Modern Africa: Scramble

Modern Africa

Despite Stanley's heroic stature among the general public, the British government did not respond to his call for economic exploitation of the Congo region. King Leopold II of Belgium did, however. Leopold had been searching for some time for a colonial possession. He had even approached Spain, hoping to lease the Philippines from the Spanish. After all, they were losing money there, and he was confident that he could make it a profitable enterprise. The Spanish refused. The Portugese were equally stubborn; they would not let go of Mozambique, Angola, or Timor. [footnote 1]

But now Stanley had shone a light on sub-Saharan Africa, and the English, who were in the best position to take advantage of the situation, seemed to have no interest in the region. Leopold coveted the Congo. In 1876 he invited several dozen explorers to Brussels for a conference to discuss Africa. In his opening remarks at the conference, Leopold invoked the common language of imperialism: "To open to civilization the only part of the globe which it has not yet penetrated, to pierce the darkness which hangs over entire peoples, is, I dare say, a crusade worthy of this century of progress." At the conference Leopold found the support that he needed for a new organization, the International African Association. The association would provide the ideal cover for Leopold's behind-the-scenes maneuvering to secure the Congo for his own benefit. And cover he needed, for he was planning to create a colony owned not by the nation of Belgium but by Leopold himself.

It was becoming a commonly accepted belief among the European powers that colonial possessions enhanced the prestige of the nations that held them. Leopold, wishing to elevate Belgium to a higher status in the European community of nations, had his eyes upon Africa. Of course, there were also more practical reasons to play the imperial game, namely to build wealth and to accumulate power. As the various European nations jockeyed for position, Otto von Bismarck, the German Chancellor, convened the Berlin West African Conference of 1884. The intent of this conference was to carve up Africa without igniting a war among the European powers. Also invited to the conference, in addition to the European nations, were the United States and the Ottoman Empire. Whether it was a conscious omission or he simply didn't think of it, von Bismarck did not invite any Africans to participate in the conference.

The impact of the conference and the diplomatic maneuvering that followed was dramatic on the African continent. In 1880 approximately 90% of Africa was ruled by Africans. By 1900 nearly all of Africa had been parceled out to the Europeans--only Ethiopia and Liberia escaped the scramble for Africa. The greatest winner was Leopold, whose public statements about his humanitarian concerns for the Congo disguised his real intentions. The new colony that Leopold now controlled was immense, over 76 times as large as Belgium. The other European powers apparently failed to recognize the value of inland Africa, focusing their desires on the coastline, the base from which Europeans had operated for centuries. By building a railroad that bypassed the lower 250 miles of the Congo River, where it raged through rapids and gorges, Leopold gained access to the navigable sections of the river, where he would establish a system of steamboat transportation. He took the title of "king-sovereign" of the colony, now officially the Congo Free State.

Jeff Sellen

Sources
Pakenham, Thomas, The Scramble for Africa: The White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 to 1912. New York: Random House, 1991, p. 14.

Readings on Africa

As the European powers scrambled for possessions in Africa, they needed to justify their actions. One such justification was the notion of the "white man's burden," which suggested that it was the duty of whites to assist Africans and other "inferior" peoples of the world by introducing them to the benefits of civilization. Christianity was, of course, a significant element of this introduction, as well as capitalism. Rudyard Kipling, the English writer, had firsthand knowledge of the colonial system in India. In his poem, "The White Man's Burden," he expresses views held by many Europeans.

Kipling's poem provoked widespread international reaction, as you might expect. Published in 1899, the poem was especially relevant in the United States, which was just embarking on its own colonial adventures in the Philippines. After defeating the Spanish in the Spanish-American War, the U.S. was confronted with a dilemma: What would it do with the colonial possessions of its defeated enemy? Some Americans borrowed the ideology of the European powers, arguing that the U.S. should take on the responsibility of "civilizing" backwards peoples. This ideology conflicted with many of the earlier American traditions, which had consistently condemned the imperialistic ambitions of the Europeans. Kipling's poem served as a focal point in the debate between these two groups. The website Anti-Imperialism in the United States provides background information on reaction to Kipling's poem.

The following examples, from the Anti-Imperialism in the United States webpage, offer some of these responses:

a stereoscopic photograph from 1899
a cartoon from the Detroit Journal, 1899
This advertisement for Pears' soap reveals the forces of capitalism at work in the debate over "the white man's burden."
Benjamin R. Tillman delivered this speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate on February 7, 1899.
Ernest Crosby, president of the Anti-Imperialist League of New York, published this satire of Kipling's poem in 1902.
Bruce Grit's poem, "Why Talk of the White Man's Burden?", published in The Colored American in 1899, offers a new perspective on the poem.
"Two Burdens," an editorial published in The Colored American, offers a blunt challenge to imperialistic desires.
In her poem, "Home Burdens of Uncle Sam," , published in The Public in 1899, Anna Manning Comfort suggests that Americans look to their own problems rather than march off to "civilize" other lands.
This cartoon, from Life, asks whose burden is it anyway?
"The White Man's Duty," from The American Missionary, presents a view of Christian duty commonly held by missionaries at the turn of the century.
This cartoon, from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, satirizes the burden.

"The Filipinos Will Not "Take Up the White Man's Burden" , by Sixto Lopez and Thomas T. Patterson, offers a Filipino perspective on the conflict with the United States.