Scramble for Africa (1880s-1914)
European powers carved up Africa at the 1884 Berlin Conference. Missionaries like David Livingstone promoted Christianity alongside commerce in colonies like Rhodesia. Europeans claimed a divine mandate to civilize the continent through the “White Man’s Burden” concept. By 1914, Europeans controlled 90 percent of Africa. Religious missions often provided cover for brutal exploitation, such as King Leopold’s atrocities in Congo.
