The Scramble for the Pacific: Islands Divided

The Rise of Colonialism: How Europe Divided the World — Fexingo History · Oct 23, 2026 · 8m · transcript

Before the Berlin Conference carved up Africa, European powers were quietly redrawing the map of the Pacific Ocean. This episode explores how Germany, Britain, France, and the United States divided the Pacific islands among themselves in the late nineteenth century. We look at the specific treaties that handed over territories like Kaiser-Wilhelmsland and Kwajalein, often without consulting the indigenous populations who lived there for millennia. The conversation covers the controversial practice of blackbirding, where laborers from Melanesia were coerced or kidnapped to work on sugar…