The Scramble For and Partition of Africa

The Scramble For and Partition of Africa

4 the european counter rivalry in Africa and the calling of the Berlm conference in 1884-
1885 which politically laid down proper procedures for official partition of Africa. Such cc colonial rivaries in Africa were in Congo basin between Leopold of Belgium and De Brazza French imperialist In 1879 the Niger delta conflict between European
Companies the 1882 British take over of Egypt from France, the 1888-93 religious wars in
Buganda plus attempts by Carl Peters to extend Germany control into Uganda all of which
Were solved by Chancellor Bismark of Germany when he called the Berlin conference in
1884-85 It was an important political factor in scramble and partition of Africa as it
included the contentious issues of scrambling powers in Africa and accelerated the
scramble tor and partition of Africa.
STRATEGIC REASONS.
Some scholars such as Robinson and Gallagher in their
book "Africa and the Victorians
stresses the idea of strategic aims to have been the overriding factor in the Scramble for and
partion of Africa. They add that it was because of the Suez Canal which opens Afnca to
europe that w as opened in 1869 that provided a short cut route to India by 32,000 km
which was an important colony to British by that time. Other European powers such as
france wanted to control Egypt basically because it would provide a base of control of
their colonies in Africa. However the two professors failed to stress the fact that nothing
can be of strategic value in an economic vaccum.
The influence of the Suez canal.
The control of this canal was for the survival of the British commercial interests in the
Middle and far east countnes the competition with other European powers to control the
Strategic Canal increased the scramble for Egypt as a nation which forced Britain to oust
France in the joint control or Egypt and finally to British occupation of Egypt in 1882.
Other Strategic points in Africa mcluded the port of Mombasa. the source of river NIle,
The coast of East Africa. the Cape of Good Hope, the Coast of Mozambique and West
African coast of Niger delta state These important ports in Africa were controlled by a
A cross section of colonizing power as they were important for commercial interest as
Military bases for their home governments on the African con