Colonization of Africa

   The process of colonization has become very widespread in the second half of the XIX century, especially after 1885 with the beginning of the so-called race or fight for Africa. Virtually the entire continent (except to remain independent of Ethiopia and Liberia) in 1900 was divided between a number of European powers: Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, kept its old colonies, and several extended Spain and Portugal.

   The most extensive and rich possessions were British. In southern and central parts of the continent:

         Cape Colony

         Natal

         Bechuanaland (now - Botswana)

         Basutoland (Lesotho)

         Swaziland

         Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)

         Northern Rhodesia (Zambia).

         To the east:

         Kenya

         Uganda

         Zanzibar

         British Somaliland.

   In the north-east:

         Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, is formally considered condominium of Britain and Egypt.

   In the west:

         Nigeria

         Sierra Leone

         Gambia

         Gold Coast.

   In the Indian Ocean

         Mauritius

         Seychelles.

   France's colonial empire in size was not inferior to the British, but the population of its colonies was several times less, and natural resources - poorer. Most were French possessions in West and Equatorial Africa and a considerable part of their territory accounted for the Sahara, the adjacent semi-desert Sahel region and tropical forests:

      French Guinea (now - Republic of Guinea)

         Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)

         Upper Volta (Burkina Faso)

         Dahomey (Benin)

         Mauritania

         Niger

         Senegal

         French Sudan (Mali)

         Gabon

         Chad

         Average of the Congo (Congo)

         Ubangi-Shari (Central African Republic)

         French coast of Somalia (Djibouti)

         Madagascar

         Comoros

         Reunion

   Portugal owned by Angola, Mozambique, Portuguese Guinea (Guinea Bissau), includes the islands of Cape Verde (Cape Verde), Sao Tome and Principe.

   Belgium owned the Belgian Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in the years 1971-1997. - Zaire), Italy - Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, Spain - Spanish Sahara (Western Sahara), Germany - Germanskoy East Africa (now - mainland Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi), Cameroon, Togo and the Helgoland South-West Africa (Namibia).

   The main drivers that led to the hot battle of the European powers in Africa, are considered to be economic. Indeed, the desire for exploitation of natural resources and population of Africa was of paramount importance. But we can not say that these hopes soon dashed. South of the continent, where he found the world's largest deposits of gold and diamonds, was to give huge profits. But before income were needed first major investments for the exploration of natural resources, creating communication devices of the local economy to the needs of the metropolis, to suppress the protests of indigenous people and to find effective ways to get them to work on the colonial system. All this required time. Not all at once justified and another argument ideologues of colonialism. They argued that the acquisition of colonies to open within the metropolitan set of jobs and eliminate unemployment, as Africa will be the capacious market for European products and they will develop the vast construction of railways, ports and industrial facilities. If these plans and implemented, then more slowly than anticipated, and on a smaller scale. Proved untenable argument that Africa will move the surplus population of Europe. Migration flows were lower than expected, and mostly limited to the south of the continent, Angola, Mozambique, Kenya - countries where the climate and other natural conditions suitable for the Europeans. Gulf of Guinea, known as "white man's grave", few people are offended.