Scramble for Africa
Reasons for the scramble for Africa
About the Scramble for Africa
In the 1880 Europeans looked upon Africa as 'the Dark Continent'. Although Europeans had traded with Africa for hundreds of years, European settlement was limited mainly to the coast of West and South Africa.
By 1914 all of Africa except Ethiopia and Liberia were under European control.
The process of European colonization is called "Scramble for Africa
Africa's land area that European countries had acquired by 1914.
Spanish: 1%
German: 8%
British: 32%
Belgian: 8%
French: 36%
Portuguese: 7%
Italian: 5%
3% of the land was independent
1) Trade: One of the earliest reasons for Europeans interest in Africa was trade.
3) Precious metals: Settlers were also in search of gold, silvers, and other precious metals.
2) Settlement: Some Europeans hoped Africa would be a good place to settle.
6) Fear of losing out: What turned a search for land into a scramble was a country's fear that other European nations would take land and it would be left out.
5) Acquiring personal wealth: Many European hoped to become wealthy by acquiring land in Africa.
4) The search for glory: The French army aimed to win glory by conquering lands in the west and central Africa.
8) To spread Christianity
7) Protecting the Suez Canal: The Suez Canal was the main sea route from Europe to Asia.
What do you regard as the two most important reasons why the Scramble for Africa took place?