Partition of africa: the scramble for colonization and european imperialism

For a long time, Africa was called the dark continent because there was no light of civilization there, as it was covered by dense forests and had inaccessible terrain. Geographically, it was difficult to penetrate Africa due to large rivers, wild animals, and the lack of road communication. David Livingstone discovered the interior of Africa, and since then, European powers colonized different parts of the continent. They were often in conflict with each other. There was a scramble for Africa among seven European nations: Belgium, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

In 1884, the Berlin Conference resolution was passed under the leadership of Bismarck for European colonization and trade in Africa. Initially, there was informal imperialism, which later evolved into direct rule. Until 1870, Europeans controlled only 10 percent of the African continent. From 1841, European traders established small trading posts along Africa’s coasts, rarely moving into the interior due to the dense forests, malaria, and lack of communication. Much of Africa was not fit for living. Gradually, European powers increased their stronghold: Angola and Mozambique were taken by Portugal, Cape Colony by Great Britain, and Algeria and Ivory Coast by France. The Industrial Revolution aided in the colonization of Africa through advancements like steamships, railways, telegraphs, and medical advances, such as the invention of quinine, which helped eradicate malaria.

The demand for raw materials like ivory, rubber, palm oil, cocoa, diamonds, tea, and tin spurred imperialism in Africa. Britain used African coasts en route to her Asian colonies. The scramble for Africa also reflected concern for the acquisition of military and naval bases. Colonies were seen as assets in the balance of power. As Africa was called the “dark continent,” Europeans justified their actions by claiming it was the “white man’s burden” to civilize Africa.

Rudyard Kipling’s poem The White Man’s Burden aimed to justify imperial conquests as a civilizing mission, ideologically linked to the expansion philosophy of Manifest Destiny in the early 19th century. This poem has long been criticized as racist. Here are some excerpts:

Take up the white man’s burden
Sad….. forth the best ye breed
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captive’s need,
To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild—
Your new caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.

Take up the white man’s burden
In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride,
By open speech and simple,
And hundred times made plain
To seek another’s profit
And work another’s gain.

Take up the white man’s burden
The savage wars of peace—
Fill full the mouth of famine
And bid the sickness cease,
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch sloth and heathen folly
Bring all your hopes to nought.

Take up the white man’s burden
No tawdry rule of kings,
But toil of Serf and sweeper—
The tale of common things.
The parts ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go make them with your living,
And mark them with your dead!

The implication of this poem is that the empire existed not for the benefit of Britain, but in order for primitive peoples, deemed incapable of self-governance, to be civilized through colonial guidance. The Partition of Africa is a prime example of this.

(The views expressed are the writer’s own.)

Radhakanta Seth is an Income tax officer in Sambalpur.  He is a Freelance writer and his articles have been published in some Oriya dailies like Sambad, Samaj, Dharitri and English dailies like The Telegraph and in a sociological journal ‘Folklore’ published from Kolkata.