Group V Colonialism/Imperialism/Slavery

Entry 1/2: Arpit Nagra & Michael Howell

The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 was a moving force in its role in the colonization of Africa. It included 13 European powers (Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Spain, Sweden- Norway, United Kingdom) and the United States. The purpose of the conference was to establish guidelines for international powers in the acquisition of African territory, marking the peak of the “Scramble for Africa.” Though this conference appeared to divide Africa in a peaceful manner, African representatives were not present nor invited to this conference, and it provided minimal say for African natives regarding the partitioning of their homelands. In fact, it led to subsequent disease, enslavement, and the stripping away of the culture of African peoples. Not only did the conference legitimize the use of Africa as a colonial playground, but it forcibly reinvented traditional African customs and practices through a European lens that substantiated pseudo-scientific eugenic practices that believed in the innate superiority of the white race. 

Native African women especially faced the intersectional struggles of womanhood and colonialism as a result of Europe’s imperialist practices. As their cultural traditions were controlled and reorganized at the hands of colonists, native women were also often raped and abused. Their homelands were stripped of resources and they were stripped of their identities. In Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, we meet Mr. Rochester’s locked away wife, a once beautiful Creole woman named Bertha who has become violently deranged. Hidden away in a secret room, Bertha represents Britain’s fears at the height of its imperialism. Physically and psychologically estranged, Bertha represents the colonial “other” that European powers suppressed during the “Scramble for Africa.” Her culture and past are stripped away by Rochester, who represents the European colonist whose sole duty was to exploit her for her wealth and riches. Once he is able to do so, Bertha is locked away as her internal well being and overall mental state slowly deteriorate. She becomes feral and crazy due to her imprisonment, which is representative of colonists’ fears of revolt as explored by Meyer’s Figurative Strategy of Jane Eyre. Bertha serves as a physical manifestation of British colonialism, where native women often suffered the greatest both physically and mentally.

Related Information:

Shepperson, George. “The Centennial of the West African Conference of Berlin, 1884-1885.” Phylon. https://www.jstor.org/stable/274944?seq=1

Bibliography

“The Berlin Conference.” South African History Online, www.sahistory.org.za/article/berlin-conference. 

David, Dr Saul. “History - British History in Depth: Slavery and the 'Scramble for Africa'.” BBC, BBC, 17 Feb. 2011, www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/scramble_for_africa_article_01.s...

Gathara, Patrick. “Berlin 1884: Remembering the Conference That Divided Africa.” Africa | Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, 15 Nov. 2019, www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2019/11/15/berlin-1884-remembering-the-confer...

“Story Map Journal.” Arcgis.com, www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=6df9eef17b93493da8a1353777aa2a88.