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The colonization of Africa: An interactive map
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The colonization of Africa: An interactive map

Written by
Amy McKenna
Amy McKenna is a senior editor, primarily focused on geography and history matters pertaining to sub-Saharan Africa. She joined Encyclopaedia Britannica in 2004. She was previously employed by Standard...
Amy McKennaAll
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Though European powers had long been attracted to Africa, their interest in the continent’s land and resources peaked during the late 19th-century “Scramble” for territory. This latter period coincided with the era of New Imperialism, in which global powers pursued expansion through the acquisition of colonies throughout the world. As Europeans pushed further into the interior of Africa in their attempts to expand their control and impose colonial administration, they increasingly came into conflict with African states and Indigenous populations. Still, by the start of World War I in 1914, European countries had claimed about 90 percent of the African continent—only Liberia, which had become an independent republic in 1847, and Ethiopia, which had long been an independent kingdom, had escaped incorporation into any European empire. Additional changes in colonial administration occurred in the aftermath of the war, as the League of Nations implemented a mandate system to oversee Germany’s former African colonies.

In the interactive map below, click along the timeline to view snapshots of the general extent of colonial territories in Africa across different time periods between the 1400s and 1920s.

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Map of North America in 1763 using color coding to show colonial territories: the 13 American colonies in red along the Atlantic coast, other British territory in orange across much of present-day Canada, Spanish territory in purple covering most of the southern and western regions, Russian territory in green in the northwest, and large areas of unclaimed land in white. Major bodies of water such as the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Hudson Bay are labeled.
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Antique map of Africa from 1902, showing colonial boundaries, major cities, rivers, and topographical features, with insets displaying detailed maps of Ascension Island, St. Helena Island, Reunion, Mauritius, and Cape Verde Island along the map's margins.
Timeline of European Colonization of Africa
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Decolonization of Africa
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