Divide and Rule

The partition of Africa was one of the most spectacular episodes in modern history. For Europeans, Africa was still an unknown continent in 1880. Thirty years later almost all of it was under European control. This race for colonies went hand in hand with a host of thrilling exploits and dramatic conflicts, of which Stanley's exploration of the Congo and Gordon's death in Khartoum are just two examples.

The partition of Africa was one of the most spectacular episodes in modern history. For Europeans, Africa was still an unknown continent in 1880. Thirty years later, almost all of it was under European control. This race for colonies went hand in hand with a host of thrilling exploits and dramatic conflicts, of which Stanley's exploration of the Congo and Gordon's death in Khartoum were just two examples. Although the end of the colonial period produced a great upsurge in historical writing on the subject, this book is the most complete general overview of the dramatic events that marked this period. Such major historical questions as the causes of European imperialism are also examined. The author, an internationally renowned authority in the field, analyzes these issues and presents his own views of them.

In Divide and Rule, Wesseling dwells primarily on the historical developments. The many picturesque and problematic events are brought back to life. The leading characters are presented with gusto: the pioneers, the conquerors, the European politicians who tried to run the show no less, and the main African protagonists. For this reason, Divide and Rule is above all a story of one of the most dramatic highlights of the centuries-long history of European expansion.

Preface
Introduction
"The Eastern Question": The Occupation of Tunisia and Egypt, 1881-1882
France and Imperialism
Tunisia
Great Britain and Imperialism
Egypt
The Sudan and the Nile
Conclusion
The Congo and the Creation of the Free State, 1882-1885
Belgium and Leopold II
The Brussels Conference and Its Consequences
Europeans in the Congo
The Congo Question, 1882-1884
Germany and Imperialism
The Berlin Conference
The Birth of the Free State
Conclusion
"Cool and Courageous": Germany and Great Britain in East Africa, 1885-1890
The Rise of Zanzibar and British Influence
Germany and East Africa
Great Britain and Germany in East Africa, 1886-1890
The Cape-to-Cairo Dream and the Zanzibar-Heligoland Treaty
Uganda
Epilogue: The French Occupation of Madagascar
Conclusion
Soldiers and Traders: France and Great Britain in West Africa, 1890-1898
France in the Sudan
Britain and the Niger
The Partition: Phase I, 1890-1895
The Partition: Phase II, 1895-1898
Conclusion
The Long March to Fashoda, 1893-1898
The British Nile Strategy
The French Nile Strategy
Italy and Imperialism
The Mission that Failed: The Marchand Mission
Fashoda
Conclusion
Boers and Britons in South Africa, 1890-1902
The Historical Background
Foreigners and Gold Strikes, 1884-1886
Rhodes and Rhodesia, 1890-1893
Rhodes vs. Kruger
Toward the Second Boer War
The Second Boer War, 1899-1902
Conclusion
Epilogue: The Partition of Morocco, 1905-1912
Morocco and Europe
France and Morocco
From Tangier to Agadir
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Appendix 1: Important Treaties and Agreements
Appendix 2: Synchronic Survey
Index of Names