By the early 19th century, the great european powers, fuelled by their colonial appetite, had begun spreading their reach around the world. By 1900, when the force of the quick colonization was over, the majority of the land in africa was divided up amongst seven different european colonizing nations: The scramble for africa took place during the new imperialism between 1881 and 1914.
Prepare to embark on a fascinating journey through time as we unravel the impact of european powers on the diverse african continent. Britain, france, spain, germany, belgium, italy, and portugal. The spanish ruled small parts.
The scramble for africa was a period of intense competition among european powers to colonize and control territories in africa during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The cape colony, held by. 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. In this article, we delve into the european colonization of africa, unveiling the complexities and consequences of this pivotal chapter in history.
By 1914 european countries had collectively claimed about 90 percent of the african continent. France controlled much of north africa, west africa, and french equatorial africa (unified in 1910). The most important holdings were angola and mozambique, held by portugal; The british held large sections of west africa, the nile valley, and much of east and southern africa.
As late as the 1870s, europeans controlled approximately 10% of the african continent, with all their territories located near the coasts.