African Scramble

Scramble for Africa, a phrase used to describe the frenzied claiming of African territory by half a dozen European countries that resulted in nearly all of Africa becoming part of Europe's colonial empires. The Scramble began slowly in the 1870s, reached its peak in the late 1880s and 1890s, and tapered off over the first decade of the 20th century. Between 1885 and 1900, European powers were, at times, racing each other to stake claims in Africa. …

…stage for World War I. Competition for African territory raised nationalist feelings and kept relations tense and combative. It also gave Europeans a sense that war was good for "national character" and not so taxing on budgets and manpower. World War I would soon destroy these illusions. But for Africa once the conquest was complete, Africa was largely forgotten about and not considered again until the movement for African independence of the 1950s and 1960s.