1884–1885 European regulation of colonisation in Africa
This article is about the conference from 1884 to 1885. For other uses, see Berlin Conference (disambiguation).
The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, met on 15 November 1884, and after an adjournment concluded on 26 February 1885, with the signature of a General Act,[1] regulating the European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period.
The conference was organized by Otto von Bismarck, the first chancellor of Germany, at the request of Leopold II of Belgium.[2]The General Act of Berlin can be seen as the formalisation of the Scramble for Africa that was already in full swing.[3] Some scholars, however, warn against an overemphasis on its role in the colonial partitioning of Africa, and draw attention to bilateral agreements concluded before and after the conference.[4][5][6] According to a 2024 study, the conference only set the borders for the Congo region (those borders were later revised).[7] The study finds that "most of Africa’s borders were not initially formed until after the 1884–85 Berlin Conference... most did not take their final form until over two decades later."[7]
The conference contributed to ushering in a period of heightened colonial activity by European powers, once made the point that the Berlin Conference of 1884–85 was responsible for "the old carve-up of Africa". Other writers have also laid the blame in "the partition of Africa" on the doors of the Berlin Conference. But Wm. Roger Louis holds a contrary view[which?], although he conceded that "the Berlin Act did have a relevance to the course of the partition" of Africa. Of the fourteen countries being represented, seven of them – Austria-Hungary, Russia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden–Norway, the Ottoman Empire and the United States – came home without any formal possessions in Africa.
^The Belgian Congo and the Berlin act, by Keith, Arthur Berriedale, 1919, p. 52.
^De Belgische Koloniën - Documentaire over het Belgisch Koloniaal Rijk (English: The Belgian Colonies - Documentary on the Belgian Colonial Empire) timestamp 10:40 to 10:52)
^Bruce Gilley: In Defense of German Colonialism, September 1, 2022
^Katzenellenbogen, S. (1996). "It didn't happen at Berlin: Politics, economics and ignorance in the setting of Africa's colonial boundaries.". In Nugent, P.; Asiwaju, A. I. (eds.). African Boundaries: Barriers, Conduits and Opportunities. London: Pinter. pp. 21–34.
^Craven, M. (2015). "Between law and history: the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 and the logic of free trade". London Review of International Law. 3: 31–59. doi:10.1093/lril/lrv002.
^Cite error: The named reference Crowe was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abPaine, Jack; Qiu, Xiaoyan; Ricart-Huguet, Joan (2024). "Endogenous Colonial Borders: Precolonial States and Geography in the Partition of Africa". American Political Science Review: 1–20. doi:10.1017/S0003055424000054. ISSN 0003-0554.
The BerlinConference of 1884–1885, met on 15 November 1884, and after an adjournment concluded on 26 February 1885, with the signature of a General Act...
Cecilienhof in Potsdam, near Berlin. A number of changes had taken place in the five months since the Yalta Conference and greatly affected the relationships...
control of the Congo Basin and to exploit its economic resources. The BerlinConference recognised the society as sovereign over the territories it controlled...
Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's...
invited to the Berlinconference. The Berlinconference was held on 19 January 2020 as planned. Al-Sarraj and Haftar were both present in Berlin, but didn't...
attendance of the BerlinConference, none of the countries represented were African. The main dominating powers of the conference were France, Germany...
only Liberia and Ethiopia retaining their full sovereignty. The 1884 BerlinConference regulated European colonization and trade in Africa, and is seen as...
The BerlinConference of Bishops was the meeting of Roman Catholic bishops of East Germany from 1976 to 1990. As was solidified after the Berlin Wall in...
The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War...
not formally notified of the claims as the Berlin Treaty required. Despite the outcome of the BerlinConference and failed bilateral negotiations with Britain...
able to seize the region by convincing other European states at the BerlinConference on Africa that he was involved in humanitarian and philanthropic work...
the Congo, the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the BerlinConference of 1884–1885, the colonial nations of Europe authorised his claim...
The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the...
were able to arrive in Austria-Hungary by train from Hamburg. The BerlinConference was held to settle matters of African colonization, particularly regarding...
the Tripartite Convention of 1899 were the Washington Conference of 1887, the Treaty of Berlin of 1889, and the Anglo-German Agreement on Samoa of 1899...
Berlin Wall (German: Mauerfall, pronounced [ˈmaʊ̯ɐˌfal] ) on November 9, 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall...
der Islamischen Republik; commonly known as the BerlinConference in Iran) was a three-day conference about future of Iran after landslide victory of...
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of...
The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer, pronounced [bɛʁˌliːnɐ ˈmaʊɐ] ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin of the Federal Republic...
Opobo. He barred any missionaries from entering Opobo. At the 1884 BerlinConference the Europeans designated Opobo as British territory. When Jaja refused...
established as the Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1884 and confirmed at the BerlinConference the following year. It was renamed on 12 May 1893, and merged with...
never defined. However at the BerlinConference Bismarck ceded German rights in Nokki to Portugal. While the BerlinConference was largely concerned with...
amongst themselves. The partition of Africa was confirmed at the BerlinConference of 1885, without regard for the existing political and social structures...