Table of Contents

Preface Introduction "The Eastern Question": The Occupation of Tunisia and Egypt, 1881-1882 France and Imperialism Tunisia Great Britain and Imperialism Egypt The Sudan and the Nile Conclusion The Congo and the Creation of the Free State, 1882-1885 Belgium and Leopold II The Brussels Conference and Its Consequences Europeans in the Congo The Congo Question, 1882-1884 Germany and Imperialism The Berlin Conference The Birth of the Free State Conclusion "Cool and Courageous": Germany and Great Britain in East Africa, 1885-1890 The Rise of Zanzibar and British Influence Germany and East Africa Great Britain and Germany in East Africa, 1886-1890 The Cape-to-Cairo Dream and the Zanzibar-Heligoland Treaty Uganda Epilogue: The French Occupation of Madagascar Conclusion Soldiers and Traders: France and Great Britain in West Africa, 1890-1898 France in the Sudan Britain and the Niger The Partition: Phase I, 1890-1895 The Partition: Phase II, 1895-1898 Conclusion The Long March to Fashoda, 1893-1898 The British Nile Strategy The French Nile Strategy Italy and Imperialism The Mission that Failed: The Marchand Mission Fashoda Conclusion Boers and Britons in South Africa, 1890-1902 The Historical Background Foreigners and Gold Strikes, 1884-1886 Rhodes and Rhodesia, 1890-1893 Rhodes vs. Kruger Toward the Second Boer War The Second Boer War, 1899-1902 Conclusion Epilogue: The Partition of Morocco, 1905-1912 Morocco and Europe France and Morocco From Tangier to Agadir Conclusion Notes Bibliography Appendix 1: Important Treaties and Agreements Appendix 2: Synchronic Survey Index of Names

Promotional Information

This book is the most judicious and most evenhanded synthesis of the rich historiography concerning the partition of Africa from the perspective of European imperial historians. Jan Vansina, John D. Mac Arthur and Vilas professor emeritus University of Wisconsin-Madison

About the Author

H.L. WESSELING is Professor of General History in the University of Leiden, Holland, and Director of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS).

Reviews

"This book is the most judicious and most evenhanded synthesis of the rich historiography concerning the partition of Africa from the perspective of European imperial historians. Its special merits are its overall clarity and its guidance to the relevant more specialized works so that it becomes an ideal textbook on the subject. Its brilliance lies in its weaving in of the diplomatic records about all the European players involved, rather than relying on an account derived from one or two major powers....It is this ability to refuse to simplify, to resent complexity, to underline the interplay between the unexpected and the expected, which constitutes the main achievement of this remarkable work, and sets it off from others."-Jan Vansina, John D. Mac Arthur and Vilas professor emeritus University of Wisconsin-Madison

?Stylistically pleasant and based on a sound knowledge of the period, Wesseling's monograph demonstrates that the political makeup of present-day Africa was created by Europeans during the partition.... All levels.?-Choice

?This most recent effort to synthesize the history of Africa's partition is a lively, accessible account for the interested layperson and the serious scholar.?-Publishers Weekly

?Wesseling's style is light, his organization of confusing streams of events is masterful, and his decision to tell the tale through biographical sketches of the prime movers of events is attractive to the general reader.?-International Journal of African History Studies

"Stylistically pleasant and based on a sound knowledge of the period, Wesseling's monograph demonstrates that the political makeup of present-day Africa was created by Europeans during the partition.... All levels."-Choice

"This most recent effort to synthesize the history of Africa's partition is a lively, accessible account for the interested layperson and the serious scholar."-Publishers Weekly

"Wesseling's style is light, his organization of confusing streams of events is masterful, and his decision to tell the tale through biographical sketches of the prime movers of events is attractive to the general reader."-International Journal of African History Studies

"This book is the most judicious and most evenhanded synthesis of the rich historiography concerning the partition of Africa from the perspective of European imperial historians. Its special merits are its overall clarity and its guidance to the relevant more specialized works so that it becomes an ideal textbook on the subject. Its brilliance lies in its weaving in of the diplomatic records about all the European players involved, rather than relying on an account derived from one or two major powers....It is this ability to refuse to simplify, to resent complexity, to underline the interplay between the unexpected and the expected, which constitutes the main achievement of this remarkable work, and sets it off from others."-Jan Vansina, John D. Mac Arthur and Vilas professor emeritus University of Wisconsin-Madison
?Stylistically pleasant and based on a sound knowledge of the period, Wesseling's monograph demonstrates that the political makeup of present-day Africa was created by Europeans during the partition.... All levels.?-Choice
?This most recent effort to synthesize the history of Africa's partition is a lively, accessible account for the interested layperson and the serious scholar.?-Publishers Weekly
?Wesseling's style is light, his organization of confusing streams of events is masterful, and his decision to tell the tale through biographical sketches of the prime movers of events is attractive to the general reader.?-International Journal of African History Studies
"Stylistically pleasant and based on a sound knowledge of the period, Wesseling's monograph demonstrates that the political makeup of present-day Africa was created by Europeans during the partition.... All levels."-Choice
"This most recent effort to synthesize the history of Africa's partition is a lively, accessible account for the interested layperson and the serious scholar."-Publishers Weekly
"Wesseling's style is light, his organization of confusing streams of events is masterful, and his decision to tell the tale through biographical sketches of the prime movers of events is attractive to the general reader."-International Journal of African History Studies

This translation of a 1991 Dutch book emphasizes the role played by the evil, daring souls whose lust for adventure led them to sacrifice life and limb during the partition of Africa. That senseless exercise of bluff and guile, fueled by the political rivalries of Europe, was hard to stop. France, while claiming to be "civilizing," used military tactics to gain control. England claimed "free trade" with chartered company rule on the coast to grab the interior. "Rights" based on treaties with illiterate, even dead, rulers cast a tragicomical pall over colonizers' activities. Although Wesseling's book covers the same territory as Thomas Pakenham's The Scramble for Africa (Random House, 1991), his treatment is different. These books are scholarly and entertaining, so large public and academic libraries might want both. However, Pakenham's is twice as long yet costs less in the hardcover edition.‘Louise F. Leonard, Univ. of Florida Libs., Gainesville