MC_A Concise History of Africa

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During the late 1870s and early
1880s King Leopold II of
Belgium had been furthering his
interests by laying claim to land
along the lower Congo river, an area
to which Portugal had already
staked a claim. In 1884 Germany’s
first chancellor, Otto von Bismarck,
announced German claims to three
African colonies: Togoland,
Cameroon, and South-West Africa,
which threatened to create a state of
conflict, there being concerns over
the European colonial balance of
power. Bismarck, with France, called
for a conference to settle these
rivalries, and it was on November
AFRICA: WHO DREW THE LINES?
LEFT: King Leopold II of Belgium lay
claim to lands along the lower Congo
river.
BELOW LEFT: Germany’s first
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.
BELOW: A Masai tribesman herding
goats.
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