As French, and activity in the Lower region threatened to undermine orderly penetration of tropical Africa, the of – sought to regulate the competition between the powers by defining "effective occupation" as the decisive factor for international acknowledgment of territorial claims.
This is the interlinking factor to A.J.P. Taylor’s ‘The Primacy of Political and Diplomatic Factors’. Taylor suggests that the Partition of African resulted from changes in the power politics and society in Europe. It is advanced by the creation of Germany in 1871, which upset the power balance in Europe. (France-Russia vs. Germany-Austria-Hungary became power balanced and therefore a power deadlock in Europe). The Power deadlock led to the growth of Nationalism, which was acted out in overseas colonisation.
Colonisation was a result of rivalry between European powers, not events in Africa.
Britain's military occupation of , itself triggered by concern over the , contributed to a preoccupation over securing control of the valley, leading to the conquest of the neighbouring in – and confrontation with a French military expedition at , .
This point leads onto Gallacher and Robinson’s Theory to why the Scramble for Africa occurred. They felt that Britain never intended to control Africa. All that the British government wanted was an informal control of trade. However, they were forced into formal control of trade by local disputes, which threatened the British Trade Routes. The reluctant British government was 'dragged in' to Africa and forced to take control to prevent social disorder. Examples of this are Egypt, the Sudan and South Africa.
In Britain completed her takeover of what is today , this had begun with the annexation of the in then in the late 19th century following the the conquest of the .
was the pioneer of British expansion north into Africa with his privately owned , Rhodes expanded into the land north of South Africa and established , Rhode's dream of a railway connecting to passing through a continent covering British Africa is what led to his company's pressure on the government for further expansion into Africa.
The introduction of Cecil Rhodes is significant in the expansion of the British Empire in Africa. However, many historians feel that Rhodes was only interested in Africa, because it was a personal gain. Once the personal gain became too much of a problem he could hand the problem over to the British Government. These ideas are the basis for the ‘Men on the Spot’ theory. The men included in this theory are men such as Rhodes in Zimbabwe, McKinnon in East Africa and Goldie in West Africa. In all three situations the British Government had to become involved, and protect the interests of these individuals.
British gains in Southern and prompted Rhodes and , Britain's High Commissioner in South Africa, to urge a "Cape to " empire linking by rail the strategically important Canal to the mineral-rich South, though German occupation of prevented its realisation until the end of . In 1903, the telegraph system communicated with the major parts of the Empire.
Paradoxically Britain, the staunch advocate of free trade, emerged in with not only the largest overseas empire thanks to her long-standing presence in India, but also the greatest gains in the "scramble for Africa", reflecting her advantageous position at its inception. Between and Britain took nearly 30% of Africa's population under her control, compared to 15 per cent for France, 9 per cent for Germany, 7 per cent for Belgium and 1 per cent for : alone contributed 15 million subjects, more than in the whole of or the entire German colonial empire.
