Spheres of Influence, Effective Occupation and the Doctrine of Hinterland in the Partition of Africa

Our comprehension of the ‘Partition of Africa’ – commonly seen as a theme more of European, than of African, history – will not significantly improve until it is studied against the background of African history and of African opinion. The author discusses, against the background of that view, three important, and related, aspects of the European conquest of Africa which historians are content to mention in passing: namely, the notion of spheres of influence, the doctrine of the hinterland, and the concept of effective occupation, which provided guidelines for the imperialistic partition of African territories. Notes.