Title: The Dark Continent: European Colonization in Africa | NJIS and the World
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The Dark Continent: European Colonization in Africa
The Dark Continent: European Colonization in Africa
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Content: The Dark Continent: European Colonization in Africa | NJIS and the World
The Dark Continent: European Colonization in Africa
The Dark Continent: European Colonization in Africa
Africa was deemed “The Dark Continent” (most likely used in print for the first time by US journalist and explorer Henry Stanley – of “Dr. Livingstone I presume?” fame – in his Africa account “Through the Dark Continent”) due to the fact that it remained a mystery to Europeans for so long. While most of the world had been under European control for quite some time Africa held out until the final decades of the 19th century, when it was carved up and parceled out to the main European powers in the Berlin Conference. But even after Africa had been divvied up, in reality the majority of the continent remained largely unexplored. It was not exploited until later when various factors collided enabling Europeans to begin a systematic exploitation of Africa’s vast resources. The fact that Africa was last to be colonized also meant that it was the last to gain independence as European imperialists wanted to hang on to their African colonies long enough to get a return on the investments they had put into their various economic ventures. Most of the countries in Africa have undergone decolonization in the latter half of the 20th century.