to garner international recognition, “effective occupation” would be required.

In other words, no longer did plunging a flag into the ground mean that land was occupied. The conference also created some definition for “effective occupation,” noting that significant “economic development” was required. Given notice by King Leopold, the major European powers sprung into action.

Within forty years, by 1914 and the end of the scramble for Africa, Great Britain dominated the breadth of the African continent from Egypt to South Africa, as well as Nigeria and the Gold Coast; the French occupied vast expanses of west Africa; the Germans boasted control over modern-day Tanzania and Namibia; the Portuguese exerted full control over Angola and Mozambique.

Only Ethiopia and the African-American state of Liberia remained independent. Conquest was relatively easy for the European states: because of previous agreements not to sell modern weapons to Africans in potential colonial areas, Europe easily held the technological and armament advantage.

• Bands of just a few hundred men and barely a handful of machine guns could obliterate thousands of Africans in mere hours.
• The only notable exception to this was Ethiopia, a strategically (especially after the opening of the Suez Canal) placed state at the horn of Africa.
• By the early 1870s, Ethiopia was in danger of invasion from the British, French, and Italians.

With Britain occupying Egypt in 1882, France taking Djibouti in 1884, and Italy dominating Eritrea in 1885, Ethiopia’s Emperor Menelik II hatched a daring plan: he would exploit European rivalries and competing interests for the benefit of his country by playing one European power against the other to obtain the modern weapons he needed to protect the boundaries of his state.

• After Menelik II gave minor concessions to France in return for weapons, Italy grew nervous of the growing French interest in the country and offered Menelik Italian weapons, as well.
• Soon, Britain and even Russia joined in the game.
• Throughout the 1880s, Ethiopia grew stronger and stronger as the scramble for Africa went on around it.

However, by the early 1890s, Menelik’s plans began to unravel as war seemed imminent. In 1889, Italy claimed Ethiopia as an Italian protectorate. When Menelik objected, Italy moved against the emperor all of Europe had armed for over a decade. Italy, longing for a glorious victory to enhance its prestige, ordered its troops into battle.

Outnumbered and outequipped, the Italians lost over eight thousand men in the Battle of Adowa on 1 March 1896. Ethiopia remained independent. Why empire? What were the motives for empire in general, and in Africa specifically? We can speak of this in general and specific terms. When one asks, say, “Why did Great Britain decide to take Kenya?”, we may answer that it was a necessary stop in London’s goal to control a north-south corridor in Africa.

Others claimed lands so their enemies would not. Still others dominated certain areas to please missionaries already in place. Various specific reasons dominate any discussion of the specifics of the scramble for Africa; however, what were the motives for empire in general? Let us take a few possibilities in turn.

• Economics : The economic potential of empire, as Britain and Spain had been proving for centuries, was unquestionable.
• Empire could insulate the mother country from dangerous booms and busts in the economic cycle by keeping markets open and exclusive.
• Mercantile policies could increase revenues and natural resources could shore up the treasury.

Geopolitics : Some of these areas were strategically important for maintaining trade routes to Asia or maintaining refueling station for a world- wide navy. The Horn of Africa, the southern tip of the continent, and the west- African coast were all strategic locations for world control.

What countries in Africa were controlled by Belgium in 1914?

Belgium created two colonies in Africa: the entities now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly the Republic of Zaire) and the Republic of Rwanda, previously Ruanda-Urundi, a former German African colony that was given to Belgium to administer after the defeat of Germany in World War I.

What countries did Netherlands colonize?

The Dutch Empire The Dutch Empire The Dutch Empire is the name given to the various territories controlled by the Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Netherlands reigned supreme during much of the 17th century, which is known as Dutch Golden Age.

The Netherlands followed Spain and Portugual in establishing a colonial empire outside of continental Europe. Their skills in shipping and trading and their surge of nationalism and militarism accompanying the struggle for independence from Spain aided the venture. Alongside the British, the Dutch initially built up colonial possessions on the basis of corporate colonialism, with the Dutch East India Company dominant.

State intervention in the colonial enterprise came later. Dutch sailors also participated in the surge of exploration that unfolded in the 16th and 17th centuries. But the vast new territories revealed by Barents, Hudson and Tasman in the Arctic and in Australasia/Oceania did not generally become permanent Dutch colonies.

Netherland territories included Indonesia (1602-1945), Sri Lanka (17th century-1802), the Netherlands Antilles (since 1634), Tobago (1654-1678), Suriname (17th century-1975), Guyana (1667-1815), Belgium (1815-1830), Luxembourg (1815-1867), South Africa (1652-1805), parts of Malaysia (1610-1830), and a part of eastern Brazil (1630-1654).

Territories that were later gained were the areas in the United States called New York City, New York (1624-1664, 1673-1674), Albany, New York (1614-1617, 1624-1664, 1673-1674). Furthermore, the Dutch owned trade posts all over the world, including Dejima, Japan (1641-1853), Corandèl (New Zealand), Smeerenburg (on Svalbard) and Elmina (Ghana).

When The Netherlands’ metropole succumbed to French conquest/control/annexation from 1795 to 1814, many of her colonial possessions were siezed by the British. The restored portions of the Dutch empire, notably the Dutch East Indies, remained under Amsterdam’s control until the decline of traditional imperialism in the 20th century. Areas under Netherlands control at various times included:

Berbice (1627- 1814), now part of Guyana Brazil (in part) ( – 1654), now part of Brazil Cape Colony (1652 – 1806), now part of South Africa Ceylon (1658 – 1796), now Sri Lanka Demerara (1752 – 1814), now part of Guyana Deshima (1641 – 1857), now part of Japan Dutch East Indies (1602 – 1949), now Indonesia Dutch Guiana (1667 – 1975), now Suriname Dutch West Indies (see Netherlands Antilles) Essequibo (1616 – 1814), now part of Guyana Netherlands Antilles (1620 – present) Netherlands New Guinea (1828/1895 – 1961), now part of Indonesia New Netherland (including New Amsterdam and later New Sweden) (1614 – 1674), now part of the United States of America Smeerenburg (circa 1620 – circa 1660), now part of Svalbard, Norway Taiwan (1624 – 1662), now Republic of China – Taiwan Tobago (1628 – 1677), now part of Trinidad and Tobago Travancore, now part of India Virgin Islands (in part) (1625 – 1680), now British Virgin Islands The Dutch had also settlements at the Gold Coast, Angola, Mauritius and Malacca.

Did Russia colonize Africa?

Djibouti: Africa’s New Moscow – The “Horn of Africa” has dealt with European influence from the likes of Italy and France to the usual candidate Britain. However, within the region also stems the story of an unlikely and often unheard coloniser, Russia.

There is often discourse on how Russia never colonised Africa, but what’s left out is that they did indeed attempt to follow the Coloniser Handbook, In 1889 Russia laid claims to the village of Sagallo in present-day Djibouti. At the time, Djibouti was an area of particular interest to France, having already signed a treaty that gave them the town of Obock; later the country became a French protectorate known as French Somaliland.

Russia’s initial involvement in the African continent stemmed in part from them wanting a slice of India, which later became Europe’s next focus of conquest. Russia’s challenge was accessing South Asia. During the 1700s, they turned to Madagascar as its location proved pivotal to accessing the Indian Ocean.

1. Their intent was for Madagascar to act as Russia’s gateway to India.
2. There were hopes that Madagascar would become a Russian protectorate; however, this was wishful thinking and never materialised.
3. The nineteenth century saw Russia begin to plan their entrance into the African continent.
4. The first plan was formed by Porfiry Uspensky, a Russian Orthodox monk who looked to amplify Russia’s influence in the continent, specifically Ethiopia, through religion.

What Russia seems to have forgotten is that Christianity reached Ethiopia in the fourth century and locals didn’t need colonisers telling them how to connect spiritually. Next excuse to invade, please. The aim was to follow the classic ‘Africa needs civilising’ campaign in Ethiopia, making the nation a beacon and so-called positive representation for Africa.

1. Still, once again, this plan never truly got off the ground.
2. Then came Nikolai Ivanovich Ashinov, who established Russia’s unsuccessful and short-lived African colony, New Moscow.
3. Ashinov’s background and story is murky; even ‘the Russian ministry of internal affairs had four different backstories for the man’.

What is clear is that Ashinov was a cunning trickster who leveraged his relationship within Russian society and the international community to benefit his end goal, Russia’s very own African colony. Around 1885–86 Ashinov made his first trip to Ethiopia, a venture which the British had unknowingly paid for.

Britain had made a deal with Ashinov whereby they would pay him to transport Cossacks and weapons into Afghanistan illegally. Instead, Ashinov took the money and made his way to Ethiopia. Upon his arrival, Ashinov claimed that he was there on behalf of the Czar, Alexander III, which wasn’t the case but was likely used as a crutch to give him credibility.

Ashinov worked on building relationships with key leaders, he met with the Ethiopian Chieftan Ras Alula but it is unclear whether he had any interaction with the Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV. Following this first venture, he returned to Russia. To set up his African colony, Ashinov needed buy-in from critical members of the Russian community, one being the country’s religious leaders.

• In 1888, following a trip to the continent, he returned to Russia with two Ethiopian monks/priests (historical accounts are unclear on the role of the two Ethiopians), to help mark the 900th anniversary of Christianity in Russia.
• He also made sure to position Ethiopia as a place open to Russian influence, which cemented approval from Russian spiritual leaders.

Within the political sphere, he had the support of NM Baranov, the Governor-General of Nizhni Novgorod. Baranov advocated for Ashinov’s plans in Africa to the Czar at the time Alexander III and had a plan for how Russia could purge the continent’s riches.

1. So, he wrote to Alexander III and requested for a Russo-African company to be created modelled on Britain’s various overseas companies designed to extract as much wealth as possible.
2. In return for his support, Alexander III would eventually have full responsibility for the colony’s political and military systems.

Under this agreement, Ashinov would be given the position of company director and earn a 50 per cent share of the company’s profits. Ashinov would bend the truth depending on who he needed support from, with religion providing a necessary disguise. Alexander III was interested in the proposal but remained hesitant, even the Foreign Minister NK Giers was suspicious of the plan and grew concerned regarding its potential impact on Russia’s relationship with its European colleagues.

• Ashinov’s trustworthiness was also questioned, with the Russian Foreign Minister wanting to have a naval officer sent out to the location to validate the situation.
• At this point, Italy, France, and Britain were suspicious of Russia’s activities in the Horn of Africa but had no real idea as to what exactly they were planning.

Ashinov’s plans to build New Moscow were influenced by the Slavophilism movement, which ‘emphasized the primacy of the Russian Orthodox Church, rejected Westernism and sought continual expansion of the empire’. Even though there were concerns from a political perspective, there was no strong voice actively pushing against it.

In late 1888, the expedition went ahead under the guise of being a religious venture to Ethiopia. However, Ashinov’s true intentions soon revealed themselves in January 1889, when he and his group of roughly 150 Russians arrived in Sagallo, Djibouti, claiming it as New Moscow. The group were prepared to set-up their new country, even managing to have a flag ready to go in the drafts.

The move was a surprise to the French as Djibouti was under their control. Still, Ashinov remained adamant that Sagallo was a Russian protectorate, a potential reason for this being that the Sultan of Tadjoura, Anfani, had sold him the land but missed the fact that it had previously been handed over to France.

• Ashinov remained unmoving and faced challenges from the local people, who quickly began to fear him and his approach to governing.
• This even led to Russians who had moved to Sagallo with Ashinov to escape to the neighbouring town of Obock as they ‘accused Ashinov of brutality and corruption, of intriguing with the natives against the French, of oppressing the local population, and, for good measure, murder’.

Back in Russia, Alexander III chose wisely and distanced himself from the situation unfolding in Djibouti, with Giers informing France that Ashinov’s plan ‘was an enterprise upon which they have embarked solely on their own account and at their own peril’.

• This left Ashinov out in the cold.
• A month later, France swiftly moved into Sagallo armed and reclaimed the land.
• Ashinov returned to Russia, was shunned, and forced to go into exile.
• The rest of his story remains vague as he soon disappeared.
• Recent years have seen Russia look to expand its ties within the African continent specifically within the Horn of Africa.

There’s a focus on reintroducing a military base on the Red Sea coast, much to the ire of the US. Russia also planned on setting up a military base in Djibouti, but the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis in 2014 saw this thought side-lined. Russia continues to make efforts to relate with Djibouti.

According to a 2021 article in the Horn Observer, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is looking to introduce joint projects within the country, and is willing to cooperate in trade, education and healthcare, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stating ‘Russia will continue to help Africa solve its problems’.

However, we are yet to see how another Ukrainian crisis unfolding in 2022 will impact Russia’s African policy. DM/ ML It’s a Continent: Unravelling Africa’s History One Country at a Time by Astrid Madimba and Chinny Ukata is published by Hodder & Stoughton (R450) and available at Wordsworth Books and other retailers.

Which country did Portugal colonize in Africa?

Portugal’s colonies in Africa include Angola, Mozambique, Guinea, the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Mauritania-Senegal, and Sao Tome and Principe, islands in the Gulf of Guinea.

What countries are colonizing in 1914?

The Scramble for Africa – adoc-photos/Corbis via Getty Images French soldiers on the streets of Senegal, circa 1900. Senegal became a colony of France in 1895. By the time World War I began, almost all of the African continent was under some form of colonial rule by Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain or Portugal.

1. Most of this colonization happened after 1880, during a period known as the Scramble for Africa or the Partition of Africa, in which European empires competed with each other for control of African territories.
2. In the centuries before the Scramble for Africa, European empires had invaded African coastal nations to capture and enslave people but mostly hadn’t managed to invade farther inland due to navigational difficulties and the threat of diseases like malaria.

After the legal abolition of slavery, new technologies like steamboats and quinine allowed Europeans to invade much more of the continent. The European empires that invaded Africa saw colonization as a way to exploit forced labor, extract resources and become more powerful in relation to other European empires.

Although colonialism in Africa wasn’t a direct cause of World War I, it helped create an environment in which European empires thought of themselves as rivals who could only succeed at the expense of other empires. For example, France and Germany, two main rivals during World War I, competed with each other for control of Morocco in the decade before the war.

“France and Germany did not go to war over Morocco,” says Richard Fogarty, a history professor at the University at Albany and co-editor of Empires in World War I: Shifting Frontiers and Imperial Dynamics in a Global Conflict, “What happened, though, was that they were conditioned to think of each other as competitors,” he says, “and to think of the world as this zero-sum game in which the French pursuit of empire could only come at the expense of the German pursuit of empire.” Great Britain was also concerned about Germany’s attempt to build a navy that might challenge its own.

What countries in Africa were controlled by Belgium in 1914?

Belgium created two colonies in Africa: the entities now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly the Republic of Zaire) and the Republic of Rwanda, previously Ruanda-Urundi, a former German African colony that was given to Belgium to administer after the defeat of Germany in World War I.

How many countries were in Africa in 1914?

3) By 1914, the independent states of Africa were completely taken over by 7 European nations. The only two states still independent were Liberia and Ethiopia.