Competing nations
It was not until the ‘scramble for Africa’ of the late nineteenth century that the bulk of sub-Saharan Africa came under European rule.
Until then direct government by European nations was largely confined to sections of the African littoral and much of the interior remained unknown.
Only in South Africa did European settlement take place on a large scale, penetrating far into the interior and leading to centuries of displacement and conflict, as Dutch, British and African peoples competed for land, trade routes and natural resources.
In this exhibition
- First European encounters
- Slavery and anti-slavery
- Towards emancipation
- South Africa: early European settlement
- South Africa: diamonds, gold and bloodshed
- Interior exploration of Africa
- The scramble for Africa
- Africa under European rule
- I speak of Africa
- Select bibliography