In 1870 barely one tenth of Africa was under European control. By 1914 only about one tenth – Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Liberia – was not. This book offers a clear and concise account of the ‘scramble’ or ‘race’ for Africa, the period of around 20 years during which European powers carved up the continent with little or no consultation of its inhabitants.
In her classic overview, M.E. Chamberlain:
- Contrasts the Victorian image of Africa with what we now know of African civilisation and history
- Examines in detail case histories from Egypt to Zimbabwe
- Argues that the history and background of Africa are as important as European politics and diplomacy in understanding the 'scramble'
- Considers the historiography of the topic, taking into account Marxist and anti-Marxist, financial, economic, political and strategic theories of European imperialism
This indispensible introduction, now in a fully updated third edition, provides the most accessible survey of the ‘scramble for Africa’ currently available. The new edition includes primary source material unpublished elsewhere, new illustrations and additional pedagogical features. It is the perfect starting point for any study of this period in African history.
Acknowledgements
Publisher’s acknowledgements
Chronology
Who’s who
Glossary
Maps
Part One: The problem
1. Introduction
2. The African background
3. The Victorian image of Africa
Part Two: Analysis
4. The British occupation of Egypt, 1882
5. West Africa
6. East Africa
7. South Africa
8. Fashoda and the Anglo-French agreements of 1904
Part Three: Assessment
9. Conclusion
Documents
1 David Livingstone: humanitarian
2 Commerce
3 Africa as El Dorado
4 Darkest Africa: fully developed racism
5 Stanley’s antipathy
6 Suez Canal
7 The Egyptian finances: Stephen Cave’s Report
8 Divided opinions
9 Egypt in international diplomacy
10 Death of Gordon At Khartoum
11 The desire to abandon responsibilities
12 The fears of British traders
13 The British government’s reaction
14 The Berlin West Africa conference lays down the ‘rules’ for the scramble
15 The Royal Niger Company
16 The Great Depression
17 The mixture of economic and strategic arguments
18 The ‘little Englanders’’ stand on Uganda
19 Cecil Rhodes
20 The Rudd concession
21 The Colonial Office’s doubts about the legality of the British South Africa Company’s position
22 The Fashoda incident
23 The Anglo-French agreements of April 1904
24 J. A. Hobson
25 V. I. Lenin
26 Lord Cromer
27. A modern rejection of traditional explanations of the partition
28. Was the whole phenomenon economic after all?
Appendix: European colonial background
Guide to further reading
References
Index
Biography
M.E. CHAMBERLAIN is Professor Emeritus at Swansea University.
