Scramble for Africa

We all are aware about what is imperialism and its effects on the countries which were controlled by the imperialists. Africa, along with many Asian countries was conquered by various European colonial powers, such as Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Portugal etc. What was remarkable in these conquests was the knee-jerk reaction of the colonial powers to annex territories in Africa. It all started with a conference in Berlin and within months, half of the soldiers of Europe were shipped to Africa. This hurried response on the part of European powers is referred to as scramble for Africa. Like every other invasion, scramble for Africa was gory and thousands of people had to lose their lives. African history is marred by wars between locals and conquerors.

A Brief History

The general consensus among historians is that the scramble began when King Leopold II of Belgium read a report that Congo Basin had vast mineral resources. In order to gain control over the country, he ordered the creation of International African Association. In response to this order, the foreign ministers of major European powers gathered in Berlin to attend which is now known as the Berlin Conference. After long discussions, the meeting concluded that the territory be given to Leopold. Along with this decision, the European powers also put forward a few ideas about annexing Africa without any conflicts of interest. The meeting, which lasted for three months, saw European powers haggle over different parts of Africa as if it was a piece of cake. When the scramble for Africa began, majority of it was ruled by indigenous people who had set their own geometric boundaries. But by the start of World War I, 90% of Africa was under European control. The few exceptions were Ethiopia and Liberia.

We all know that industrial revolution demanded more raw materials and a bigger market for finished goods. Along with it, several other factors contributed to the invasion of Africa. Let us take a look at the motives behind it.

• Economic factors. One of the prime reasons for imperialism was that it offered the ruling country immense economic potentials. It helped the mother country get cheap labor and raw materials and in-turn opened new markets for finished goods.
• Geo-political factors. Some areas were conquered not so much for their raw materials and labor, but for their locations on the map. These regions were located in such a way so as to facilitate the movement of armies, navies etc. The southern tip of Africa, The Horn of Africa etc. were all conquered for their locations.
• Nationalistic factors. In Europe, occupying a territory and conquering its people was looked upon highly. The countries which had the maximum number of territories under its control used to get the highest respect. It also used to boost to the credentials of the ruling party back home.
• Religious factors. Europeans had a desire to spread Christianity in the world as they believed that in order to civilize Africans, a through understanding of European values and moral beliefs was necessary.

As we mentioned earlier, the scramble for Africa had its own share of bloodshed, the most gruesome of them being the Boer wars.

The Boer Wars

This article would be incomplete without the mention of Boers. Boers were the Dutch settlers of Africa and they resented the British occupation. When gold was discovered in Transvaal, it saw the arrival of British miners in huge numbers. Boers were not really happy with these developments and they decided to make life miserable for the Britishers. They levied higher taxes and debarred them from voting. The British miners decided to revolt against the discrimination. It would have passed off as a struggle between two communities had the British government not decided to get involved. A war ensued and British soldiers with their modern artillery claimed another victory for the British empire.

The Boers regrouped again to wage a war but this time they realized that the Britishers will easily outweigh them in a stand up fight, so something else needed to be done. The Boers had heard of the American revolution, so in the same fashion, Boers started guerrilla attacks, exploding trains and ambushing British troops. The Britishers responded to this by burning farms and confiscating foodstuffs so that the Boers are compelled to come out in the open. They also set up concentration camps for the safety of women and children, but some analysts are of the opinion that putting the women and children in concentration camps was one of the war tactics by the British to crush the Boers. Unfortunately, due to lack of food and proper sanitation, around 27,000 innocent civilians died in these concentration camps. Boers who had no other choice than to give up, surrendered in May, 1902 and the war ended with the signing of Treaty of Vereeniging.

The pros and cons of imperialism have been debated for a long time now. Some believe it was necessary to make the world a better place, while some others feel that it was nothing more than a political invasion fueled by greed and egoistic ambitions. But, no theory can justify the loss of lives and due to imperialistic conquests, lots of them were lost.