AHC: Other African colonizers

The challenge is to create a scenario that has a different set of countries (not Britain, France, Portugal and Spain) do most of the African colonizing.
 
The challenge is to create a scenario that has a different set of countries (not Britain, France, Portugal and Spain) do most of the African colonizing.
Spain was a pretty minor power in Africa, the african empires of Italy, Germany, and Belgium dwarfed them.


Anyways the French win the Seven Years War, but then durring TTL's French revolution the French East India Company, rather than be disbanded andhave their assets seized by the revolutionaries, sell their assets to Mysore, already probably the most modern Kingdom in India at the time, greatly increasing its indian territory and giving it a larger fleet and a trade post empire in the indian ocean (including Madagascar).

The French Revolutionary wars go very differently and Austria stomps France flat early on. The Ottomans keep Egypt, the Dutch keep South Africa, and the Austrians as the foremost power in the Mediterranean basically do what France did in North Africa.

Seeing as it was the primary destination for Angolan slaves anyways Brazil gets Angola in an alternate Brazilian War for Independence.
 
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The Dutch are the main one (barring a medieval or earlier POD), possessing a large network of forts which with some help and a stronger Dutch government (perhaps also including South Africa and the Austrian Netherlands), they could gain a Portugal-sized empire. Not to mention they had some clashes with Portugal's empire and could perhaps gain both Angola and Mozambique. I guess you could also get Spain more interested in Africa, but their problem was they already had a nice empire in the Americas, plus had the Philippines. And by the time they lost the Americas, Spain was in a pretty horrible state the rest of the century they couldn't just rebuild their empire in Africa since they were too poor to do so. Possibly an early united Italy could do something, but I don't see sub-Saharan Africa being a major priority compared to Europe, although they can certainly match OTL Italy's empire and a bit more.

A German colonial wank in Africa seems possible, if Germany unifies earlier, colonises earlier, and focuses huge efforts in Africa. If they send a bit of their emigration wave to Africa, then they can form the core of a powerful colonial force which perhaps in some Franco-German War (not a Great War) can grab whatever France is trying in Africa and expand these nascent French colonies into proper German ones.

Other than that, you're faced with the issue that while many European countries could colonise Africa in the 19th century, anything more than a small spit of land somewhere isn't going to be possible or politically doable at home. And you'll need some big players in the game to open Africa to European colonisation like England and France did. Other African colonisers is easy. Them doing most of the African colonising is not.

Sicily (and via them, later, Italy). Ottomans and Netherlands, as well. Just don't ask me how to contrive it.

Technically, the Ottomans did colonise Africa, both Eritrea and North Africa, and with the help of their nominal vassal Egypt, conquered down the Nile all the way into the modern Central African Republic.
 
If you get an Ottoman Empire that maintains its dominance in the Indian Ocean and develops strong client relationships/trade links along the East African coast over the centuries, I can certainly see them in a timeline where they're generally more successful being the main colonizers of that half of the Continent, with the Nile and Swahili cities along the coast being solid points from which to project their power and influence. Geographically, they're in a MUCH better position to access those regions.
 
As previously said the Spanish presence in Africa was pretty darn small. Maybe that can be increased dramatically.

Maybe have the last remnants of the original Spanish empire revolt by 1850 and the Spanish still modernize enough to participate in the scramble for Africa.

Maybe the Russians get a small slice.

China or Japan would be interesting-China with Zheng He and Japan maybe with a wanked out 20th century militarist Japan.

What about Greece? Maybe they'd get Egypt and Cyrenaica?

Iranian colonialism in Africa would be interesting as well.
 
Surviving Denmark-Norway or Sweden-Norway could be possible altough them will have quiet small presence in Africa.

Could surviving Islamic Iberia take some colonies there?

If Western Rome or Carthage survive they are surely colonising powers.
 

Schnozzberry

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Another potential situation could be that if the idea of returning former black slaves to Africa becomes mainstream, the USA might have a decently sized chunk of Africa in the Liberian region
 
The Venetian polity had it remained independent and influential until a suitable date in time (18th century) may have been a player. Similarly a surviving Savoy?
 

Zachariah

Banned
Would independent Brazilian colonies, as opposed to Portuguese colonies, count? And what about other Latin American or even Caribbean countries- could Argentina, Gran Columbia or Mexico get involved? And might it be possible to have a Haitian equivalent of Liberia established, looking to end the Transatlantic slave trade from both sides?
 

ben0628

Banned
- Brazil
- Longer lasting Rasulid Dynasty in Yemen
- An independent Ireland
- The United States
- Denmark-Norway
- Sweden
 
Could Oman-Zanzibar be a potential colonizer? Maybe a situation where the Sultans want greater control over the sources of slaves in East Africa and, backed by Parsee/Indian merchants, begin hiring Western adventurers to expand into the Congo.
 
Could Oman-Zanzibar be a potential colonizer? Maybe a situation where the Sultans want greater control over the sources of slaves in East Africa and, backed by Parsee/Indian merchants, begin hiring Western adventurers to expand into the Congo.
Pre-omani swahili already spread to Sofala, Comoros and Madagascar.

Indian merchants just assimilated into Swahili or Malagasy society if they didn't go with the trade winds.

Swahili were already for centuries using extensive trade networks in Congo even before Omani
 
Maybe in an alternate timeline where the Merina kingdom manages to pull a Meiji, Madagascar could set up some colonies in East Africa?

It's more realistic for the Sakalava to retain power and control of the island with outside support.

A lowlands take over of the highlands with a combined Sakalava-Betsimisaraka confederation under Ratsimilaho's son Zanahary who would be Half Sakalava, 1/4th English and 1/4th Betsimisaraka and who was connected to the arms and numbers of pirate castaways, mercenaries and family through his grandfather Thomas Tew.

Otl seems like after Zanahary the power of zana-malatas wanted but I can see that changing with an out right support of the Swahili arab aligned Sakalava and Pirate aligned Betsimisaraka.
 
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