19th Century Colonization
Although there had been a British and greater European presence in Africa prior to the last two decades of the 19th century it was primarily coastal and revolved around the slave trade. With the abolition of the slave trade within the British Empire in 1803 and a complete abolition of slavery across the empire in 1834 there was little interest in Africa by Britain until the end of the century. This lack of interest in Africa did not include The Cape Colony though, which the British gained at the end of the Napoleonic Wars and which served a key role in outfitting ships on the British trade route to India. The role and importance of Africa to the British soon changed though do to imperial competition with France and Germany. Germany under the aggressive policies of Bismarck set out to take a leading role in Africa and catch up to other European powers such as Britain and France in terms of empire by gaining new control over territory and expanding their spheres of influence. Other important factors made Africa the hot spot for British and European expansion including the discovery of gold in the Transvaal and diamonds in the Orange Free State, the palm oil industry in Nigeria, scientific discoveries such as the way to treat mala
Lord Carnarvon was the Colonial secretary under Disreli in the 1870's and he pushed for unification and in 1877 he was able to convince the Transvaal and the Orange Free State to be annexed in return for aide against the Zulu threat. In 1881 at the Convention of Pretoria Gladstone gave the Transvaal and the Orange Free State their independence back in a relationship of suzerainty. This growth was not due to a British expansionist policy. The Dutch had begun settling the region as early as the middle 17th century. The southern portion of Africa did not fully stabilize until after the end of the scramble for Africa in the first years of the 20th century (Porter, p. The railway was eventually built when Joseph Chamberlain came into power in 1895 and the region was soon divided into Kenya and Uganda. Although economic influence and foreign pressure created a reason for British expansion in the last two decades it is key to look at the small ways the British built a foundation for expansion starting in the 1850's and 1860's. The need to resolve conflicts in Africa began in Egypt in regards primarily to the Suez Canal. As the encroachment became more severe Goldie gained a charter in 1886 granting his company the powers of government. All the same Livingston's publicity and the work of other explorers and the use of quinine certainly contribute to the availability for British expansion in Africa by the 1880's. It's actions change radically though because of newly discovered economic opportunities and a need to respond to the actions other European powers. Salisbury spent much of his time hyping this idea and in the process found McKinnon and his British East Africa Company.
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Acceptance Essays
