For some time before 1884 there had been growing up a general
conviction that it would be desirable for the powers who were
interesting themselves in Africa to come to some agreement
as to “the rules of the game,” and to define their respective
interests so far as that was practicable. Lord Granville’s ill-fated
treaty brought this sentiment to a head, and it was agreed
to hold an international conference on African affairs. But
before discussing the Berlin conference of 1884–1885, it will be
well to see what was the position, on the eve of the conference,
in other parts of the African continent. In the southern section of
Africa, south of the Zambezi, important events had been
happening. In 1876 Great Britain had concluded an agreement
British influence consolidated in South Africa.
with the Orange Free State for an adjustment of frontiers, the
result of which was to leave the Kimberley diamond fields in
British territory, in exchange for a payment of £90,000 to the
Orange Free State. On the 12th of April 1877 Sir Theophilus
Shepstone had issued a proclamation declaring the Transvaal—the
South African Republic, as it was officially designated—to be
British territory (see Transvaal.) In December 1880 war
broke out and lasted until March 1881, when a treaty of peace
was signed. This treaty of peace was followed by a convention,
signed in August of the same year, under which complete
self-government was guaranteed to the inhabitants of the
Transvaal, subject to the suzerainty of Great Britain, upon
certain terms and conditions and subject to certain reservations
and limitations. No sooner was the convention signed than
it became the object of the Boers to obtain a modification of
the conditions and limitations imposed, and in February 1884
a fresh convention was signed, amending the convention of
1881. Article IV. of the new convention provided that “The
South African Republic will conclude no treaty or engagement
with any state or nation other than the Orange Free State,
nor with any native tribe to the eastward or westward of the
Republic, until the same has been approved by Her Majesty the
Queen.” The precise effect of the two conventions has been
the occasion for interminable discussions, but as the subject
is now one of merely academic interest, it is sufficient to
say that when the Berlin conference held its first meeting
in 1884 the Transvaal was practically independent, so far
as its internal administration was concerned, while its
foreign relations were subject to the control just quoted.
But although the Transvaal had thus, between the years 1875 and 1884, become and ceased to be British territory, British influence in other parts of Africa south of the Zambezi had been steadily extended. To the west of the Orange Free State, Griqualand West was annexed to the Cape in 1880, while to the east the territories beyond the Kei river were included in Cape Colony between 1877 and 1884, so that in the latter year, with the exception of Pondoland, the whole of South-East Africa was in one form or another under British control. North of Natal, Zululand was not actually annexed until 1887, although since 1879, when the military power of the Zulus was broken up, British influence had been admittedly supreme. In December 1884 St Lucia Bay—upon which Germany was casting covetous eyes—had been taken possession of in virtue of its cession to Great Britain by the Zulu king in 1843, and three years later an agreement of non-cession to foreign powers made by Great Britain with the regent and paramount chief of Tongaland completed the chain of British possessions on the coast of South Africa, from the mouth of the Orange river on the west to Kosi Bay and the Portuguese frontier on the east. In the interior of South Africa the year 1884 witnessed the beginning of that final stage of the British advance towards the north which was to extend British influence from the Cape to the southern shores of Lake Tanganyika. The activity of the Germans on the west, and of the Boer republic on the east, had brought home to both the imperial and colonial authorities the impossibility of relying on vague traditional claims. In May 1884 treaties were made with native chiefs by which the whole of the country north of Cape Colony, west of the Transvaal, south of 22° S. and east of 20° E., was placed under British protection, though a protectorate was not formally declared until the following January.
Meanwhile some very interesting events had been taking place on the west coast, north of the Orange river and south of the Portuguese province of Mossamedes. It must be sufficient here to touch very briefly on the events that preceded the foundation of the colony of German South-West Africa. For many years before 1884 German missionaries had settled among the Damaras (Herero) and Namaquas, often combining small trading operations with their missionary work. From time to time trouble arose between the missionaries and the native chiefs, and appeals Germany enters the field. were made to the German government for protection. The German government in its turn begged the British government to say whether it assumed responsibility for the protection of Europeans in Damaraland and Namaqualand. The position of the British government was intelligible, if not very intelligent. It did not desire to see any other European power in these countries, and it did not want to assume the responsibility and incur the expense of protecting the few Europeans settled there. Sir Bartle Frere, when governor of the Cape (1877–1880), had foreseen that this attitude portended trouble, and had urged that the whole of the unoccupied coast-line, up to the Portuguese frontier, should be declared under British protection. But he preached to deaf ears, and it was as something of a concession to him that in March 1878 the British flag was hoisted at Walfish Bay, and a small part of the adjacent land declared to be British. The fact appears to be that British statesmen failed to understand the change that had come over Germany. They believed that Prince Bismarck would never give his sanction to the creation of a colonial empire, and, to the German inquiries as to what rights Great Britain claimed in Damaraland and Namaqualand, procrastinating replies were sent. Meanwhile the various colonial societies established in Germany had effected a revolution in public opinion, and, more important still, they had convinced the great chancellor. Accordingly when, in November 1882, F. A. E. Lüderitz, a Bremen merchant, informed the German government of his intention to establish a factory on the coast between the Orange river and the Little Fish river, and asked if he might rely on the protection of his government in case of need, he met with no discouragement from Prince Bismarck. In February 1883 the German ambassador in London informed Lord Granville of Lüderitz’s design, and asked “whether Her Majesty’s government exercise any authority in that locality.” It was intimated that if Her Majesty’s government did not, the German government would extend to Lüderitz’s factory “the same measure of protection which they give to their subjects in remote parts of the world, but without having the least design to establish any footing in South Africa.” An inconclusive reply was sent, and on the 9th of April Lüderitz’s agent landed at Angra Pequeña, and after a short delay concluded a treaty with the local chief, by which some 215 square miles around Angra Pequeña were ceded to Lüderitz. In England and at the Cape irritation at the news was mingled with incredulity, and it was fully anticipated that Lüderitz would be disavowed by his government. But for this belief it can scarcely be doubted that the rest of the unoccupied coast-line would have been promptly declared under British protection. Still Prince Bismarck was slow to act. In November the German ambassador again inquired if Great Britain made any claim over this coast, and Lord Granville replied that Her Majesty exercised sovereignty only over certain parts of the coast, as at Walfish Bay, and suggested that arrangements might be made by which Germany might assist in the settlement of Angra Pequeña. By this time Lüderitz had extended his acquisitions southwards to the Orange river, which had been declared by the British government to be the northern frontier of Cape Colony. Both at the Cape and in England it was now realized that Germany had broken away from her former purely continental policy, and, when too late, the Cape parliament showed great eagerness to acquire the territory which had lain so long at its very doors, to be had for the taking. It is not necessary to follow the course of the subsequent negotiations. On the 15th
