Mass Politics and Imperialism (^) ‹ 167
The Scramble for Africa
Two developments spurred an unprecedented “scramble” on the part of European powers
to lay claim to vast areas of the African continent: the British takeover of the Suez Canal in
Egypt and Belgium’s aggressive expansion into the Congo.
The Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean Sea through Egypt to the Red Sea and
the Indian Ocean, was built by a French company and opened in 1869. In 1875, Great
Britain took advantage of the Egyptian ruler’s financial distress and purchased a controlling
interest in the canal. By the early 1880s, anti-British and anti-French sentiment was build-
ing in the Egyptian army. In the summer of 1882, the British launched a preemptive strike,
landing troops in Egypt, defeating Egyptian forces, and setting up a virtual occupation of
Egypt. Supposedly temporary, the occupation lasted 32 years. Britain’s control of Egypt led
to further European expansion in Africa in two ways:
• In order to provide greater security for Egypt, Britain expanded farther south.
• In return for France’s acceptance of the British occupation of Egypt, Great Britain sup-
ported French expansion into northwest Africa.
A new competition for imperial control of sub-Saharan Africa was initiated by the
expansion of Belgian interests in the Congo. In 1876, King Leopold II of Belgium formed
a private company and sent explorer Henry Stanley to the Congo River basin to estab-
lish trading outposts and sign treaties with local chiefs. Alarmed by the rate at which the
Belgians were claiming land in central Africa, the French expanded their claims in western
Africa, and Bismarck responded with a flurry of claims for Germany in eastern Africa.
This sudden burst of activity led to the Berlin Conference of 1885. There, representatives
of European powers established free-trade zones in the Congo River basin and established
guidelines for the partitioning of Africa. The guidelines essentially set up two principles:
• A European nation needed to establish enough physical presence to control and develop
a territory before it could claim it.
• Claimants must treat the African population humanely.
After the Conference, European nations completed the Scramble for Africa until nearly
the entire continent was, nominally at least, under European control. Unfortunately, the
principle of humane treatment of Africans was rarely followed.Dominance in Asia
In the era of the New Imperialism, European powers also exerted control over Asia. Here,
however, the general method was to rule through local elites.India: Ruled by Great Britain
In India, the British dominated, initially through the British East India Company, a private
trading company that used its economic and military power to influence local politics.
Following the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 (sometimes known as the Sepoy Mutiny), an
organized anti-British uprising led by military units of Indians who had formerly served
the British, the British government took direct control, naming Queen Victoria Empress
of India, and restructured the Indian economy to produce and consume products in order
to aid the British economy.
A sense of Indian nationalism began to develop as a response to the more intrusive
British influence, resulting in the establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885.20_Bartolini_Ch20_165-170.indd 167 27/04/18 1:55 PM