XIXᵉ siècle – XIXᵉ siècle
Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Partition of Africa was the accelerating process by which European powers moved from commercial influence and informal control toward systematic political occupation and annexation across the continent. The excerpt presents it as the product of interacting economic, diplomatic, psychological, strategic, and African-centered forces. It highlights developments between 1876 and 1880 involving Leopold II, Portugal, and France, followed by formal British and German annexations from the end of 1883.
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Le récit
By the final quarter of the nineteenth century, France, Britain, Portugal, and Germany possessed commercial interests and considerable influence in several African regions, yet their direct political control remained limited. Informal control often appeared sufficient because it delivered advantages without the costs and uncertainties of formal annexation. The distinction between refusing annexation and refusing control was therefore crucial to the political situation before the Scramble accelerated.
The balance began to change through a series of initiatives between 1876 and 1880. Leopold II’s Brussels Geographical Conference led to the creation of the African International Association, followed by the employment of Henry Morton Stanley to explore the Congo in its name. Portugal responded to its marginal position at the Brussels conference with expeditions that produced the annexation of largely independent Afro-Portuguese estates in Mozambique to the Portuguese crown.
French colonial policy also adopted a more expansionist direction between 1879 and 1880. France joined Britain in the dual control of Egypt, sent Savorgnan de Brazza into the Congo, ratified his treaties with Chief Makoko of the Bateke, and revived colonial initiatives in Tunisia and Madagascar. These actions indicated a wider commitment to formal expansion and helped persuade Britain and Germany to abandon their preference for informal influence.
From the end of 1883, British and German annexations in Southern, East, and West Africa accelerated the process. German initiatives produced the annexation of South West Africa, Togoland, the Cameroons, and German East Africa. By the early 1880s the Scramble was already well under way, while Portugal sought an international conference to address territorial disputes in Central Africa and avoid being excluded from the continent.
XIXᵉ siècle – XIXᵉ siècle
Africa
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Partition of Africa was the accelerating process by which European powers moved from commercial influence and informal control toward systematic political occupation and annexation across the continent. The excerpt presents it as the product of interacting economic, diplomatic, psychological, strategic, and African-centered forces. It highlights developments between 1876 and 1880 involving Leopold II, Portugal, and France, followed by formal British and German annexations from the end of 1883.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
By the final quarter of the nineteenth century, France, Britain, Portugal, and Germany possessed commercial interests and considerable influence in several African regions, yet their direct political control remained limited. Informal control often appeared sufficient because it delivered advantages without the costs and uncertainties of formal annexation. The distinction between refusing annexation and refusing control was therefore crucial to the political situation before the Scramble accelerated.
The balance began to change through a series of initiatives between 1876 and 1880. Leopold II’s Brussels Geographical Conference led to the creation of the African International Association, followed by the employment of Henry Morton Stanley to explore the Congo in its name. Portugal responded to its marginal position at the Brussels conference with expeditions that produced the annexation of largely independent Afro-Portuguese estates in Mozambique to the Portuguese crown.
French colonial policy also adopted a more expansionist direction between 1879 and 1880. France joined Britain in the dual control of Egypt, sent Savorgnan de Brazza into the Congo, ratified his treaties with Chief Makoko of the Bateke, and revived colonial initiatives in Tunisia and Madagascar. These actions indicated a wider commitment to formal expansion and helped persuade Britain and Germany to abandon their preference for informal influence.
From the end of 1883, British and German annexations in Southern, East, and West Africa accelerated the process. German initiatives produced the annexation of South West Africa, Togoland, the Cameroons, and German East Africa. By the early 1880s the Scramble was already well under way, while Portugal sought an international conference to address territorial disputes in Central Africa and avoid being excluded from the continent.