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Spanish Colonial Africa
Even as late as the 1930s and 1940s, Spanish colonial despotism was still prevalent in central Africa. Spain showed little interest in relinquishing its holdings, even as the other European imperialist nations were beginning to break up (Campos 95). Spain's interest in Africa began early in its colonial expansion, which should not be surprising given the geographical proximity. Melilla in northern Africa was one of the first colonial claims of Spain in its push to build an empire; by the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Spain had established colonial enclaves throughout northern Africa ("Spanish Empire").
This early colonial expansion was driven by a desire to fortify Spain's position in the Mediterranean and protect fishing, shipping, and trade as well as to expand mercantilism and safeguard missionaries. Too, Spain was concerned that it must make some colonial expansion to keep up with the rest of Europe ("Spanish Empire"). Ultimately, Spain's interests in Africa were focused on protecting its existing interests in the immediate area region, rather than engaging in the so-called African Scramble that occupied most of the other imperial powers. Spain chose, instead, to allocate its territorial expansion to the Americas. However, Spain was able to exploit its existing African holdings to supply Spanish colonies in the Americas with African slaves ("The Spanish Colonial System" par. 4).
Unlike its concerted efforts in the Americas, Spain's focus in Africa was not so pointed in its colonies there, namely Spanish Guinea, Spanish Sahara, and Morocco. The majority of Spain's African colonies were located along the northern coasts and served primarily as strongholds from which Spain could protect its shipping and commerce activities in the Mediterranean as well as between the Old World and the New.
Works Cited
Campos, Alicia. "The Decolonization of Equatorial Guinea: The Relevance of the International Factor." The Journal of African History 44.1 (Jan. 2003): 95-114.
"Spanish Empire." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 2008. 20 July 2008 .
"The Spanish Colonial System, 1550-1800: Population Development." The Encyclopedia of World History. Ed. Peter Stearns. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.
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