The colonial expansion of Africa and the formation of a new world order (the end of the XIXth - the beginning of the XXth centuries)

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The colonial expansion of Africa and the formation of a new world order (the end of the XIXth - the beginning of the XXth centuries)

Natalka Zemzyulina

PhD hab. (History), Professor of the Department of World History and International Relations, Bohdan Khmelnitsky National University of Cherkasy, Cherkasy, Ukraine

Tetiana Tsymbal

PhD hab. (Philosophy), Professor of Department of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Kryvyi Rih National University, Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to investigate the process of colonization of South Africa, namely the colonial rivalry of the world 's leading powers, which gave an impulse to another major division of the world. Through the lens of geopolitical transformations of the past, to explain contemporary bipolarity. The methodology of the research is based on the principles of science, historicism, as well as the use of general scientific methods (analysis and synthesis) and special historical methods (methods of historiographic and source analysis). The scientific novelty is that through the prism of one situational colonial conflict the strategic landmarks of the leading countries of the world, which in the future will cause wars during the XXth century; lay the foundations of a modern post-bipolarity. The Conclusions. In the early 90-ies of the XIXth century the colonial division of the African continent was completed, making major adjustments to the world politics. In the history of the twentieth-century wars, the Boer War was the first, not only statistically, but also one that marked a change in the established world order. Thanks to the new colonial conquest, Germany became a leader in "world politics", and England, on the contrary, lost its colonial dominance. The Portuguese possessions in the Sunda archipelago were divided between England and Germany. Russia waspreparingfor expansion in the Far East, Middle East and Central Asia. Thus, the uneven economic development of countries and regions caused the corresponding content of international relations, which focused on the formation of military-political alliances. The ideas ofpacifism led to the emergence of such organizations as the Institute of International Law (1873), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (1887), and the Nobel Committee. Two peace conferences were convened in The Hague in 1899 and 1907. Unfortunately, this could no longer stop the interests of monopolies and the ambitions of politicians. The current world politics of appeasement of the Russian aggression by the leading countries, the struggle for impact on the periphery, the peoples' desire for self-determination without taking into account the experience of the historical past, unfortunately, does not add optimism to the future geopolitical transformations.

Key words: international relations, colonial politics, military-political alliances.

Анотація

colonial expansion africa conflict

КОЛОНІАЛЬНА ЕКСПАНСІЯ АФРИКИ ТА ФОРМУВАННЯ НОВОГО СВІТОПОРЯДКУ (КІНЕЦЬ ХІХ - ПОЧАТОК ХХ ст.)

Мета дослідження - дослідити процес колонізації Південної Африки, а саме колоніальне суперництво провідних світових держав, що дало поштовх до чергового великого переділу світу. Через призму геополітичних трансформацій минулого пояснити сучасну біполярність. Методологія дослідження спирається на принципи науковості, історизму, а також використання загальнонаукових методів (аналізу і синтезу) та спеціально-історичних (методи історіографічного та джерелознавчого аналізу). Наукова новизна полягає у тому, що крізь призму одного ситуативного колоніального конфлікту показано стратегічні орієнтири провідних країн світу, які в майбутньому стануть причиною світових воєн ХХ ст.; закладуть основи сучасної постбіполярності. Висновки. На початок 90-х рр. ХІХ ст. завершився колоніальний поділ Африканського континенту, що внесло суттєві корективи в світову політику. В історії війн ХХ ст. англійсько-бурська війна була першою не лише статистично, а й такою, що знаменувала зміну усталеного світопорядку. Завдяки новим колоніальним завоюванням, Німеччина перейшла в лідери "світової політики", Англія ж навпаки, втрачала колоніальну домінанту. Португальські володіння в Зондському архіпелазі було поділено між Англією та Німеччиною: Росія готувалася до експансії на Далекому, Середньому і Близькому Сході. Отже, нерівномірності економічного розвитку країн, регіонів зумовили відповідний зміст міжнародних відносин, які були сфокусовані на формуванні військово-політичних союзів. Ідеї пацифізму зумовили появу таких організацій як Інститут міжнародного права (1873 p.), Міжпарламентський союз (1887) та Нобелівський комітет. В Гаазі у 1899 та 1907 рр. було скликано мирні конференції. Та, на жаль, це вже не змогло зупинити інтереси транснаціональних корпорацій та амбіції політиків. Сучасна світова політика з умиротворення російського агресора провідними країнами, боротьба за вплив на периферії, прагнення народів до самовизначення без врахування досвіду історич-ного минулого, на жаль, не додає оптимізму щодо майбутніх геополітичних трансформацій.

Ключові слова: міжнародні відносини, колоніальна політика, військово-політичні союзи.

The Problem Statement. In the early 90-ies of the XIXth century the colonial division of the African continent was completed, making major adjustments to world politics. The latest diplomatic technologies were outlined, while players, who did not mind “tasting a piece of colonial pie” entered the arena. The colonial history of the British Empire attracted attention of many historians. In the history of the twentieth-century wars, the Anglo-Boer War was the first, not only statistically, but also one that marked a change in the established world order. Despite its considerable distance from Europe, reports about it were widely spread not only in Europe but also in many other countries. It was the most expensive of all the wars that the British had participated in between the Napoleonic wars and World War I. Despite the great dominance of the British Empire over the small nation, this armed conflict lasted for more than two and a half years, from October 11, 1899 till May 31, 1902.

The war resulted from a rather long colonial rivalry, its exacerbation and struggle in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. It brought widespread worldwide popularity to the Boers - a nation that most of the world did not even know existed, although the Boer and British confrontation had begun one hundred years before. It initiated the geopolitical transformation of the next XXth century.

The Analysis of Recent Research and Publications. South African aspects of British colonial politics have been reflected in many scholarly studies. Among the works used by the authors of this work is the multi-volume history of the nineteenth century edited by the French historians E. Lavisse and A. Rambaud (Lavisse, E., Rambaud, A., 1938 - 1939, p. 526), which has not lost its significance even today, the books by the German researcher G. Khalgarten (Khalgarten, 1961, p. 696), English author P. Brandon (Brandon, 2010, p. 983).

Among the foreign historiography, it is worth mentioning meaningful researches, which came out to the centenary of the Boer War and contain the summary theses and in general are historiographical publications. Thus, English researcher Fred van Hartesveldt (Fred Van Hartesveldt, 2010, p. 219) presents the changes in the interpretation of war by British and African historians, emphasizing the national aspect of the latter. The study contains a bibliography of military and partly political history. Well-known researches on the subject was conducted by Bill Nasson (Nasson, 1991, p. 271), (Nasson, 2011, p. 352). The author draws on new material, exploring how the Boer War shaped the future of South Africa and what influence it had on South Africa after apartheid. This is a regional study of the conflict, which shows the drama of the black population, who opposed the white colonialists, their tribesmen, and as a result lost both political and social independence.

The review will not be complete without works of the Dutch scientists. An original study by Vincent Kuitenbrouwer (Kuitenbrouwer, 2012, p. 408), which shows how the stereotypes of the Dutch, in relation to the British, were formed on the example of mass media. The author opens up about the protection of the Boers, organization of the international pro-Boers- movement, the impact on nation's formation both in the Netherlands and South Africa during that period.

The common problems of international relations, in particular the colonial rivalry of the great powers, were investigated by the Soviet scholars of the older generation A. Yerusalim- skiy (Yerusalimskiy, 1968, p. 284), the development of English colonial possessions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is presented in the monograph by M. Yerofeev (Yerofeev, 1959, p. 263). Foreign political events related to the Anglo-Boer War are covered in I. Nikitina's research (Nikitina, 1970, p. 218). The monograph of I. Charnyy (Charnyy, 1970, p. 214) is devoted to the development of German colonization in Africa and the beginning of the Anglo-German colonial rivalry. The problems of the Anglo-Boer conflict and war are thoroughly analyzed in the publications of A. Davidson and I. Filatova (Davidson, Filatova, 2000, pp. 31-51).

In contemporary Russian historiography, the publication of S. Bogomolov (Bogomolov, 2010, pp. 159-163) draws attention to itself with an attempt to compare the British industrial and Boer agricultural models of a regional development, as well as the different principles of their relations with African tribes. Another Russian author O. Tsarev (Tsarev, 2010, pp. 3-5), while analyzing the problems of the Anglo-German relations regarding the Boer republics, tries to find out the reasons that forced Germany to take a neutral position in the Anglo-Boer

War, which, in his opinion, led to the persistence of the English-German stubbornness and became one of the causes of World War I.

Significant results were achieved in the study of colonial issues by Ukrainian historians. In this context, numerous scientific developments of the renowned researcher S. Troian (Troian, 2005, pp. 188-206) stand out due to their thoroughness. In the researches, on the basis of a considerable documentary base and the works of foreign scientists, the ideology of German colonialism is analyzed. In addition, author justifies his own concept, in his definition, of the peculiarities of the position and policy of O. Bismarck regarding the aspirations of German supporters towards the creation of a colonial empire, the role of German enterprises, travelers and missionaries in this process, the influence of Germany's colonial conquests on its transition to “world politics”, etc.

The development of the Anglo-German contradictions on the African continent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is covered by L. Pytlovana (Pytlovana, 2015, pp. 19-25). She singles out four stages in the process and, in particular, emphasizes that the Anglo-German colonial rivalry is most fully reflected in the Transvaal issue. England's policy in Africa at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is analyzed in the article by Y Burakov and L. Pytlovana (Burakov, Pitlevanaya, 2016, pp. 20-39).

The Purpose of the Article. In this essay, the authors attempted to explore the process of colonization of South Africa in the late nineteenth century, through the prism of confrontation between the leading world powers, which gave start to another major division of the world. Emphasizing that neither the black man nor the white man in Africa was spoken of at the time.

It is clear that finding something new in the topic is rather complicated, especially after a series of encyclopedic publications to mark the 100th anniversary of the confrontation in southern Africa. We emphasized the fact that there are no small wars, that was confirmed by the well-known conflicts at the turn of the century that transformed into a world war. Now, as well as hundred years ago, world's most economically developed countries, import their own models of civilizational development into the African continent, neglecting the interests of indigenous peoples, that does not accept them, giving rise to new centers of confrontation of civilizations.

The Statement of the Basic Material. After the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias opened one of the capes on the edge of southern Africa in 1488, which was later called the Cape of Good Hope, many years passed before the European colonists arrived and the news of new lands, their favorable natural conditions reached European countries.

In addition to the Dutch, German Protestants began arriving here, and after the Edict of Nantes was completely abolished in 1685 - the French Huguenots (Evans, 2000, p. 9).

The national composition of the colonists became increasingly diverse, although most of them were still the Dutch. The descendants of the first colonists were called the Boers (Dutch boeren - peasants; close by name is German bauer - peasant), later Afrikaners (Rodriges, 2010, p. 237).

The Boers created small settlements, farms scattered over a large area, gradually moving to new lands. Many of them were nomads - colonists in wagons, moving with their families and treasure in wagons pulled by oxen, following their flocks, constantly fighting the local African tribes for pasture and livestock (Brandon, 1781 - 1997, pp. 244-246). At first, European settlers encountered the warlike Hottentot pastoral tribes on the southern coast, and then, as they moved further into the mainland, the Bushman hunters, who lived east of the Hottentot. After expanding their holdings at the expense of these tribes, the Boers began to oust the tribes of the Bantu group of peoples (Xhosa, Zulu, Tsvana, Swazi, Shona, Xindonga, Matabele, etc.), larger and more developed than the Hottentots and Bushmen (Kirey, 1983, p. 110).

Dutch immigrants considered South Africa as The Promised Land, which they discovered, and they perceived themselves as God's chosen masters of this land. Most of them set up large cattle farms based on slave labor. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Cape Colony, with an area of nearly 650 thousands sq. km, was inhabited by about 20 thousands Boers, 20 thousands Hottentot slaves and 30 thousands imported slaves from West Africa, Madagascar and even South Asia (Rodriges, 2010, p. 283).

The Boer language (Afrikaans) began to take shape as early as the seventeenth century based on different dialects of Dutch, German, French, English with admixtures of native languages of indigenous South Africa.

In addition to conflicts with local tribes and new settlers over land and pastures, the Boers were increasingly exacerbated by conflicts with owners of the East India Company over control and revenues from

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