The Scramble for Africa, also called the Partition of Africa, Conquest of Africa, or the Rape of Africa,[1][2] was the invasion, occupation, division, and colonization of most of Africa by seven European powers during a short period known to historians as the New Imperialism (between 1881 and 1914). The 10 percent of Africa that was under formal European control in 1870 increased to almost 90 percent by 1914, with only Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and Liberia remaining independent.

The Berlin Conference of 1884, which regulated European colonization and trade in Africa, is usually referred to as the starting point of the Scramble for Africa.[3] There were considerable political rivalries among the European empires in the last quarter of the 19th century. Partitioning Africa was affected without wars between European nations.[4] In the later years of the 19th century, the European nations transitioned from "informal imperialism" — i.e., exercising military influence and economic dominance — to direct rule, bringing about colonial imperialism.[5]

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