Old World & New World · Article 15 of 22 · 1830–1914
Expanding empires drew borders across other people’s lands
People & builders: Andrew Jackson (1767–1845); John Ross (1790–1866); Otto von Bismarck (1815–1898); Leopold II of Belgium (1835–1909); Indigenous negotiators and anti-colonial leaders
Removal under a republic
In May 1830 President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. The law authorized negotiations to move Indigenous nations west of the Mississippi River, though many communities opposed the policy. Cherokee leaders including John Ross contested removal using petitions, courts and diplomacy. The federal government nevertheless forced large numbers of Cherokee people west in 1838–1839; approximately 4,000 died during the removal commonly called the Trail of Tears.
The dispossession occurred within a constitutional republic, illustrating that representative institutions could protect the rights of some citizens while overriding those of sovereign Native nations. Treaties and court cases from the nineteenth century continue to affect land, jurisdiction and relations between tribal and federal governments today.
The partition of Africa did not begin with empty maps
European powers competed for territory and resources across Africa in the nineteenth century. The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, convened under German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, established rules among European powers for colonial claims. No African population collectively consented to the division of its lands. Actual conquest and resistance unfolded across subsequent decades and differed from place to place.
In the Congo Free State, recognized in 1885 under Leopold II, extraction of rubber and other materials was tied to forced labor and severe violence. African societies resisted in many ways. The conflict was not just between technology and supposed tradition but between rival political claims, armies and systems of resource control.
Paper borders became enduring problems
Colonial borders often divided existing language communities or incorporated rivals into a single administration. Railroads and ports built to extract minerals and crops could later be used by independent states, but their routes frequently reflected export priorities rather than local needs. Mission schools and new legal codes offered some opportunities while suppressing or displacing other authorities and knowledge systems.
Modern disputes over land, sovereignty and reparations need to start with these documented policies. The principal loss was the ability of many communities to determine their own governments and resources. Decolonization in the twentieth century restored independence to numerous states, yet rarely undid all of the property and administrative choices made under empire.
Dates & turning points
- 28 May 1830: U.S. Indian Removal Act becomes law.
- 1838–1839: Cherokee people are forcibly removed west; thousands die.
- 1884–1885: European diplomats meet at Berlin to negotiate rules for colonial claims in Africa.
- 1885: Congo Free State comes under Leopold II’s private rule.
- 1900s: Anti-colonial movements contest imperial rule in Africa and Asia.