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Edition 6, 1830-1940, Africa

Early Colonization - The early years European colonization of Africa basically are un-altered from OTL. The British took over the Cape Colony at the turn of the 19th century, and in the 1830s, several thousand Boers began the Great Trek north and eastward, establishing the independent republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The French invasion and occupation of Algeria is delayed by about a decade, due to the Regency period from 1825-1838, with the actual invasion occuring in 1841 instead of in 1830, this time as a release valve for conservative French Army officers following the adoption of a more liberal constitution the year before by King Henry V. Portugal had outposts on the west coast of Africa in what would in OTL become Angola, and also a going concern in what is now Mozambique. The Ottoman Empire controlled what we now think of as Libya, Egypt, and Sudan. The rest of Africa remained a closed off mystery. Things would begin to change in the 1850s.

Prussian Colonization of the Kongo and Kamerun - In 1854, Prussian naval captain-turned-explorer by the name of Marius Eichinger arrived at the mouth of the Kongo River, and after exploring for several weeks, declared the whole river to be the part of the Prussian Kingdom, a bold claim for a nation with no overseas holdings. Eichinger went back to Berlin and convinced the court of King Frederick William IV to back his claim, which was made official on June 10, 1855. Eichinger was named colonial governor and immediately went about gathering men and supplies to set up a proper colony. On October 3, 1855, the settlement of New Berlin was established at the mouth of the Kongo River, marking the beginning of the Kongo Colony. Britain, Portugal, Spain and France all took notice, and some began to try and better colonize their own territories in the region. Five years later, in 1860, the Prussians claimed the Kamerun River in the same way, and established Wilhelmsstadt at the mouth of that river, proclaiming a new colony the following year. Events in Ottoman Egypt later that decade would end up causing the Carving of Africa in the 1870s.

The Suez Canal and Prussian-Ottoman Friendship - In 1864, the Ottoman government contacted several prominent engineers from Prussia to consider construction of a canal across the Suez Isthmus, the 75-mile strip of land that connected Africa to Asia, and was all that separated the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Long a dream of many empires, the Ottomans were committed to the idea, and with Prussian help, both in money and in know-how, construction began in 1866. Frederick William V believed it would be a worthwhile project to help expand Prussian prestige and possibly give his kingdom an edge in world economics and diplomacy. The Suez Canal opened in 1871, with the first ship to go through being a Prussian battleship, the SS Barbarossa. Although the canal was Ottoman owned and controlled, at least on paper, it was operated by Prussians with formal and informal ties to the government in Berlin. Many people in other parts of Europe feared that Prussia would use their influence to block the use of the canal by other rival powers. Some in power in both Britain and France proposed an invasion. Instead, British Foreign Minister Thomas May proposed a conference to settle the “Suez Question,” that would lead to the division of the entire continent of Africa.

The London Conference and the Carving of Africa - In August and September of 1873, leaders from Prussia, the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Spain, and the Ottoman Empire gathered in London to discuss the so-called “Suez Question.” Quite bluntly, the other European powers demanded equal access to the Suez. They all agreed to charging ships to pass through, but an an equal rate with no favoritism. After a few days of talking, Prussia actually conceded and convinced the Ottomans to agree (it was becoming increasingly likely that war with Austria was soon in coming, and Prussia did not want to end up surrounded by enemies in such a fight). After this agreement was reached, the Prussians then countered with a proposal: since all the principal powers of Europe that have claims in Africa are present, why don’t we agree right now on who owns what in Africa, and set boundaries for expansion. It was a bold proposal. Britain jumped on board quickly. Soon after, France and Spain agreed as well. Portugal took a little convincing, but soon agreed. The Ottomans weren’t as interested. They told the rest that, “our empire has what we want in Africa. As long as you respect our boundaries, we will not concern ourselves with what you do in the south and west.” After that, geographers worked with the politicians to set boundaries for the colonial ambitions of the great powers in Africa. By the end of September, the Carving of Africa had been more or less agreed upon, and would go into effect. Britain was recognized as controlling all of southern Africa, and western Africa south of Ottoman territory, with the exception of independent Ethiopia, and Portuguese Mozambique. The Portuguese were given permission to claim land in central Africa that would allow them to link Mozambique with Angola. With the exceptions of a few Spanish and British colonies, and the larger territories of Prussian Kongo and Kamerun, West Africa was generally considered to be French. Now, in the immediate years following, very little would actually change on the ground. On paper, these countries now had vast swaths of territory claimed. But the reality was that most of it was unexplored and untouched by Europeans, and would remain that way into the 1880s and 1890s.

The Boer War - At the London Conference, the other European powers backed Britain’s claim to the whole of the Cape of Good Hope, refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the Boer Republics. For the time being, Britain was happy to let the Boers leave, but knew that some day that land would be claimed. In 1878, gold was discovered in Transvaal and Britain’s interest in formally controlling that area. Actual war broke out in 1882, and would end up being a resounding defeat for Britain, due largely to the British commanders underestimating their foe. The war ended in 1883, with Britain formally recognizing the independence of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Some historians speculate that Britain might have tried to take the republics on again later on around the turn of the twentieth century, but the Bradley-Edwards Conspiracy, the rebellions in Ireland and Japan, and then the outbreak of the Great European War prevented this from happening and preserved Boer independence to this day.

Post 1905 and the Fall of France - After the revolutions in Europe consumed France, the French colonial holdings in Africa were doomed to fall into new hands. While the French Court-in-Exile was able to hold on to Algeria, the rest of its West African holdings fell to Britain and Prussia, with continued disputes in the interior about just where the new boundary lay.

Post Global War - Following the conclusion of the Global War, Prussian Kamerun and all of the Spanish colonies were claimed by Britain. Prussian Kongo declared itself independent in 1939, backed by the British but not being claimed. The Kongoers were a mix of native leaders and local born Prussians who identified more with their homeland than the kingdom that had controlled them for so long. The greatly reduced Prussian Kingdom would recognzie Kongoer independence in 1940. Britain now controls the bulk of Africa, but that control is tenuous outside of the Dominion of South Africa and a few other areas of western Africa. With the success of the independence movement in the Kongo, other colonies are becoming more interested in independence. And in the Ottoman Federation, there is rumblings of political unrest and change that may result in major changes in the coming decades.