Product Description

In 1880 the continent of Africa was largely unexplored by Europeans. Less than thirty years later, only Liberia and Ethiopia remained unconquered by them. The rest - 10 million square miles with 110 million bewildered new subjects - had been carved up by five European powers (and one extraordinary individual) in the name of Commerce, Christianity, 'Civilization' and Conquest. The Scramble for Africa is the first full-scale study of that extraordinary episode in history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25462 in Books
• Published on: 1992-11-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 800 pages

Review
'Magnificent, vigorous, comprehensive, compulsive reading' DAILY TELEGRAPH *'Memorable history on a grand scale . . . brilliant . . . thrilling, fast moving, imaginative, coherent' INDEPENDENT *' A phenomenal achievement . . . clear, authoritative and compelling' William Boyd, DAILY TELEGRAPH *'Grim as well as gripping reading . . . Pakenham writes racily and humorously . . . a magnificent, swash buckling, blood-bolstered epic' OBSERVER

Thomas Pakenham wrote what remains the best single book on the Boer War. In The Scramble for Africa he sets out to explore just why and how in a few short years from 1880 various European powers carved up the African continent. The European colonial take-over was ostensibly the product of a crusading zeal to free Africa from slavery and backwardness by way of Livingstone's 3 Cs - Commerce, Christianity and Civilization. The book does not suffer from being avowedly Eurocentric, but its chief virtue is dealing with a fascinating story of enormous complexity with absolute precision and clarity. Pakenham shows how this all became an exercise in the coercion and military conquest of the African peoples. This is like exploring history in a Rolls Royce. (Kirkus UK)

Like our own century's headlong rush to own the Bomb, European powers in the late-19th century raced to acquire colonies in Africa. Now, in a comprehensive and certain-to-be-standard account of this "scramble," Pakenham (The Boer War, 1979) describes the motives and methods of what Bismarck called "the colonial whirl." For Pakenham, the "scramble" began with the death of David Livingstone, the great missionary and explorer. Horrified by the new slave trade, organized by the Arabs and their African allies, that was destroying the heart of his beloved continent, the dying Livingstone pleaded for the three "Cs" - Commerce, Christianity, and Civilization - to join in a worldwide crusade to root out the evil. But a fourth "C" - Conquest - was added, and though the original ideals were never lost, they were often secondary to realpolitik and greed. Villains, heroes, rogues - each responded to the call in his own fashion, but "all conceived of it in terms of romantic nationalism." There was Stanley, the consummate self-promoter; King Leopold II of Belgium, who made the Congo his personal fief; the idiosyncratic General Gordon, sacrificed to the Mahdi; and a large cast of other luminaries. In alternating chapters, Pakenham describes the individual European powers' ventures and misadventures in a continent that, in reality, was incapable of ever fulfilling their grandiose expectations. Indeed, no one except the wily Leopold, who stashed his gains in a hidden bank account, really came out ahead. And what of the Africans themselves, who were to be saved by the three Cs? Pakenham's answer is unfashionably Panglossian: Europe gave a continent in thrall to slave traders and despots "the aspirations for freedom and human dignity, the humanitarian ideals of Livingstone, even if Europe was seldom able to live up to them." More anecdotal than analytical, but a spirited and intelligent history of one of the moat seminal events in Africa, whose legacy is not yet spent. (Kirkus Reviews)

Synopsis
In 1880 the continent of Africa was largely unexplored by Europeans. Less than thirty years later, only Liberia and Ethiopia remained unconquered by them. The rest - 10 million square miles with 110 million bewildered new subjects - had been carved up by five European powers (and one extraordinary individual) in the name of Commerce, Christianity, 'Civilization' and Conquest. The Scramble for Africa is the first full-scale study of that extraordinary episode in history.

About the Author
Thomas Pakenham is the author of THE MOUNTAINS OF RASSELAS, THE YEAR OF LIBERTY and THE BOER WAR. He divides his time between a terraced house I nnNorth Kensington, London and a crumbling castle in Ireland. He is married to the writer Valerie Pakenham and they have four children.

Customer Reviews

Very Good
The Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham is a very good book which deals with the remarkable last two decades in the nineteenth century when Africa was carved up by the nations of Europe. It is an immensely readable book which deals with a number of different areas and time periods but also goes further and deals with individuals and more forgotten examples of European colonisation such as the Belgians in the Congo. All in all a remarkable book which is a pleasure to read.

Great book of a harrowing journey of a continent.
This is a great book, and like other readers, I think it gave account of every region fairly evenly. Pakenham shows that mistreatment of the native population was endemic across the continent, regardless of the ruling European power. He also managed to avoid romanticizing the situation prior to colonization, bringing to life the personalities of the Kings, Sultans and Chiefs that ruled before the europeans arrived.

Pakenham did however get mixed up with what was British and what was English, as English historians often do.

Best history book ever!
Pakenham gives you the detail without the drudgery; the tale without the tediousness; takes you right into the heart of history but manages to make the ride effortless. His story spans two continents, includes a myriad of characters and covers many years of imperial intrigue in Africa. Yet, he not only stays true to the facts, he also gives you a human story. You can close your eyes and see Leopold or Lobengula or any of the hundreds of actors that claimed this stage of human history. Here is a priceless account of how and why it happened; the partition of Africa in the nineteenth century by several European nations. A must read!