Sweden-Norway at the Berlin Conference 1884-85. History, National Identity-Making and Sweden's Relations with Africa

Type:

Book

Author:

David Nilsson

Published:

2013

The international image of Sweden is one of a small, democratic and peace-loving country without the moral burden of a colonial past. This image has been reproduced in Swedish government policy as well as in most historical accounts. However, in this Current African Issues publication, the notion that “Sweden lacks a colonial past in Africa” is brought into question. The Berlin Conference 1884-85 is perhaps the most infamous political event in the history of European domination of Africa. At the conference, the rules for colonisation of Africa were agreed upon among a handful of white men. With the blessing of King Oscar II, the united kingdoms of Sweden-Norway participated in the Berlin conference, ratified the resulting convention and signed a trade agreement with King Leopold’s International Congo Association. Thereafter, hundreds of Swedish militaries, seamen and missionaries took an active part in the colonial project in the Congo. What was Sweden-Norway really doing at the Berlin Conference and in the ensuing Scramble for Africa? Is it now time to re-assess Swedish identity in relation to Africa, an identity so far centered on colonial innocence?

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