Colonisation of Africa
In 513 BC, a Greek colony attempted to take root between Cyrene and Carthage. Local forces and Carthaginians expelled the settlers just two years later. This early failure set a pattern for centuries of interaction in North Africa. Greeks established mercantile colonies under Pharaoh Amasis during his reign from 570 to 526 BC. Naucratis sat fifty miles away from what would become Alexandria. Alexander the Great founded Alexandria during his conquest of Egypt around 332 BC. The city grew into a major trading hub and military headquarters for Hellenistic and Roman times. Phoenicians built Utica and Carthage along the coast. Carthage held a traditional foundation date of 814 BC. It became a dominant power by the fourth century BC. Romans destroyed Carthage after the Third Punic War ended in 146 BC. Plans by Gaius Gracchus and Julius Caesar aimed to rebuild a colony on that site. Augustus made it the capital of the Roman province of Africa. Gothic Vandals briefly ruled there in the fifth century before Byzantine forces took over. Arab armies conquered the region in the seventh century.
European expeditions focused on establishing coastal trading posts as bases for commerce. They colonized previously uninhabited islands like Cape Verde and São Tomé Island. Spain colonized the Canary Islands off the north African coast in the fifteenth century. This action caused genocide among the native Berber population. The Dutch East India Company founded Cape Town in 1652. It served as a halfway stop for ships sailing eastward. These early settlements prioritized trade routes over deep inland penetration. European powers maintained control primarily along the Mediterranean and southern tips of the continent. By 1870, Europeans controlled only one tenth of Africa's total land area. Most activity remained restricted to narrow strips of coastline rather than vast territories.
King Leopold of Belgium oppressed the Congo Basin as his private domain until 1908. Otto von Bismarck initiated the Berlin Conference in 1885 to establish international guidelines. The conference formalized New Imperialism driven by the Second Industrial Revolution. Between 1870 and 1914 Europe acquired almost twenty-three million square kilometers of territory. This represented one fifth of the globe's land area. The Fashoda Incident of 1898 posed the only serious threat of inter-Imperial violence between Britain and France. Settlers moved inland with relatively few disputes among themselves after the conference. Imperialism generated self-esteem across Europe during this period. Allies of World War I and World War II made extensive use of African laborers and soldiers. Technical superiority enabled conquest and control throughout the continent. Local groups resisted German enforced labor and taxation in East Africa.
France ruled from Paris appointing chiefs individually without considering traditional criteria. Loyalty to France mattered more than established local hierarchies. France established two large colonial federations known as French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa. State officials passed laws and approved measures from colonial assemblies. Germany exercised a highly centralized type of administration called direct rule. The British sought indirect rule by identifying local power holders. They encouraged or forced these leaders to administer for the Empire. In German East Africa, the Abushiri revolt nearly drove Germans out in 1888. A decade later the colony seemed conquered though inland centers remained small military fortresses. The Maji King Rebellion in 1905 was widely supported but suppressed within a year. Reinforcing troops armed with machine guns ended the insurrection. German attempts to seize control in Southwest Africa produced ardent resistance. This led to the Herero and Namaqua Genocide which was very forcefully repressed.
The main period of decolonisation began after World War II. Growing independence movements, indigenous political parties, and trade unions ensured transfer of power. Pressure came from imperialist powers, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Most of the continent achieved decolonisation by 1980. Morocco and Tunisia gained independence in March 1956. Algeria saw a long bloody armed struggle from 1954 to 1962. President Charles de Gaulle held a referendum in 1958 where only Guinea voted for outright independence. France amended its constitution in 1959 to allow other colonies this option. Farmers in British East Africa resisted attempts to take their land. Julius Nyerere led an independent Tanganyika starting in 1961. Kenya became independent three years after Britain accepted majority rule in 1960. Some areas like South Africa and Namibia retain large European populations. Spanish enclaves Ceuta and Melilla remain governed by European countries today. Islands such as Réunion, Mayotte, Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan Da Cunha stay under foreign control.
Walter Rodney proposed in How Europe Underdeveloped Africa that
the West pillaged the continent through economic exploitation. He used Marxist analysis to trace present structures to the Atlantic slave trade. Mamdani wrote Citizen and Subject in 1996 arguing for a bifurcated state system. One state served colonial Europeans while another ruled indigenous populations. Urban towns had elected governments whereas rural villages relied on tribal authority. Achille Mbembe published On the Postcolony in 2000 examining life in the colony. Colonial powers demanded use of African bodies for labor and submission. Violence shaped subservient colonized identities through public works projects and military conscription. Stephanie Terreni Brown examined sanitation narratives in Kampala during her 2014 paper. She described abjection as dehumanizing one group to dominate another. Discourses of dirt drew distinctions between Western governors and local populations. Colonial authorities constructed sewage systems only for colonials ignoring Ugandan residents. This rhetoric justified the civilizing process by labeling Africans as savages. Critical theory largely condemns imperial activities across academic fields today.
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Common questions
When did the Greek colony between Cyrene and Carthage fail?
The Greek colony failed in 511 BC after being expelled two years after its establishment in 513 BC. Local forces and Carthaginians drove out the settlers during this early attempt to take root.
What year did European powers control one tenth of Africa's total land area?
By 1870, Europeans controlled only one tenth of Africa's total land area. Most activity remained restricted to narrow strips of coastline rather than vast territories at that time.
Which conference initiated international guidelines for New Imperialism in 1885?
Otto von Bismarck initiated the Berlin Conference in 1885 to establish international guidelines. The conference formalized New Imperialism driven by the Second Industrial Revolution.
When did Morocco and Tunisia gain independence from colonial rule?
Morocco and Tunisia gained independence in March 1956. This event marked a significant step in the main period of decolonisation which began after World War II.
Who wrote How Europe Underdeveloped Africa and what was his argument?
Walter Rodney proposed in How Europe Underdeveloped Africa that the West pillaged the continent through economic exploitation. He used Marxist analysis to trace present structures to the Atlantic slave trade.