Berlin Conference of 1884-1885

The Berlin Conference was a meeting of 14 nations to discuss territorial disputes in Africa. The meeting was held in Berlin, Germany, from November 1884 to February 1885 and included representatives from the United States and such European nations as Britain, France, and Germany. No Africans were invited to the conference.

The Berlin Conference took place at a time when European powers were rushing to establish direct political control in Africa. This race to expand European colonial influence is often referred to as the "Scramble for Africa." Europeans called the Berlin meeting because they felt rules were needed to prevent war over claims to African lands. .

Berlin Conference

Berlin Conference• Going into the meeting, roughly 10% of

Africa was under European colonial rule.

• By the end of the meeting, European powers “owned” most of Africa and drew boundary lines that remained until 1914.

• Great Britain won the most land in Africa and was “given” Nigeria, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, and South Africa after defeating the Dutch Settlers and Zulu Nation.

• The agreements made in Berlin still affect the boundaries of African countries today.

Berlin Conference• By the 1880s, Great Britain, France,

Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal all wanted part of Africa.

• To prevent a European war over Africa, leaders from fourteen European governments and from the United States met in Berlin, Germany, in 1884.• No Africans attended the meeting.

• At the meeting, the European leaders discussed Africa’s land and how it should be divided.

Berlin Conference of 1884-1885

The Berlin Conference adopted a number of provisions:

1. European nations could not just claim African territory, but had to actually occupy and administer the land.

2. A nation already holding colonies on the African coast would have first claim on the neighboring interior.

3. Rivers in Africa were to be open to all ships, not just those of the colonial power through whose land the river ran.

4. Slavery and the slave trade were to end in all European colonies.

5. The conference also recognized the Congo Free State--now Congo (Kinshasa)--as a country, with King Leopold II of Belgium as its ruler. Leopold, acting as a private citizen, had claimed the region in 1878.

Berlin Conference

• a series of meetings held in Berlin, Germany in 1884

• European nations attended the conference.

• African rulers DID NOT.• The European nations divided Africa

amongst themselves.• Europeans owned almost all of Africa

by the end of the conference.

Summing It Up…

• Great Britain and France often fought for control of parts of Africa.

• The British controlled the gold and ivory trade in West Africa.

Great Britain- policy of indirect rule

• The French wanted to spread their culture.• Established themselves in northern Algeria

and West Africa.• Trade outposts were built in West Africa for

the slave trade.• Most of the French-controlled land was

desert.• They traded palm oil and timber.

France-policy of assimilation (people became French citizens)

• Belgium also competed for African land.• The amount of land purchased in Africa was

bigger than Belgium itself.• King Leopold II purchased the Congo River basin.• Personal possession of King Leopold III of Belgium

• Village massacres, forced labor by Leopold’s agents

• Belgian control in 1908• Little preparation for independence

Belgium- paternalism (people serve and obey fatherland)

King Leopold II

Preparation for Independence

• Great Britain- some preparation for independence

• French and Belgium- hang on until the end!

Partitioning Of Africa

Colonized Africa Modern Africa

A Mathematical Way to look

The Scramble

“The sun never sets

on the British

Empire!”

Artificial Boundaries• European powers organized Africa’s population

in ways to make the most efficient workforce, ignoring the natives’ cultural groups or existing political leadership at the time of colonization. • Sometimes they grouped together

people who had never been united under the same government before.

• Sometimes they divided existing groups of people.

• The creation of these borders had a negative impact on Africa’s political and social structures by either dividing groups that wanted to be together or combining ethnic groups that were enemies.

Artificial Boundaries• Europeans placed colonies into

administrative districts and forced the Africans to go along with their demands.• In order to establish their indirect rule,

Europeans used local chiefs as their enforcers in the colonies.

• Europeans also tried to assimilate Africans (have African people give up their own African customs and adopt European customs).

• Protests and revolts were common and starvation and disease became widespread.

Let the Europeans eat cake!

Effects of Colonialism

• Post World War I and II• European powers were in state of recovery

and inflation• Many colonies were virtually abandoned• Little or no preparation for independence• No infrastructure, economic or political

readiness• Culture forced together must build new

nations

Lasting Effects• Europeans took the best land by force.

• African farmers were forced to grow cash crops like cocoa and coffee, causing there to be a shortage of food in many areas of Africa.

• Africans were forced to work under terrible conditions on plantations, railways, and logging.

• In order to gain power, Europeans encouraged Africans to fight against each other.• New political boundaries caused ethnic groups

to clash.

• This has led to ethnic and political unrest in Africa today.• There have been over 50 ethnic conflicts in

Africa since WWII as a result of the colonial lines drawn by Europeans.

African Unrest• By the mid-twentieth century, Africans

began to openly oppose European control of their countries.

• It was obvious that colonialism was not fair, as it only benefitted the Europeans.

• Africans were tired of being treated like second-class citizens on their own land.• They soon begin to demand

freedom for themselves…

Pan-African Congress

• Educated Africans felt that they could govern themselves

• African men had fought for European allies; ex-soldiers wanted self rule

• Pan-Africanism- an idea that people of African descent around the world should work together for their freedom.

• 1919- first Pan-African Congress established

• 1945- 5th Congress had 90 delegates; one was the famous Jomo Kenyatta

Cold War• Africa becomes a stage for battle for

world domination between the United States and the United Soviet Socialist Republic

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