A history of the colonization of Africa by alien races

In Short

This historical survey chronicles the multi-millennial record of external influences on the African continent, tracing interactions from early Phoenician and Roman contact through Arab incursions to the 19th-century European scramble. Writing from the vantage point of the early 20th century, the author examines how various foreign powers—including Portugal, Spain, Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium—established trading posts, footholds, and vast colonial empires across different African regions. The narrative synthesizes geographic exploration, ethnological observations, and political developments to account for how modern administrative borders were carved out. It stands as a detailed primary document of late Victorian and Edwardian colonial historiography, illustrating the administrative logic, racial theories, and imperial rivalries that drove the partition of Africa.

The Story

The narrative begins deep in antiquity, charting the earliest known maritime and overland contacts between northern civilizations and the African continent. Phoenician navigators, most notably Hanno the Carthaginian, venture down the Atlantic coast of Morocco, encountering unknown landscapes and native populations. Greek geographers and Roman administrators establish outposts along the Mediterranean littoral, establishing trade routes that link North Africa to the broader Mediterranean world. These early footholds are subsequently transformed by the rise of Islam in the seventh century, as Arab armies under commanders like Amr-bin-al-As sweep across Egypt, Tripoli, and Tunisia. Over the following centuries, Arab and Berber dynasties push southward across the Sahara, introducing new religious, linguistic, and cultural influences to the Niger basin and Central Africa.

As the XV century opens, European powers initiate direct maritime exploration along the western and eastern coasts. Under the sponsorship of Prince Henry the Navigator, Portuguese expeditions systematically chart the West African coastline, establishing fortified trading stations, capturing coastal strongholds in Morocco, and searching for maritime routes to India. Pushing around the Cape of Good Hope, Portuguese forces set up posts along the Zambezi River, such as Sena and Quelimane, seeking access to the gold-rich interiors of Monomotapa. However, these early enterprises face severe setbacks from tropical fevers, local resistance, and rivalries with established Arab trading networks.

By the XVIII and XIX centuries, European interest shifts from small coastal factories to systematic interior exploration and territorial annexation. Explorers like Mungo Park, Hugh Clapperton, Richard Lander, and Joseph Thomson venture inland to map major river systems, including the Niger, the Congo, and the Nile. Their geographical discoveries pave the way for chartered commercial companies and state-backed expeditions. The narrative details how different European nations establish distinct spheres of control. Britain expands its footprint from early coastal outposts in West Africa and the Cape Colony northward into the interior, eventualizing in the annexation of Boer republics and the formation of the Union of South Africa. France builds a vast territorial empire extending from Senegal across the Western Sudan to the Ivory Coast and Dahomey, while also securing footholds in East Africa at Jibuti.

The late XIX century witnesses the rapid partition of the remaining uncolonized regions. German agents secure territories in South-West Africa, East Africa, Togoland, and the Cameroons, often engaging in fierce military campaigns against native populations like the Herero and Hottentots. In the Congo basin, King Leopold II of Belgium creates a vast private domain, which draws intense international criticism over its commercial monopolies and administrative practices. Meanwhile, Italy attempts to build an East African empire, capturing coastal posts in Eritrea and pushing into Tigre, only to suffer a decisive military defeat at Adua against the forces of Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia.

The account closes in the early 1900s with the consolidation of colonial governance across the continent. Military resistance, such as that led by the Mandingo ruler Samori in West Africa or the Mahdist forces in the Sudan, is systematically suppressed by European armies. Railways penetrate the interior, administrative treaties delineate precise international borders, and colonial governments establish formal systems of taxation and labor. The continent stands almost entirely partitioned among European powers, setting the political framework that would define twentieth-century Africa.

How It Unfolds

Ancient maritime horizons Phoenician and Carthaginian fleets sail beyond the Mediterranean to establish trading stations along the North African coast. Hanno’s expedition voyages far down the West African shore, encountering wild environments and unfamiliar native tribes.

The Islamic conquests Arab armies invade Egypt and push westward across Tripoli and Tunisia, overthrowing Byzantine governors and establishing permanent Islamic capitals like Kairwan. Diverse schisms, such as the Khariji movement, spread among the Berber populations from Tunis to the Atlantic.

Portuguese coastal expansion Seventeenth-century Portuguese explorers under Prince Henry the Navigator systematically map the West African coast and capture Moorish strongholds in Morocco. Expeditions enter the Zambezi River to reach gold-producing inland empires, establishing posts at Quelimane and Sena despite fatal encounters with tropical diseases.

The era of inland exploration European travellers trek into the interior to solve longstanding geographical mysteries regarding the Niger, Nile, and Congo river systems. Figures like Clapperton and Lander trace river courses, opening up trade routes and gathering intelligence on inland kingdoms.

The imperial partition European powers scramble to claim vast protectorates through treaties, military campaigns, and chartered companies. France expands across the Western Niger bend, Germany claims South-West Africa and the Cameroons, and Britain consolidates vast holdings in South and East Africa.

Consolidation and resistance African rulers who resist European encroachment, such as Samori in West Africa or Menelik in Abyssinia, face military intervention. While Abyssinia successfully repels Italian forces at Adua, most native states are subjugated, leading to formal colonial administration, boundary agreements, and infrastructure development.

The People

• Hanno the Carthaginian: A VI-century B.C. navigator who commands a massive fleet of sixty ships to plant colonies along the Moroccan coast. He pushes maritime discovery as far south as Sherboro inlet, documenting early encounters with African fauna and coastal peoples before returning to Carthage.
• Francisco Barreto: A Portuguese commander appointed Governor and Captain-General who leads a heavily equipped expedition up the Zambezi River in 1569. Seeking to conquer gold-producing regions and avenge a murdered Jesuit, his force is crippled by tropical fevers and tsetse flies, resulting in his eventual death near Sena.
• Hugh Clapperton: A British explorer who undertakes hazardous journeys across West Africa to determine the course of the River Niger. Traversing Yorubaland, Nupe, and the Hausa states, he contends with hostile conflicts and severe fever, ultimately dying near Sokoto before completing his mission.
• Samori: A Mandingo military leader and founder of a powerful West African empire who organizes a formidable army to resist French territorial expansion. After years of guerrilla warfare and campaigns against rival forces, he is captured by French officers in 1898 and exiled to the Gaboon.
• Menelik: The Emperor of Abyssinia who mobilizes a massive army to defend his sovereign realm against Italian colonial invasion. By inflicting a crushing defeat on General Baratieri's forces at the Battle of Adua in 1896, he preserves Abyssinian independence and secures formal recognition from European powers.

In Its Own Voice

"Here they encountered 'wild men and women covered with hair'—probably the chimpanzees, which are found there to this day, and not the gorilla, which is an ape, restricted in its westward range to the Cameroons." Context: Describing the historical voyage of Hanno the Carthaginian along the West African coast in the sixth century B.C.

"The White and Yellow peoples have been the unconscious agents of the Power behind Nature in punishing the negro for his lazy backwardness." Context: Reflecting on the moral and historical justifications used by nineteenth-century Europeans to rationalize the abolition of the slave trade alongside foreign intervention.

"Nearly half the Italian army (13,000 men—7,000 only Italians, the rest natives of the coast—against 90,000 Abyssinians), was killed, and of the remainder many prisoners were taken." Context: Detailing the disastrous defeat of Italian forces under General Baratieri at the Battle of Adua in 1896.

What It's Really About

Beneath its narrative of exploration, treaties, and military campaigns, the work functions as an explicit thesis on the historical inevitability of European dominance. It argues that global history is governed by a competitive law of productivity, where populations that fail to systematically exploit their material resources will inevitably be subjugated by more technologically advanced societies. The book frames foreign intervention not merely as a conquest for territory, but as a mandatory civilizing apparatus designed to enforce labor, suppress internal slave raiding, and incorporate the African continent into the global market economy.

The text also highlights the bitter geopolitical rivalries among European nations as they rushed to claim African territory. It contrasts different imperial philosophies, criticizing the commercial monopolies and private extraction of Belgium's King Leopold II while praising British trusteeship models. At its core, the work seeks to rationalize the ongoing partition of the continent by providing a historical and racial taxonomy that justifies European administrative oversight.

Why Read It Today

This volume offers modern readers a direct, unvarnished window into the mindset of late Victorian and Edwardian imperialism. Scholars and history enthusiasts will find value in its dense factual detail, broad historical scope, and comprehensive coverage of diplomatic treaties, military expeditions, and border demarcations across every region of Africa. It provides an illuminating look at how early 20th-century European scholars conceptualized race, geography, and international law while actively participating in the administration of colonial territories.

However, readers must navigate significant period difficulties. The narrative is thoroughly steeped in the scientific racism, paternalism, and ethnocentric biases of its era. Native populations are frequently described through reductive racial theories, and imperial conquest is consistently framed as a progressive necessity. The prose is dense, academic, and filled with hyper-specific geographic references, historical lineages, and administrative details that require sustained concentration. For those willing to read it critically, the book serves as an indispensable primary document for understanding the ideological foundations of the Scramble for Africa.

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