France and the Scramble for Africa

1859 Burton and Speke discover the source of the Nile (Mountains of the Moon)

1869 French build Suez Canal in Egypt.

1871

1871 "Dr. Livingstone, I presume." Henry Stanley (American Journalist) finds Livingstone in the heart of Africa. Publishes Livingstone's aspirations, "End Slavery once and for all!

France defeated by Germany. Bismarck begins encouraging French Colonialism to "take the French mind off of Alsace-Lorraine"

1873 David Livingstone dies. Humanitarian efforts in Africa accelerate when Jacob Wainwright, his black African friend accompanies Livingstone's body to England. Stanley is a pall-bearer and swears his life to finishing Livingstone's work: Where does the Lualaba go?

1875 British buy majority share in Suez Canal from under French noses. French furious

1878 Egyptian Khedive's playboy lifestyle based on European loans leads to financial problems and Anglo-French Dual Control of Egypt. Disraeli and Brits displeased at entanglement in Egypt. Expensive! Morally dubious.

1881 France takes Tunisia

1882 Egyptian Crisis.

1882 Egyptian Crisis. Nationalists under Arabi depose the Khedive and try to expel British and French as well as welch on payment of massive loans

Battles of Tel el Kabir, and The Nile--French govt. refuses to allow France a military role. Britain does all the work and the British Army regains world-class standing. Dual Control becomes a fig-leaf for British dominance of Egypt and the French built Suez Canal. French Pride suffers badly. New Puppet Khedive in power

1884 Germany claims Cameroon and Togo as protectorates. Britain and France are blindsided. Nationalists in both nations demand protectorates to prevent further German inroads into "their" areas. Scramble for Africa begins.

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Siege of Khartoum begins by forces of the Mahdi

1884 Treaty of Berlin divides up Africa to prevent warfare among Europeans. Leopold II gets the Congo. Problem is that these are only paper claims. The Fourth "C"--Conquest is needed.

France takes Indochina

divides up Africa to prevent warfare among Europeans. Leopold II gets the Congo. Problem is that these are only paper claims. The Fourth "C"--Conquest is needed.

France takes Indochina

1885 Mahdist forces take Khartoum, on the upper Nile. British leader Gordan is beheaded. British Army was, "Too late!" British public outraged. Disraeli falls. Salisbury (bored Imperialist) takes over.

Bismarck and France threaten to block British loans to keep Egypt afloat. Strange bedfellows.

East Africa Scramble begins. Bismarck announces a protectorate in East Africa. French move in on Red Sea at Obock. Italians at Massawa. Suez threatened. Nile is threatened if Mahdists are defeated.

Anglo-Turkish Agreement getting Britain out of Egypt is torpedoed by a Franco-Russian threat against Turkey. "France," says Salisbury, "is, and must always remain, England's greatest danger."

1888 Cecil Rhodes unveils a "Cape-to-Cairo Railroad" scheme. Need upper Nile to make it work.

French threaten headwaters of Nile from Obock. May "steal" water from Nile, making Egypt worthless.

France's Insubordinate Army takes nearly all of Saharan West Africa by simply ignoring government orders to stop.

unveils a "Cape-to-Cairo Railroad" scheme. Need upper Nile to make it work.

French threaten headwaters of Nile from Obock. May "steal" water from Nile, making Egypt worthless.

France's Insubordinate Army takes nearly all of Saharan West Africa by simply ignoring government orders to stop.

1895 Britain seizes most of the Niger River after France tries to seize it. British very annoyed.

Marchand Mission to "explore" East Africa leaves French West Africa. It is a secret military mission to seize Fashoda, on the Nile. A perfect place to build a dam to divert the Nile and ruin Egypt and England.

1896 Kruger Telegram--Kaiser Wilhelm II congratulates Boers. English are outraged. Queen Victoria demands explanation from her grandson. Wilhem II replies with his, "Dear Grandmama" letter. Victoria calls it, "lame and illogical." French become rabidly Anglophobic.

British move up the Nile to Sudan (Khartoum and Fashoda) to support Italians. French public opinion is outraged at Britain's power grab on the Nile

French tell Marchand to get to Fashoda. Ethiopia would help France if "trouble" arose. Frenc troops in Ethiopia are ready to move as well. This would give France an East-West route across Africa.

1897 French begin strategy of "right of occupation" over treaties as England has always won the treaty game. So France decides to simply seize, then, negotiate. This puts great pressure on Britain's claims near the Niger River as only a British Company is there.

Borgu Crisis--French seize the city of Bussa controlling the Middle Niger. England outraged. . "Battle of the Flags" begins. France and Britain claim towns along the Niger. Britain dares France to fight. France gives in. The Niger disputes are ended.

1898 Marchand reaches Fashoda (April)

Battle of Omdurman--British under Kitchener retake Khartoum. Gordon Avenged (Sep 2)

Fashoda Crisis (Sep-Nov) after Kitchener meets Marchand in Fashoda

Dreyfus Affair explodes for second time in France after Colonel Henry admits forgery.

1899 Anglo-French Agreement settles most colonial disputes between both nations.

Niger becomes a protectorate of Britain

Boer War begins in South Africa (Oct)

1904 Casement Report exposes Congo atrocities for British government

Entente Cordiale signed. Brits free in Egypt, France free in Morocco

1905 Moroccan Crisis (settled in Algeciras)

Brazza investigates French atrocities in French Congo. Two sentenced to prison for atrocities.

1906 Algeciras Conference

Brazza's Report is suppressed by French.

1911 Second Moroccan Crisis (Agadir & Panther) France given free hand in Morocco and Germany gets part of French Congo

1912 Morocco officially a French Protectorate