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The conference of Berlin, as illustrated in German newspaper Die Gartenlaube The conference of Berlin, as illustrated in Illustrirte Zeitung. The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was a meeting of colonial powers that concluded with the signing of the General Act of Berlin, [1] an agreement regulating European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period.
The 1884 Berlin Conference regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa, and is seen as emblematic of the "scramble". [6] In the last quarter of the 19th century, there were considerable political rivalries between the European empires , which provided the impetus for the colonisation. [ 7 ]
In 1884, pursuant to the Berlin Conference, colonies were officially established on the African west coast, often in areas already inhabited by German missionaries and merchants. The following year gunboats were dispatched to East Africa to contest the Sultan of Zanzibar's claims of sovereignty over the mainland in what is today Tanzania.
The Berlin Conference is an example of the Western world's view on imperialism. The conference essentially constituted the division of the African continent among leaders of Western countries. The participating Western countries represented at the conference included Britain, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, and others.
The 1885 Berlin Conference, initiated by Otto von Bismarck to establish international guidelines and avoiding violent disputes among European Powers, formalized the "New Imperialism", driven by the Second Industrial Revolution. [8]
The Berlin Conference of 1884 had provided for European colonies in Africa to be neutral if war broke out in Europe; in 1914 none of the European powers had plans to challenge their opponents for control of overseas colonies.
The Berlin Conference of 1884 systemized European colonization in Africa and is frequently acknowledged as the genesis of the Scramble for Africa. The Conference implemented the Principle of Effective Occupation in Africa which allowed European states with even the most tenuous connection to an African region to claim dominion over its land ...
After the 1885 Berlin Conference regarding West Africa, Europe's great powers went after any remaining lands in Africa that were not already under another European nation's influence. This period in African history is usually termed the Scramble for Africa by modern historiography.