Page 187 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

Nineteenth-Century Challenges and Progress

European governments were looking for opportunities for commercial
trade. We have noted the powerful drive of the maritime nations like the
Portuguese, Dutch, French, Danes, Spanish, and English to expand their
influence and possessions. The Germans also joined the competition for
African territory. The scramble began with the building of forts along the
coast. However, by 1870, European traders followed in the footsteps of
earlier slave traders and went inland. As they encountered tribal leaders
who expressed concern over the intrusion of these outsiders, traders
asked their governments for protection.

The response of the various governments led either to treaties with
African leaders or to the use of force to seize large tracts of land. For
example, King Leopold of Belgium wanted his own kingdom, so he
asserted that the Congo basin was his private garden. The French also
signed treaties with leaders in various places such as Upper Congo and
West Africa. The Portuguese focused on Angola, Mozambique, and the
small islands. The British claimed Nigeria, and British subjects also
started moving to East and South Africa. The Germans established
themselves in Tanganyika and the Cameroons. Often a territory would
be called a “protectorate” under the pretense of protecting residents.
The competition was strong.

In 1884, King Leopold, who recognized the need to draft guidelines
for the establishing of protectorates or colonies, called for a conference
in Berlin. This conference was convened in 1885 and lasted for several
months. During the conference, the leadership awarded King Leopold
“the Congo Free State” and set rules that defined conditions for occupying
African territory.

It seems unfathomable that at a conference that focused solely on
dividing Africa into shares to be distributed, Africans were neither included
nor was their consent sought when the participants gave a European king
much of the heart of Africa. Other participating European powers, fourteen
in all, were invited to “partition” the land generously. Competition was
fierce, and many Africans were totally unaware of what was taking place As
Oliver and Atmore affirm: “The European powers partitioned Africa among
themselves with such haste, like players in a rough game, that the process
has been called ‘the scramble for Africa’” (quoted in Hildebrandt, 139).

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