in the middle of the 15th century
central and southern Africa is still
unknown to Europe however for centuries
the Arabs operated trade routes crossing
the vast Sahara Desert transporting to
the Mediterranean gold ivory and slaves
Europe is more interested in profitable
trade routes from Asia especially the
import of silk and spices but the
expansion of the Ottoman Empire
threatens these networks furthermore the
kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula set
their sights on discovering new sea
routes to Asia to corner the lucrative
markets Portugal takes the lead by
inventing the caravel a lightweight
versatile vessel allowing it to
accelerate exploration of the African
coast the country establishes maritime
trading posts as an alternative to
Overland trade routes especially to
capture the highly profitable slave
trade in 1498 Vasco da Gama reaches
India Portugal rapidly grows in power in
the Indian Ocean and dominates the spice
trade the country grows rich and faces
no competition from the Spanish Empire
as the two reached an agreement to
define their zones of influence as per
the Treaty of Tordesillas
Spain therefore focuses on the American
continent
[Music]
in 1580 the king of Spain takes control
of Portugal to form the Iberian Union
the new maritime power the Netherlands
takes advantage of the situation to
cease Portuguese colonies Portugal
finally regains its independence and
tries to regain control of businesses in
Africa but the country now faces
competition from new European powers
settling along the African coast the
situation then remains relatively stable
for centuries with each country managing
its own trade routes slave trade becomes
the most profitable business European
ships buy slaves in Africa whom they
exchange in America for gold and local
products such as sugar and coffee from
the mid 18th century anti-slavery
movements gained momentum in Europe and
gradually lead to a fall in human
trafficking and slavery in the u.s. a
project to repatriate freed slaves to
Africa gets underway a colony is
established allowing the return of
thousands of former slaves although
there are conflicts with indigenous
populations Liberia becomes independent
in 1847
a few years later france and egypt
inaugurate the suez canal opening a new
shorter sea route to Asia in the African
colonies interest turns towards trying
to gain arable land in order to grow
agricultural products primarily for
European markets while exploring the
land colonists discover the continent is
rich in resources stirring the appetite
of European powers in the midst of
industrial development
tensions flare because of competition
between European nations in 1884 a
conference is held in Berlin to regulate
colonization king leopold ii of belgium
gets personal possession of a large
little-known area in the heart of the
continent germany spain and italy seized
territories while the UK receives egypt
henceforth countries can't stake claim
to any land they physically occupy
European nations boosted by their
superior military technology engage in a
race for control of the largest possible
territory at the expense of local
kingdoms and empires in most cases land
stolen and redistributed to European
settlers indigenous people are subject
to taxes but have no money to pay them
so they find themselves working in the
fields or in mines which become a form
of forced labour Italy which controls
Eritrea and Somalia fails to conquer the
Empire of Abyssinia which gains
international recognition as a sovereign
nation after the discovery of diamonds
and gold in the south of the continent
the British Empire expands to take over
the state of Transvaal and orange both
of which were founded by the Boers
mainly descendants of Dutch settlers who
fled following the arrival of the
British in 1908 king leopold ii seats
congo to Belgium two years later after
long negotiations southern British
colonies of the continent gained
independence forming the Union of South
Africa the new country remains linked to
the British Empire by becoming a
Dominion ceding certain powers to the
British crown
during World War one hundreds of
thousands of men from the colonies are
sent to European and African frontlines
the United Kingdom France Belgium and
South Africa take over the German
colonies at the end of the war a
separatist revolution breaks out in
Egypt the UK is forced to recognize the
end of its protectorate status but the
country retains control of the Suez
Canal by maintaining a military presence
in 1935 fascist Italy again tries to
conquer Abyssinia this time the Italian
army is successful in gradually seizing
territories but Abyssinia would never
sign an armistice World War two breaks
out in Europe and again hundreds of
thousands of Africans are involved in
fighting on different fronts Italy
allied with Nazi Germany loses its
colonies on the continent at the end of
World War two
Abyssinia becomes Ethiopia and regains
its sovereignty talks are held at the
United Nations to discuss the future of
other Italian colonies with European
nations weakened by war the United
States leans in fearing the rise of the
Soviet Union and communism in the world
the country supports the independence of
colonies and their admission to the
United Nations when an insurrection
breaks out in Madagascar against French
occupiers it has brutally suppressed
Italy eventually gets control of Somalia
for another ten years while Libya
becomes independent Kenya also begins an
anti colonial uprising that would last
eight years and result in many civilian
victims
in 1952 the Egyptian army overthrows a
monarchy and begins anti colonial
policies on the one hand the country
makes contact with the Soviet Union to
provide arms on the other it provides
military support to aid Algerian
nationalists against the French
occupation Egypt also claims control of
Sudan and nationalizes the Suez Canal
chasing away the French and the British
in response they combine with Israel to
organize a surprise attack on Egypt the
offensive is a success but is stopped
after the ussr's threat of nuclear war
the US then steps in and orders an end
to the offensive the event marks the end
of the British and French domination on
the continent aware of losing their grip
on power France and the UK try to
moderate their policy and maintain
influence on the continent Britain
supports the independence of Sudan to
prevent the country coming under
Egyptian control the same year France
which has mild and war in Algeria
recognizes the independence of Morocco
and Tunisia to avoid the spread of
violence the UK is ready to recognize
the independence of its colonies in some
cases if the new governments joined the
Commonwealth an intergovernmental
organization headed by the British crown
France for its part tries to set up a
franco african community all colonies
accept the proposal with the exception
of Guinea which then gains independence
in 1960 a new wave of colonies gaining
independence ends this project France
withdraws but maintains economic control
over the region with the CFA franc
currencies the same year the Belgian
Congo also gets independence and becomes
the congo Leopoldville
[Music]
France tries to maintain control over
Algeria at all costs
but violent repression and massacres of
local populations make them lose support
of the French people and the
international community despite violence
committed by some of its own forces as
Geryon separatists take the advantage by
playing the diplomatic card and gaining
debates in the UN France defensive at
first try the empty chair policy and in
1962 find itself forced to recognize the
independence of Algeria south of the
continent why the British lose their
last colonies Portugal also finds itself
in trouble despite large investments and
significant migrations of Portuguese to
Angola war breaks out and spreads into
other colonies causing the country to
invest heavily in military efforts
finally a revolution in Portugal
overthrows the regime the new government
recognizes the independence of the
colonies and organizes emergency
repatriation of its settlers
[Music]
to the north Morocco pressures Spain to
quit the Western Sahara
when the Spanish finally depart it
captures two-thirds of the liberated
country while European nations are no
longer present in Africa Southern
Rhodesia is the only country whose
independence was obtained by British
colonists who hoped to themselves found
a country ruled by white people the
country is not recognized in the UN and
comes under great international pressure
in 1980 it yields and a transitional
government is set up to form Zimbabwe
despite the end of European presence in
Africa the continent will still have to
face various forms of neocolonialism
world powers and multinationals
influence and sometimes destabilize
African countries with the aim of
gaining its wealth and generating huge
profits at the expense of local
populations