1906 Langhans 'Scramble for Africa' Wall Map of Africa

This is a 1906 Paul Langhans wall map of Africa made at the height of the Scramble for Africa, when European nations vied for influence and colonies across the vast resource-rich continent. The map highlights European exploration in Africa's in the 19th century. Portraits of fourteen European explorers of Africa, including Henry Stanley, David Livingstone, and Mungo Park, occupy the top portion of the map. Eight smaller maps along the bottom border trace their routes across the continent. Like much of Langhans' work, this map is educational, but the content can also be understood in the light of his ardently held belief that Europeans, and in particular Germans, held an inherent right to hegemony over non-European peoples.

The Large Wall Map

The large central map uses color to differentiate terrain. The Nile, Niger, and Congo Rivers are emphasized. Colonial territories are demarcated with French, British, Germans, Spanish, and Portuguese colonies illustrated. Inset maps in the lower left focus on southern Africa, the Bight of Benin, the mouth of the Congo, and West Cameroon (German colony).

Scramble for Africa

The map is an artifact of the 'Scramble for Africa,' the series of late 19th and early 20th century occupations, usurpations, annexations, divisions, and land seizures by European powers in Africa, here specifically England, Germany, Portugal, and France. The Scramble for Africa was mainly characterized by heightened occupation and direct ownership of colonial lands. Rivalries and treaties led to several new African states, many of which remain, but few of which paid heed to traditional boundaries or cultural distinctions. The Scramble began at the Berlin Conference of 1884, wherein European colonization of Africa was regulated as official policy and the doctrine of Effective Occupation introduced. What followed is, as described, an all-out land-scramble. The 10% 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.

Effective Occupation

The 1884 - 1885 Berlin Conference adopted the Doctrine of Effective Occupation as a baseline for establishing and maintaining colonial claims. According to this doctrine, colonial powers needed to prove 'effective occupation.' This means they needed to establish the existence of treaties with local powers, show that their flags were being flown, build railroads and other infrastructure, or have active forts in the region. The doctrine led to increased European military and economic activity in Africa as colonizers sought to bolster their 'effective occupation' claims. While this, in part, led to the advancement of infrastructure in Africa, including the construction of modern facilities such as hospitals and railroads, it also led to more intensive direct ownership of colonial lands by Europeans and the exploitation of indigenous peoples.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by Paul Langhans and published by Justus Perthes in Gotha, 1906. We note five separate entries in OCLC that catalog seven examples: Columbia University, Harvard University, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the Universitätsbibliothek Erfurt, the Biblioteca Nacional de España, the Universitätsbibliothek Marburg, and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.