The Acquisition of Africa (1870-1914)

Mieke van der Linden, Ph.D (2014), is senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. She has published a dissertation, book chapters and articles on the legacy of Africa’s colonization in international law, including ‘The Inextricable Connection between Historical Consciousness and International Law: New Imperialism, the International Court of Justice and its Interpretation of the Inter-temporal Rule’ (in: C. Binder et al., 2014 ESIL Conference Proceedings, vol. 5. Oxford: forthcoming) and ‘The Euro-Centric Nature of International Law, A Legacy from New Imperialism’ (in: D. De ruysscher et al (eds.), Legal History, Moving in New Directions. Antwerp: 2015, pp. 413-427).

Preface ... ix

1 New Imperialism: Imperium, Dominium and Responsibility under International Law ... 1
1 Introduction ... 1
2 New Imperialism ... 2
3 New Imperialism in International Legal Discourse ... 7
4 Dominium and Imperium ... 17
5 Legal and Social Relevance ... 21
6 Methodology and Case Studies ... 25
7 Plan ... 32

2 Dominium ... 34
1 Property Rights: Theoretical Premises ... 34
2 European and African Perspectives ... 38
2.1 Land Law from a European Point of View ... 38
2.2 African Land Law ... 41
3 Concluding Remarks: New Imperialism and Natives’ Property Rights ... 48

3 Imperium ... 51
1 Introduction ... 51
2 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework ... 52
3 Nineteenth-century European International law: Sovereignty, Territory and State ... 55
4 The African Perspective ... 62
5 Concluding Remarks ... 67

4 Territorium et Titulus ... 70
1 Introduction ... 70
2 Treaties, Cession and Protectorates ... 72
2.1 International Legal Theory ... 81
2.2 Cession and Protectorate Treaties ... 88
3 Conclusion ... 92

5 British Nigeria ... 95
1 Introduction ... 95
2 Historical Background ... 96
3 Treaties and Contracts between Britain and African Natives ... 106
3.1 Early Stage: Cession Treaties and Trade Contracts ... 107
3.2 The 1880s and 1890s: Protectorate Treaties ... 112
4 Legislation in the Wake of the Acquisition of Sovereignty over Territory ... 120
5 The Judiciary and Its Case Law ... 127
5.1 Colonial Judiciary ... 127
5.2 Case Law ... 131
6 Conclusion ... 137

6 French Equatorial Africa ... 139
1 Introduction ... 139
2 Historical Background ... 140
3 French Treaty Practice in Equatorial Africa ... 145
3.1 Cession Treaties ... 148
3.2 Protectorate Treaties ... 151
3.3 Evaluation of French Treaty Practices ... 159
4 Legislation in the Wake of the Transfer of External Sovereignty ... 161
5 Case Law and the Interpretation of Treaties ... 164
6 Conclusion ... 169

7 German Cameroon ... 174
1 Introduction ... 174
2 Historical Background ... 174
3 Treaties between Germany and Cameroonian Rulers ... 185
3.1 Validity of Treaties ... 185
3.2 Treaty Practice ... 189
4 Legislation Following the Conclusion of Treaties ... 199
5 Treaty Interpretation and Execution ... 210
6 Conclusion ... 213

8 Ex facto ius oritur? 215
1 International Law in Practice: Treaties between European States and African Polities 216
2 The Legality of the Treaty-based Acquisition and Partition of Africa ... 227
2.1 Interference with Natives’ Land Ownership ... 228
2.2 Violation of International Law ... 234
2.3 Customary International Law Impaired ... 236
3 Theory versus Practice: What was International Law in the Nineteenth Century? ... 238
4 Conclusion ... 241

9 A Reflection on the Nature of International Law: Redressing the Illegality of Africa’s Colonization ... 245
1 Introduction ... 245
2 The Inter-temporal Rule ... 246
2.1 General Features of the Inter-temporal Rule ... 247
2.2 The icj and the Inter-temporal Rule ... 252
2.3 International Law in Its Historical Context ... 257
3 Impossibility of Establishing Responsibility? ... 260
3.1 Non-identifiable Parties ... 260
3.2 Supersession ... 266
4 Recognition ... 268
5 Conclusion ... 279

10 Evaluative Summary and Conclusion ... 282

Chronological List of Treaties and Other Agreements ... 293
Case Laws ... 301
Bibliography ... 304

Index ... 340