For information on the colonization of Africa prior to the 1880s, including Carthaginian and early European colonization, see Colonization of Africa and colonialism.
This article is part ofthe New Imperialismseries.
Origins of New Imperialism
Imperialism in Asia
The Scramble for Africa
Theories of New Imperialism
Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. Founder of the De Beers Mining Company, one of the first diamond companies, Rhodes was also the owner of the British South Africa Company, which carved out Rhodesia for itself. He wanted to "paint the map [British] red", and once famously declared: "all of these stars... these vast worlds that remain out of reach. If I could, I would annex other planets".[1]
The Scramble for Africa (or the Race for Africa) was the proliferation of conflicting European claims to African territory during the New Imperialism period, between the 1880s and the start of World War I.
The latter half of the 19th century saw the transition from the "informal" imperialism of control through military influence and economic dominance to that of direct rule. Attempts to mediate imperial competition, such as the Berlin Conference (1884 - 1885) among the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the French Third Republic and the German Empire, failed to establish definitively the competing powers' claims. These disputes over Africa were among the central factors precipitating the First World War.
This article is part ofthe New Imperialismseries.
Origins of New Imperialism
Imperialism in Asia
The Scramble for Africa
Theories of New Imperialism
Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. Founder of the De Beers Mining Company, one of the first diamond companies, Rhodes was also the owner of the British South Africa Company, which carved out Rhodesia for itself. He wanted to "paint the map [British] red", and once famously declared: "all of these stars... these vast worlds that remain out of reach. If I could, I would annex other planets".[1]
The Scramble for Africa (or the Race for Africa) was the proliferation of conflicting European claims to African territory during the New Imperialism period, between the 1880s and the start of World War I.
The latter half of the 19th century saw the transition from the "informal" imperialism of control through military influence and economic dominance to that of direct rule. Attempts to mediate imperial competition, such as the Berlin Conference (1884 - 1885) among the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the French Third Republic and the German Empire, failed to establish definitively the competing powers' claims. These disputes over Africa were among the central factors precipitating the First World War.
