World History: Imperialism: Main Guide

The scramble for Africa was an ambitious and aggressive plan that resulted in the partitioning of one of the largest continents of the world. Fueled by European industrialism and market forces of the late 1800s, the partitioning of the African Continent demonstrated the power of European colonialism.

New imperialism is a term used to describe the sudden mania for expansion and conquest that gripped Western powers in the late 19th century.

Europe's second coming to Africa was for its vast natural resources to meet the needs of the newly industrialized nations of Europe. This scramble for Africa involved the traditional colonial powers France and Great Britain; reinvigorated colonial powers Spain and Portugal; newly formed states Italy and Germany; and one individual, King Leopold II of Belgium. By 1914, almost all of African soil belonged to a European power.

From ABC-CLIO, a background essay on the Scramble for Africa and the Berlin Conference.