evidence: Humanities › Geography › Key Figures & Milestones › The Spanish Enclaves of North Africa The Territories of Ceuta and Melilla Lie Within Morocco Print Photo Taken In Spain, Ceuta. Marina Lubinets / EyeEm / Getty Images Geography Key Figures & Milestones Basics Physical Geography Political Geography Population Country Information Maps Urban Geography By Brian Baskerville Brian Baskerville M.A., Geography, California State University - Northridge B.A., Geography, University of California - Davis Brian Baskerville is a geographer at the United States Department of Agriculture. He holds a master's degree in geography. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on January 21, 2020 At the onset of the Industrial Revolution (circa 1750-1850), European countries began scouring the globe looking for resources to power their economies. Africa, because of its geographic location and its abundance of resources, was seen as a key source of wealth for many of these nations. This drive for control of resources led to the "Scramble for Africa" and eventually the Berlin Conference of 1884. At this meeting, the world powers at the time divided up the regions of the continent that had not already been claimed.