Between 1880 and 1914, European countries basically split up the whole of Africa between themselves — without asking a single African person.
Caden Blundell · History · March 2026
90%
of Africa colonised by 1914
7
European nations competing for land
2
countries that stayed free — Ethiopia & Liberia
AFRICA
What Actually Happened?
2/4
What was it?
European countries raced each other to claim land across Africa
Britain, France, Germany, Belgium and Portugal all competed
In just 30 years, almost the entire continent was carved up
The borders they drew completely ignored existing African kingdoms and tribes
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When did it happen?
Main scramble period: 1880–1914
The Berlin Conference where Europe divided Africa: 1884–85
By 1914 only Ethiopia and Liberia had managed to stay independent
The whole thing wrapped up just before World War I started
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Where did it happen?
Across the entire African continent
Key areas: East Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa
Britain alone ended up controlling over 30% of Africa
The Congo was personally owned by Belgium's King Leopold — one of history's worst human rights disasters
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AFRICA
Why Does It Matter?
3/4
Impact on Africa
Borders were drawn by Europeans — completely ignoring existing kingdoms and tribes. Those same borders cause conflict in Africa today
Gold, diamonds and rubber were taken by force
Millions of Africans lost their land and their freedom
African languages and cultures were actively suppressed
Global impact
Britain became massively wealthier from African resources
The Berlin Conference showed how powerful nations could completely ignore entire populations
The scramble directly caused independence movements in the 20th century
Many modern conflicts in Africa trace their roots back to these borders
AFRICA
The Surprising Bit
4/4
Did you know?
The Berlin Conference where European leaders divided Africa lasted just 3 months. In that time, they made decisions that affected over 200 million people. The kicker? Not a single African leader was invited. Not one.
Who took what?
How much of Africa each country controlled by 1914
Britain~30%
France~21%
Germany~9%
Belgium~8%
Portugal~7%
Italy~5%
Next Topic
Transatlantic Slave Trade
16th – 19th Century. The story of how millions of people were kidnapped, shipped across the ocean, and enslaved — and how they and others fought back.
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History Revision · March 2026
The Transatlantic Slave Trade
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, over 12 million African people were kidnapped, transported across the ocean, and enslaved. This is the story of what happened — and how it ended.
Caden Blundell · History · March 2026
12.5M
people forcibly transported across the Atlantic
1807
Britain abolished the slave trade
1833
slavery itself ended in the British Empire
SLAVE TRADE
Key People
2/6
Olaudah Equiano
c.1745 – 1797 · Born in Igbo region, West Africa (now Nigeria)
Kidnapped as a child and sold into slavery
Survived the brutal Middle Passage across the Atlantic
Managed to learn to read and write while enslaved — extremely rare
Bought his own freedom in 1766 after saving money
Wrote his autobiography in 1789 — exposed the horrors to the British public
"I regarded them as men like myself." — describing his enslavers
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William Wilberforce
1759 – 1833 · Hull, England · Member of Parliament
Led the campaign in Parliament to abolish the slave trade
Deeply religious — genuinely believed slavery was morally wrong
Kept introducing bills to Parliament even when they kept failing
Finally won with the Slave Trade Act 1807
Died in 1833 — just three days after Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act
"You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know."
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SLAVE TRADE
Key People
3/6
Thomas Clarkson
1760 – 1846 · England · Abolitionist researcher
Started his research after writing an essay at Cambridge University
Travelled thousands of miles collecting evidence — chains, shackles, witness accounts
Helped spread the Brookes diagram showing enslaved people packed into a ship
Co-founded the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787
Gave Wilberforce the facts and evidence to argue in Parliament
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Toussaint Louverture
c.1743 – 1803 · Saint-Domingue (now Haiti)
Born into slavery in the richest colony in the Caribbean
Led the Haitian Revolution (1791) — the most successful slave revolt in history
Built an army from freed slaves and defeated French, Spanish and British forces
Captured by Napoleon in 1802 and died in prison — but the revolution kept going
Haiti became the first free Black republic in the world in 1804
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SLAVE TRADE
The Less Obvious Stuff
4/6
Slave Rebellions
Enslaved people resisted constantly — they never just accepted it
Small everyday resistance: working slowly, breaking tools, pretending to be sick
Escaped slaves formed Maroon societies — free communities in forests and mountains
The Haitian Revolution proved a full overthrow was possible
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The Sugar Boycott
Hundreds of thousands of British people stopped buying Caribbean sugar
In 1791 the boycott grew massively — whole households took part
Women were key organisers — spreading the message through pamphlets and meetings
One of the first mass consumer protests in history
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Women in Abolition
Women had no right to vote but were absolutely central to the abolition movement
They organised petitions, raised money, ran public meetings
Formed their own groups — e.g. the Birmingham Ladies Society
Elizabeth Heyrick argued for immediate abolition, not gradual — and won that argument
Tap to find out more
SLAVE TRADE
The Middle Passage
5/6
The crossing
6–10 weeks
at sea, in horrific conditions
Enslaved people were chained together and packed into the lower decks with barely room to move
Food and water were minimal — almost no sanitation
Diseases like dysentery and smallpox spread rapidly
Between 12–20% of enslaved Africans died before even reaching the Americas
Those who survived arrived traumatised, weak and ill
How the Triangular Trade worked
1
Europe → Africa
Ships loaded up with manufactured goods — guns, cloth, metal tools — and sailed to West Africa
↓
2
Africa → Americas (Middle Passage)
Those goods were traded for enslaved Africans, who were then transported across the Atlantic — this was the Middle Passage
↓
3
Americas → Europe
Ships returned to Europe packed with sugar, tobacco and cotton — all produced using enslaved labour
SLAVE TRADE
Pulling It Together
6/6
So, why did slavery end?
It wasn't just one person or one thing — it was a whole load of forces building up together. Equiano gave people a first-hand account they couldn't ignore. Clarkson gathered the evidence. Wilberforce took it to Parliament over and over again. Slave rebellions showed that slavery was unstable. The sugar boycott proved ordinary people could make a difference. And women turned it into a mass movement.
1807
Slave Trade Act — illegal for British ships to transport enslaved people
1833
Slavery Abolition Act — slavery ended across most of the British Empire
Quick Quiz — What did Olaudah Equiano publish in 1789?
A speech he gave in Parliament calling for abolition
His autobiography, describing his own life in slavery