Download Berlin Conference of 1884-1885

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
• 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.
• 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.
Summing It Up…
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.
• 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)
King Leopold II
• 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)
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!”
• 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.
•
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
• 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.
• 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; exsoldiers 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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