Pakenham Thomas. The Scramble for Africa

Abacus Books, 1992. — 768 p.In 1880 the continent of Africa was largely unexplored by Europeans. Less than thirty years later, only Liberia and Ethiopia remained unconquered by them. The rest - 10 million square miles with 110 million bewildered new subjects - had been carved up by five European powers (and one extraordinary individual) in the name of Commerce, Christianity, "Civilization" and Conquest. The Scramble for Africa is the first full-scale study of that extraordinary episode in history.