Blog #12

At the end of the 18th century colonialism seemed to have become a thing of the past, Britain had lost its Thirteen Colonies in America, Spain and Portugal had lost most of South America and Holland was having difficulties holding onto the East Indies. A hundred years later however, a second wave of colonization took place. Within twenty years from 1880 to 1900, every corner of the Earth from the highest mountains in the Himalayas to the most remote Pacific island and Antarctica, came to be claimed by one or other European power. Africa saw the most dramatic colonization. It was divided up as if it had been a cake split between greedy European leaders it was called the Scramble for Africa.