The Scramble for Africa astonished everyone. In 1880 most of the continent was ruled by Africans, and barely explored. By 1902, five European Powers (and one extraordinary individual) had grabbed almost the whole continent, giving themselves 30 new colonies and protectorates and 10 million square miles of new territory, and 110 million bewildered new subjects.

The Scramble for Africa is the first full-scale study of that extraordinary episode in history.