aty port on the west side of
Japan, the surf caused by the winter monsoon making the flat west
coast of the country very dangerous for shipping for half the year.
Other important ports are KOBE (161,000) and NAGASAKI (72,000). NAGOYA
(215,000) is an important inland town.

IX. THE TRADE FEATURES OF AFRICA

AFRICA FIFTEEN YEARS AGO

Within a period of about fifteen years the continent of Africa has
been the scene of a vast partition. At the beginning of that period
the amount of African territory that was subject to European control
was comparatively small. The British were firmly established in South
Africa, and had possessions along the coasts elsewhere principally in
the west. The French were firmly established in Algeria and in
Senegal. The Portuguese had their ancient settlements in Mozambique
and Lower Guinea. Morocco on the northwest and Abyssinia in the
northeast were more or less well-established governments that were
independent. Egypt in the extreme northeast, with tributary
possessions extending along the Nile into the far interior of the
continent, was also a more or less well-established government that
possessed a quasi-independence, though it was nominally dependent upon
Turkey. But elsewhere, except in a few other places controlled by
European authority, the whole continent may be described as having
been in its original state of savagery or semi-savagery. No government
existed anywhere that was either beneficent or stable. The
slave-traffic abounded everywhere.

EUROPEAN SPHERES OF INFLUENCE IN AFRICA

The European governments that had possessions in Africa were all doing
their best to suppress the slave-traffic. But they could not take very
salutary steps in this direction without exercising authority beyond
the territorial limits they were supposed to occupy. Gradually, for
these reasons, and also for the reason that they were all anxious to
extend their commercial dealings in Africa, they began to exercise
authority beyond their old-time territorial limits. In this way began
the establishment on the part of European nations of what are known as
"spheres of influence" in Africa. At first England and France were the
only nations that were at all active in establishing these spheres of
influence. Later on Germany and Italy and other nations began to
establish them also. Beginning, therefore, with the years 1883 and
1884 there has been a general establishment and gradual extension of
these spher