The Darker Side: Carving Up Africa
The late nineteenth century was not only a period of expanding trade and prosperity — there was a darker side. In many parts of the world, closer ties with the world economy meant a loss of freedoms and livelihoods, as European conquests produced painful economic, social and ecological changes.
Look at a map of Africa and you will see some borders running straight, as if drawn with a ruler — that is almost how the European powers drew them. In 1885 the big European powers met in Berlin to complete the carving up of Africa between them. Britain and France made vast additions to their territories; Belgium and Germany became new colonial powers; and the US became a colonial power in the late 1890s. Geographical explorations (like those of Henry Morton Stanley) were directly linked to imperial projects.
Rinderpest, the Cattle Plague
In the 1890s, a fast-spreading cattle disease — Rinderpest — had a terrifying impact on people's livelihoods in Africa. Historically, Africa had abundant land and a small population, and land and livestock sustained African livelihoods, so people rarely worked for a wage. When Europeans came seeking to establish plantations and mines, they faced a shortage of labour willing to work for wages.
Employers used many methods to recruit labour — heavy taxes that could only be paid by working for wages, changed inheritance laws to displace peasants from land, and confining mineworkers in compounds. Then came Rinderpest: it arrived in the late 1880s (carried by infected cattle brought to feed Italian soldiers invading Eritrea), moved across the continent 'like forest fire', reaching the Atlantic coast in 1892 and the Cape by 1897, and killed 90 per cent of the cattle. This destroyed African livelihoods, and planters, mine owners and colonial governments monopolised the remaining cattle to force Africans into the labour market — helping Europeans conquer and subdue Africa.
Questions and Answers
Q1. What happened at the Berlin conference of 1885? Ans. In 1885, the big European powers met in Berlin to complete the carving up of Africa between them. Borders were drawn like straight lines on the map, and powers like Britain, France, Belgium and Germany divided African territories among themselves.
Q2. What was Rinderpest? Ans. Rinderpest was a fast-spreading cattle plague that struck Africa in the 1890s. Arriving in the late 1880s, it spread across the continent 'like forest fire' and killed 90 per cent of the cattle, destroying African livelihoods.
Questions and Answers (continued)
Q3. How did Rinderpest help Europeans control Africa? Ans. By killing most of the cattle, Rinderpest destroyed the livelihoods that had let Africans live independently. Planters, mine owners and colonial governments then monopolised the scarce remaining cattle, forcing Africans into the wage-labour market — so control over cattle helped Europeans conquer and subdue Africa.
Q4. Why did Europeans in Africa face a shortage of labour, and how did they solve it? Ans. Africans had plenty of land and livestock, so they saw little reason to work for wages. Employers responded with heavy taxes payable only through wage-work, changed inheritance laws to displace peasants, confined mineworkers in compounds, and benefited from the labour crisis caused by Rinderpest.