How a few countries in Europe took almost all of Africa — and drew lines on the map that are still there today.
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These are the new words for the Scramble for Africa. Match each word (1–8) to its meaning (A–H). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is D" — then check.
1 = B (a colony) · 2 = E (an empire) · 3 = G (a treaty) · 4 = F (land)
5 = D (gold) · 6 = A (a border) · 7 = H (to take) · 8 = C (to fight)
Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one.
For a long time, the countries of Europe knew only the edges of Africa, near the sea. They came to buy and sell things like gold and ivory (the white tusks of elephants). But the big lands inside Africa were new to them.
Then, in only about thirty years (from around 1880 to 1914), this changed very fast. A few strong countries in Europe — like Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy — took almost all of Africa. By 1914, only two countries in Africa were still free: Ethiopia and Liberia.
Why did they do it? They wanted the land, the gold, and other things from Africa for their factories at home. They also wanted to be bigger and stronger than the other European countries. New guns and new machines made it easy for small European armies to take big areas of land.
1. In about which years did Europe take almost all of Africa? Which two countries stayed free?
2. Why did the European countries want Africa?
1. From about 1880 to 1914. Ethiopia and Liberia stayed free.
2. They wanted the land, the gold and other things for their factories. They also wanted to be bigger and stronger than the other European countries.
The European countries were taking more and more land in Africa. They started to worry: maybe they would fight each other over it. So in the winter of 1884 and 1885, they had a big meeting in Berlin, in Germany. This is called the Berlin Conference.
At this meeting, the European countries made rules. The rules were not for the people of Africa — they were for the Europeans. The rules said how each country could take a part of Africa without starting a war with the other European countries.
There is one very important fact about this meeting: there were no Africans there. Not one. The Europeans looked at a map and drew lines on it. These lines became the borders of new colonies. They drew the lines straight across rivers, deserts and homes, and they did not think about the people who lived there. Sometimes one line cut a family or a group into two different countries. At this same meeting, they gave a huge area near the Congo River to one man — King Leopold II of Belgium — to keep as his own.
1. Why did the European countries meet in Berlin? Who was not there?
2. How did they decide the borders of the new colonies?
1. They met (in 1884–85) to make rules so they would not fight each other over Africa. No Africans were there.
2. They drew lines on a map, straight across rivers, deserts and homes, without thinking about the people who lived there.
Taking Africa was often very cruel. The worst place was the land of King Leopold II, near the Congo River. The king never went there, but he made the people work to collect rubber for him. If they did not collect enough, they were punished in terrible ways. Many, many people suffered and died. Later, even other Europeans were shocked when they learned the truth. Leopold became very rich.
But this is not only a story of taking and cruelty. The people of Africa also fought back. The Africans were neither asked nor invited to the meeting in Berlin — so many of them said no with their actions. When a European army came, an African leader could either agree or fight, and many chose to fight. They defended their land for years.
The most famous example is Ethiopia. In 1896, Italy tried to take Ethiopia. But the Ethiopian leader, Emperor Menelik II, had a big, strong army. At the Battle of Adwa, the Ethiopians won. They beat a European country in a real battle. Because of this, Ethiopia stayed free. Adwa became a symbol all over Africa: it showed that Europe could be beaten.
1. What happened in the land of King Leopold II?
2. Put these three events in the right order: (a) the Battle of Adwa; (b) the Berlin Conference; (c) by 1914 Europe has taken almost all of Africa.
1. The people were made to collect rubber for the king. If they did not collect enough, they were punished in terrible ways. Many people died, and Leopold became rich.
2. b (Berlin Conference, 1884–85) → a (Battle of Adwa, 1896) → c (by 1914 almost all of Africa is taken).
By 1914, almost all of Africa belonged to Europe. Many years later, after the Second World War, the countries of Africa became free again, one by one. But here is the strange part: most of them kept the same borders — the same lines the Europeans had drawn on the map in Berlin.
So many of the borders on the map of Africa today come from those old European lines. The men who drew them died long ago, but their lines are still there, and they still touch the lives of many millions of people.
This story is full of pairs — two countries, two choices, two free lands. English has three nice ways to join two things in one sentence.
Put both…and, either…or or neither…nor in each gap so the meaning is right.
1. Britain France took land in Africa.
2. The Africans were asked invited to the meeting.
3. When the army came, a leader could agree fight.
1. both … and (two things together — both countries took land)
2. neither … nor (not asked and not invited — two negatives)
3. either … or (two choices — agree or fight)
Put the missing word in each gap. Then read the sentence out loud.
1. Ethiopia was both free strong.
2. King Leopold neither visited the Congo helped the people there.
3. The European countries wanted either gold land — and often both.
1. and (both … and)
2. nor (neither … nor)
3. or (either … or)
Finish each sentence with your own idea. Keep it simple, then say it out loud.
1. The Berlin meeting was both and .
2. At Adwa, the Ethiopians could either or .
3. The borders in Africa today are neither nor .
Your answers can be different — these are only examples:
1. "…both important and unfair."
2. "…either give up or fight." (They chose to fight.)
3. "…neither old nor fair." (They came from European lines.)
There is a real podcast about the Scramble for Africa. It is for native speakers, so it is fast and quite difficult — that is normal! You do not need to understand every word.
From the Noiser podcast network. About 50 minutes. It plays on the Noiser site, or search "Short History Of The Scramble for Africa" on your podcast app.
Play on Noiser →Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of the Scramble for Africa in your own words. Use these steps to help you: Europe knew only the edges of Africa → in about thirty years they took almost all of it → the Berlin meeting, with no Africans there → cruelty in the Congo → Africans fought back → Ethiopia won at Adwa and stayed free → the borders are still there today.
Try to use some of the key words (colony, empire, treaty, land, gold, border, take, fight), and join two things with both…and, either…or or neither…nor.
Many borders in Africa today come from lines that strangers drew long ago. Do you think these borders should change now, or is it better to keep them? Do you know other countries or cities with a border that came from outside? Talk about it.
Tell a story of your own. It can be about taking, fighting back, or a choice with only two answers. Try to join two things with both…and, either…or or neither…nor.
Not sure what to talk about? Choose one: