Communications.—Railroad communi cation has been greatly developed in re cent years. The total length of African railways in 1920 was about 23,000 miles. A railway connects Matadi, on the lower Kongo, to Stanley Pool or Leopoldville. There are steamers plying regularly on the lower Nile, the lower Niger, the Kongo, the Zambezi, the Shire, and on Lake Nyassa.
Political Divisions.—The exploration of the Kongo gave rise to the Inter national African Association, founded by King Leopold II. of Belgium in 1876, and the International Association of the Kongo, founded in 1878. These associ ations organized stations on the Kongo, and, in 1885, an international confer ence recognized and defined the Inde pendent State of the Kongo (Kongo Free State), of about 1,000,000 square miles in extent. In south Africa the Portu guese settlements, originally founded as early as the time of Diaz and Vasco de Gama, comprise on the E. coast a territory of 260,000 square miles, opposite Madagascar, and on the W. coast an area of 457,500 square miles, from the Kongo to the Cunene river. In 1652 the Dutch sent colonists to the Cape, who were later reinforced by Protestant ref ugees from France. Cape Colony was finally ceded to Great Britain in 1815 and was afterward colonized from that country. A large part of the Dutch in habitants, called Boers, migrated, how ever, inland and founded the two inde pendent republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic, or Transvaal. These two states were annexed to the British crown in 1900 as a result of the war.
In 1884 the French annexed a terri tory N. of the Kongo Free State, 250, 000 square miles in extent; and in 1885 an international conference proceeded to delimit the interior portions of the continent. After 1885 the French re garded Madagascar as a French pro tectorate, but they had much friction with the native Hovas till a French ex pedition captured the capital, Antanana rivo, Sept. 30, 1895, and the protectorate was completely established. In 1885 Great Britain obtained Bechuanaland, with an area of 446,000 square miles, N. of Cape Colony. A large area N. was also annexed, which consists of two portions: (1) The territory of the Brit ish South Africa Company, including Mashonaland and Matebeleland, the latter conquered from King Lobengula in 1893, and an area N. of the Zambezi. (2) Nyassaland, in central Africa. The first of these, which has been settled and colonized to a considerable extent, covers 600,000 square miles, and the latter has an area of 210,000 square miles. In 1884 Germany obtained pos session of the Kameruns N. of the French Kongo, with an area of 200,000 square miles, and in 1884-1890 the colonies of German Southwest Africa (320,000 square miles), and German East Africa (350,000 square miles), were added. In East Africa Great Britain obtained (1886-1890) the territory of British East Africa, called Ibea, extending from German East Africa to the Webi-Jub river, but including Zanzibar, and pene trating a considerable distance into the interior. It covers an area of 1,000,000
square miles. Somaliland was divided between Italy and Great Britain (1877 1891), Italy taking over 300,000 square miles and Great Britain 75,000 square miles opposite Aden. Italy also annexed and colonized Eritrea, on the Red Sea (100,000 square miles), and asserted a protectorate over Abyssinia. But the latter arrangement was repudiated by Abyssinia. Nov. 15, 1896, the latter's in dependence was recognized by the Italian Government.
The first two decades of the 20th century witnessed great changes in the political distribution of African terri tory.
In 1905 and again in 1911 France and Germany came into conflict over MOROCCO (q.v.). The Orange Free State and the Transvaal, as a result of the Boer War, lost their independence, Kongo Free State was annexed by Belgium, Tripoli became a part of Italy, so that Abyssinia and Liberia remained the only independent nations in Africa.
Prior to the changes brought about as a result of the defeat of Germany in the World War, African territory was divided practically as follows: Egypt, while nominally under Turkish control, was in reality a protectorate of Great Britain, which also exercised sovereignty over the eastern Sudan. Tripoli be longed to Italy, and Tunis and Algeria to France. The greater portion of Mo rocco also was a French protectorate, while a small portion was governed by Spain. France exercised control of the Sahara region to the upper waters of the Kongo river. Spain possessed a small area on the west coast below Mo rocco known as Rio de Oro. This was followed by French Mauretania and Senegal, British Gambia, Portuguese Guinea, French Guinea, the British Sierra Leone, Liberia, an additional area of French territory, the British Gold Coast, and' Ashanti, German Togoland, French Dahomey, the British Niger terri tories, and German Kamerun. French Kongo, Portuguese Angola, and German Southwest Africa reached the borders of the Union of South Africa. Between this and the former German province of Southwest Africa on the west is the British protectorate of Bechuanaland and the British colony of Rhodesia. Ad joining East Africa on the north is the former colony of German East Africa. Bordering this on the north is British East Africa, which joins on the north the British sphere of influence in the Sudan and on the coast, Italian Somali land. West of the latter is the British Somali Coast Protectorate. This ad joins French Somaliland and Eritrea, belonging to Italy. The disposition of such territories as formerly belonged to Germany is described in the section fol lowing, Africa in the World War. The details relating to the various divisions mentioned will be found under the head ings to these divisions in their proper alphabetical order.