Page "History of Africa" Paragraph 96

Between 1878 and 1898, European states partitioned and conquered most of Africa.

For 400 years, European nations had mainly limited their involvement to trading stations on the African coast.

Few dared venture inland from the coast ; those that did, like the Portuguese, often met defeats and had to retreat to the coast.

Several technological innovations helped to overcome this 400-year pattern.

One was the development of repeating rifles, which were easier and quicker to load than muskets.

Artillery was being used increasingly.

In 1885, Hiram S. Maxim developed the maxim gun, the model of the modern-day machine gun.

European states kept these weapons largely among themselves by refusing to sell these weapons to African leaders.