The Scramble for Africa

Paper Summary:

This paper explains why the European powers decided to parcel out among themselves the continent of Africa and, in particular, West Africa. The paper explains that there were a number of factors that led to the partitioning of Africa including economic reasons, the ending of the "old" relationship between Europe and Africa, and the changing attitudes toward slavery. The paper also looks at the political reasons for the partition and explains that all these changes combined caused the peoples of West Africa to lose their place in the world's economic community and submit to change that ultimately denied them their right to self-determination and dignity.

From the Paper:

"The stamping out of the West African Slave Trade by the Royal Navy was only the first step in a sweeping reordering of the Native West African World. Though eventually the entire continent was to be affected by British anti-slavery policies, West Africa was among the first and hardest hit. Many Native kings derived a large part of their wealth from the Trade. They were willing participants in an exchange that formed the basis of their states' economies. Ashanti and Dahomey are two examples of powerful West African kingdoms that attempted to preserve their traditional sources of revenue and life-ways."

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