Episode 282 - The Scramble for Africa Berlin Conference of 1884/5 and Lüderitz becomes German

Episode 282 - The Scramble for Africa Berlin Conference of 1884/5 and Lüderitz becomes German

From History of South Africa podcast by Desmond Latham

July 5, 2026 · 24 min

About this episode

This episode explores the complexities of colonialism in Africa, focusing on the Berlin Conference and King Leopold II's rule over Belgium.

There are many correlations and connections in this episode, so hang on tight as we toboggan down the slippery slopes of history bumping into all manner of bizarre and simultaneously heinous characters. Keeping in mind that we’re dealing with men and women of their age, nevertheless, the tale is one of intrigue, ego, treasure hunting, not to mention, madness. Belgium by 1882 was barely half a century old, becoming independent in 1830, ruled by King Leopold the Second, who sported a spade shaped beard and a giant colonial chip on his shoulder. Because he led a respectable European country, he was a king, but how he’d become a king was a sleight of hand. His father was a German prince, related to the British Royal family, Leopold the First. This trembling nation had been pasted together — an uneasy amalgam as Adam Hothschild writes — of French and Flemish, a version of Dutch spoken in northern Belgium. King Leopold the Second was fluent in French, German, like his father and later, English. He never bothered to learn Flemish, spoken by more than half his people. A snob, some said, bitterly, as bitter as the division created by language and class. French was the language of the…

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Host: Desmond Latham

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Places: Belgium, Germany

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