The moment in the story is similar to the scene where a family meets with a notary to distribute the will of a deceased relative, but there was no death here and it was a whole continent: Africa. On November 15, 1884, twelve European countries, the Turkish Empire, and the United States met in Berlin. To avoid conflict, the African “cake” had to be cut. Of course, there was no one there representing the African people.

Map. The study on its cover, which we will see later, is fascinating because it rarely shows us how different the African continent was before Europe decided to colonize it as it wished. A striking scenario consisting of states, ethno-tribes, bounded by internal borders, hundreds of kingdoms/countries and more than a thousand scattered tribes.

Not only this. Moreover, as we observed, there were many great powers in Africa. Namely: the Jedidom of Egypt, the Ethiopian Empire, the Gaza Empire, the Kingdom of Kongo, the Sokoto Caliphate and the Sultanate of Zanzibar, as well as some European colonies (from France, the United Kingdom and Portugal). But of course there was so much more.

First look. Before the partition of Africa following the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, the African continent was a mosaic of various kingdoms, empires, tribes, sultanates, and confederations, each with its own highly complex political, social, and cultural organization. Let’s consider that the map at that time was very different from today, because much of the region was not under the direct control of European powers and was organized into local indigenous entities.

Pre-colonial political and cultural structure. As we said, before the colonization of Europe it was divided into hundreds of independent political entities. Besides large empires, there were also prosperous city-states and territories controlled by tribes or tribal confederations. In summary, here is a map showing some of the continent’s major kingdoms and cultures, and that moment in history before Europe shared the “pie”:

West African Empires

• Sokoto Empire: Located in what is now northern Nigeria, the Sokoto Caliphate was a major Islamic theocracy founded by Usman dan Fodio in the early 19th century. It controlled large regions in the Sahel and was an important religious and economic centre.
• Ashanti Kingdom: In modern-day Ghana, the Ashanti were a powerful kingdom that grew wealthy through its military organization and control of the gold and slave trade.
• Benin Empire: Located in what is now Nigeria, the Benin Empire was known for its bronze and ivory art and its prosperous capital, Benin, which was one of the most advanced cities of its time.

Sahel and Horn of Africa regions

• Ethiopian Empire: Ethiopia under the Solomonic dynasty was one of the few African kingdoms that resisted European colonization during the partition of Africa. It was a Christian empire with a rich history dating back thousands of years.
• Sultanate of Zanzibar: Zanzibar, on the east coast, was an Islamic sultanate that controlled the slave and spice trade in the Indian Ocean. It was also an important trading point for Arabs and Europeans.
• Buganda Kingdom: Located in what is now Uganda, the Buganda kingdom was a tribal confederation with a highly organized monarchical system, with a strong central structure and an agriculture-based economy.

Central and Southern Africa

• Luba and Lunda Empire: Today, they are the Congo and Angola, formerly the Luba and Lunda empires, which control large areas and are known for their developed political organization and commercial exchanges.
• Zulu Kingdom: We move to the Zulu Kingdom, the southeastern region of Africa, under the command of Shaka Zulu, who consolidated a militarily powerful empire that defied European expansion in the 19th century.

North Africa

• Kingdom of Morocco: At that time, Morocco was an independent Islamic kingdom that had already established diplomatic relations with Europe. And yes, it controlled large areas of the Sahara as well.
• Egypt: Controlled by the Ottomans and under the rule of Governor General Mehmet Ali, Egypt was a major power center in northeastern Africa, dominating Sudan.

Tribal and ethnic diversity. In addition to the great kingdoms and empires described above, Africa consisted of thousands of ethnic groups and tribes. These groups were not necessarily organized in centralized states but in clans or tribal confederations that maintained their autonomy. Each tribe or ethnic group had its own language, traditions, system of government, and ways of resolving conflicts.

Some of the most well-known tribal groups were the Maasai, a semi-nomadic society living in what is now Kenya and Tanzania and famous for their warrior lifestyle and pastoral culture. Additionally, the Tuareg, a Berber tribe in the Sahara, are known for their nomadic life in the desert and their famous “blue gold” (indigo) traders. Finally, we cannot forget the Yoruba in what is now Nigeria, an advanced “urban” society with city-states such as Ife and Oyo.

Another version of the map of Africa before the 1882 conference

Economy and trade. Before colonization, the continent had a diverse and prosperous economy based primarily on regional and intercontinental trade. At this point in African history, trade in gold, ivory, spices, slaves, and textiles connected African regions to the Arab world, Europe, and Asia.

Some important trade routes also included the Trans-Saharan, which connected West Africa to North Africa and the Arab world, enabling trade in gold, salt and slaves, and the Indian Ocean trade, of which the East African coast served as a location. Cities such as Zanzibar, Sofala and Mombasa traded with Arabs, Persians and Indians, exporting ivory, slaves and spices.

What about Europe? We said at the beginning that before the Berlin Conference, European direct control over Africa was limited to Algeria (under French control since 1830), South Africa, which had a British and Dutch presence since the 17th century, and some coastal colonies such as Angola and Mozambique. , under Portuguese rule. Plus: Some British or French controlled trading cities in West and East Africa.

Regardless, the interior of the African continent remained largely unknown and unexplored or claimed by European powers. Many experts point to the discovery of Africa by the likes of David Livingstone or Henry Morton Stanley as what sparked Europe’s interest in territorial expansion that led to the Berlin Conference.

How many countries and tribes are we talking about? It is difficult to pinpoint a number because before the conference the African continent was not divided into “countries” with fixed borders and centralized governments, at least in the modern sense of the word. Instead, it consisted of hundreds of kingdoms, empires, sultanates, tribal confederations, and autonomous societies.

Furthermore, due to the lack of a modern border system, it is difficult to give an exact figure as to how many political units existed, but it is estimated that there were between 80 and 100 major organized political entities, including large and small kingdoms, empires, and kingdoms. and cities. The closest thing to modern “countries”.

As for the tribes, the number is even greater. It is estimated that there were more than 1,000 different tribes or ethnic groups at the time, each with their own language, culture, and forms of social and political organization. Groups that vary greatly in size, from small tribes of a few villages to large clan confederations or tribal kingdoms that dominate large areas of land.

Image | Map courtesy of Daniel López, ETS

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