The Western Sahara Fiasco of 1899

Thwarted Colonial Aspirations of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on the African Continent

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19219884
AutoresJános Besenyő (0000-0001-7198-9328, Obuda University), Adam Mayer (0000-0003-4129-5004, Széchenyi István University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2026
Páginas1-25
Fecha de publicación2026-05-29
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHistory in Africa (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0361-5413 • E-ISSN: 1558-2744
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/hia.2025.10009
OpenAlexW7162768078
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas17

Spain in 1898–99 intended to lease “its” West African colony, Rio de Oro, today’s Western Sahara, to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. This article presents new archival evidence in order to show why this initiative was thwarted. The authors conclude that the Austro-Hungarian Empire failed to acquire colonies in Western Sahara and elsewhere due to the lack of appropriate means, opportunities, and also the internal Hungarian resistance; coupled with the risk averse nature of local entrepreneurial circles and the state apparatus

Colonialism · Empire · Lease · Order (exchange) · State (computer science) · African Studies and Geopolitics · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories