Difference between revisions of "Berlin Conference"

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{{About|the conference from 1884 to 1885|other uses|Berlin Conference (disambiguation)}}
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<i>This is a shortened import from the Wikipedia article as it appeared 13 January 2021.</i>
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{{Event
{{Short description|International conference that regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa}}
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|description =1880s conference to regulate European colonization and trade in [[Africa]]
[[File:Afrikakonferenz.jpg|thumb|The conference of Berlin, as illustrated in "[[Die Gartenlaube]]"]]
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|image=Bismarck Congo conference.png
[[File:Kongokonferenz.jpg|thumb|The conference of Berlin, as illustrated in "Illustrierte Zeitung"]]
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|image_width=400px
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|image_caption=German Chancellor Bismarck leads the partitioning of Africa like a cake (contemporary cartoon)
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|spartacus =
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|wikipedia = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Conference
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|occurred =
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|start = 15 November 1884
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|end = 26 February 1885
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|locations = Berlin
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|causes =
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|constitutes= imperialism, colonialism, racism, slavery
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The '''Berlin Conference''' of [[1884]]–[[1885]], also known as the '''Congo Conference''' or the '''West Africa Conference''',<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/62214/Berlin-West-Africa-Conference "Berlin West Africa Conference"], ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref> regulated [[colonialism|European colonization]] and trade in [[Africa]] during the "New Imperialism" period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power. The conference was organized by [[Otto von Bismarck]], the first [[chancellor of Germany]].
  
The '''Berlin Conference''' of 1884–1885, also known as the '''Congo Conference''' ({{lang-de|Kongokonferenz}}) or '''West Africa Conference''' ({{lang|de|Westafrika-Konferenz}}),<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/62214/Berlin-West-Africa-Conference "Berlin West Africa Conference", ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.]</ref> regulated [[colonialism|European colonization]] and trade in [[Africa]] during the [[New Imperialism]] period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power. The conference was organized by [[Otto von Bismarck]], the first [[chancellor of Germany]]. Its outcome, the '''General Act of the Berlin Conference''', can be seen as the formalisation of the [[Scramble for Africa]], but some scholars of history warn against an overemphasis of its role in the colonial partitioning of Africa and draw attention to bilateral agreements concluded before and after the conference.<ref name=Katzenellenbogen>{{Cite book|last=Katzenellenbogen|first=S.|date=1996|chapter=It didn't happen at Berlin: Politics, economics and ignorance in the setting of Africa's colonial boundaries.|editor1=Nugent, P. |editor2=Asiwaju, A. I. |title=African Boundaries: Barriers, Conduits and Opportunities |pages=21–34 |location=London |publisher=Pinter}}</ref><ref name=Craven>{{Cite journal|last=Craven|first=M.|date=2015|title=Between law and history: the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 and the logic of free trade|journal=[[London Review of International Law]]|volume=3|pages=31–59|doi=10.1093/lril/lrv002|doi-access=free}}</ref> The conference contributed to ushering in a period of heightened colonial activity by European powers, which eliminated or overrode most existing forms of African [[autonomy]] and [[self-governance]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=The Nature of African Boundaries |first=Adekunle |last=Ajala |journal=Africa Spectrum |volume=18 |issue=2 |year=1983 |pages=177–189 |publisher=Institute of African Affairs at GIGA, Hamburg |jstor=40174114 |quote=[[Kwame Nkrumah]] 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 for "the partition of Africa" on the doors of the Berlin Conference. But [[Wm. Roger Louis]] holds a contrary view, although he conceded that "the Berlin Act did have a relevance to the course of the partition" of Africa.}}</ref>
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Its outcome, the "General Act of the Berlin Conference", can be seen as the formalization of the "Scramble for Africa", but some scholars of history warn against an overemphasis of its role in the colonial partitioning of Africa and draw attention to bilateral agreements concluded before and after the conference.<ref name=Katzenellenbogen>African Boundaries: Barriers, Conduits and Opportunities, 1996, pages 21–34, chapter: It didn't happen at Berlin: Politics, economics and ignorance in the setting of Africa's colonial boundaries.</ref><ref>https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/3116386</ref><ref name=Craven>Between law and history: the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 and the logic of free trade, [[London Review of International Law]], volume 3, pages 31–59, doi=10.1093/lril/lrv002</ref> The conference contributed to ushering in a period of heightened colonial activity by European powers, which eliminated or overrode most existing forms of African [[autonomy]] and [[self-governance]].<ref>The Nature of African Boundaries, Africa Spectrum, volume 18, issue 2, 1983, pages 177–189, publisher: Institute of African Affairs at GIGA, Hamburg - "[[Kwame Nkrumah]] 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 for "the partition of Africa" on the doors of the Berlin Conference. But [[Wm. Roger Louis]] holds a contrary view, although he conceded that "the Berlin Act did have a relevance to the course of the partition" of Africa.</ref>
  
 
== Background ==
 
== Background ==
[[File:Cartoon depicting Leopold 2 and other emperial powers at Berlin conference 1884.jpg|thumb|Cartoon depicting Leopold II and other imperial powers at the Berlin Conference]]
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Prior to the conference, European diplomats approached governments in Africa in the same manner as they did in the Western Hemisphere by establishing a connection to local trade networks. In the early [[1800s]], the European demand for ivory, which was then often used in the production of [[luxury goods]], led many European merchants into the interior markets of Africa.<ref name=":0">[http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/DocumentToolsPortletWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&jsid=bad8feb9cef37128373b6573114ad589&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2105230002&u=bcps&zid=c3ac9f9d9a4cbae356174e31407f1f3d# Student Resources in Context]</ref> European spheres of power and influence were limited to coastal Africa at this time as Europeans had only established trading posts up to this point.<ref>Muriel E. Chamberlain, ''The Scramble for Africa'' (1999).</ref>
[[File:Cartoon depicting King Leopold II of the Belgians offering gifts to German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.jpg|thumb|Cartoon depicting Leopold II offering gifts to  German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.]]
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[[image:King Leopold.png|thumbnail|250px|right|[[Leopold II|King Leopold II of the Belgians]] managed to get a fantastic deal for himself at the Conference, thanks to his use of NGO [[front organizations]], skillful PR and courting the right persons, thereby secured himself a gigantic area as a personal fief. It would soon make him one of the richest men in the world. The world may only know the numbers of killed Africans in the areas under his control because other participants of the conference were unhappy with the size of his share.]]
Prior to the conference, European diplomats approached governments in Africa in the same manner as they did in the Western Hemisphere by establishing a connection to local trade networks. In the early 1800s, the European demand for ivory, which was then often used in the production of [[luxury goods]], led many European merchants into the interior markets of Africa.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/ReferenceDetailsPage/DocumentToolsPortletWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&jsid=bad8feb9cef37128373b6573114ad589&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2105230002&u=bcps&zid=c3ac9f9d9a4cbae356174e31407f1f3d#|title=Student Resources in Context - Document|website=ic.galegroup.com|language=en|access-date=8 February 2018}}</ref> European spheres of power and influence were limited to coastal Africa at this time as Europeans had only established trading posts up to this point.<ref>Muriel E. Chamberlain, ''The Scramble for Africa'' (1999).</ref>
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In [[1876]], King [[Leopold II of Belgium]], who had founded and controlled the [[NGO]] [[International African Association]] (a precursor to modern use of humanitarian NGOs as front organizations) the same year, invited [[Henry Morton Stanley]] to join him in researching and 'civilizing' the continent.  In [[1878]], the International Congo Society was also formed, with more economic goals but still closely related to the former society. Léopold secretly bought off the foreign investors in the Congo Society, which was turned to imperialistic goals, with the 'African Society' serving primarily as a philanthropic front.<ref>Neal Ascherson, ''The King Incorporated: Leopold the Second and the Congo'' (1999).</ref>
  
In 1876, King [[Leopold II of Belgium]], who had founded and controlled the [[International African Association]] the same year, invited [[Henry Morton Stanley]] to join him in researching and 'civilizing' the continent.  In 1878, the [[International Congo Society]] was also formed, with more economic goals but still closely related to the former society. Léopold secretly bought off the foreign investors in the Congo Society, which was turned to [[imperialism|imperialistic]] goals, with the 'African Society' serving primarily as a philanthropic front.<ref>Neal Ascherson, ''The King Incorporated: Leopold the Second and the Congo'' (1999).</ref>
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From [[1878]] to [[1885]], Stanley returned to the Congo not as a reporter but as Leopold's agent, with the secret mission to organise what would soon after the closure of the Berlin Conference, in August 1885, become known as the [[Congo Free State]].<ref name=Cornelis>H.M. Stanley: Explorateur au Service du Roi, Cornelis, S., pages 41–60 (53–54), publisher: Royal Museum for Central Africa </ref><ref name=Katzenellenbogen/> French agents discovered Leopold's plans and in response [[France]] sent its own explorers to Africa.  In 1881, French naval officer [[Pierre de Brazza]] was dispatched to central Africa, travelled into the western Congo basin and raised the French flag over the newly founded [[Brazzaville]] in what is now the [[Republic of Congo]].  Finally, Portugal, which had essentially abandoned a colonial empire in the area, long held through the mostly defunct proxy [[Kongo Empire]], also claimed the area, based on old treaties with Restoration-era Spain and the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. It quickly made a treaty on 26 February 1884 with its former ally, Great Britain, to block off the Congo Society's access to the [[Atlantic]].
  
From 1878 to 1885, Stanley returned to the Congo not as a reporter but as Leopold's agent, with the secret mission to organise what would soon after the closure of the Berlin Conference, in August 1885, become known as the [[Congo Free State]].<ref name=Cornelis>{{Cite book|last=Cornelis|first=S.|date=1991|chapter=Stanley au service de Léopold II: La fondation de l'État Indépendant du Congo (1878-1885)|editor=Cornelis, S. |title=H.M. Stanley: Explorateur au Service du Roi |location=Tervuren |publisher=Royal Museum for Central Africa |pages=41–60 (53–54)}}</ref><ref name=Katzenellenbogen/>  French agents discovered Leopold's plans and in response France sent its own explorers to Africa.  In 1881, French naval officer [[Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza|Pierre de Brazza]] was dispatched to central Africa, travelled into the western Congo basin and raised the French flag over the newly founded [[Brazzaville]] in what is now the [[Republic of Congo]].  Finally, Portugal, which had essentially abandoned a colonial empire in the area, long held through the mostly defunct proxy [[Kongo Empire]], also claimed the area, based on old treaties with [[Restoration (Spain)|Restoration-era Spain]] and the [[Roman Catholic Church]]It quickly made a treaty on 26 February 1884 with its former ally, Great Britain, to block off the Congo Society's access to the [[Atlantic]].
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By the early 1880s many factors including diplomatic successes, greater European local knowledge, and the demand of resources such as gold, timber, and rubber, triggered dramatically increased European involvement in the continent of Africa. Stanley's charting of the [[Congo River]] Basin (1874–1877) removed the last ''terra incognita'' from European maps of the continent, delineating the areas of British, Portuguese, French and Belgian controlThese European nations raced to annex territory that might be claimed by rivals.<ref>Stig Förster, Wolfgang Justin Mommsen, and Ronald Edward Robinson, eds. ''Bismarck, Europe and Africa: The Berlin Africa Conference 1884–1885 and the Onset of Partition'' (1988).</ref>
  
By the early 1880s many factors including diplomatic successes, greater European local knowledge, and the demand of resources such as gold, timber, and rubber, triggered dramatically increased European involvement in the continent of Africa. Stanley's charting of the [[Congo River]] Basin (1874–1877) removed the last ''[[terra incognita]]'' from European maps of the continent, delineating the areas of British, Portuguese, French and Belgian control.  These European nations raced to annex territory that might be claimed by rivals.<ref>Stig Förster, Wolfgang Justin Mommsen, and Ronald Edward Robinson, eds. ''Bismarck, Europe and Africa: The Berlin Africa Conference 1884–1885 and the Onset of Partition'' (1988).</ref>
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France moved to take over Tunisia, one of the last of the [[Barbary states]], using a claim of another [[piracy]] incident. French claims by [[Pierre de Brazza]] were quickly acted on by the French military which took control of what is now the [[Republic of the Congo]] in 1881 and [[French Guinea]] in 1884. Italy became part of the [[Triple Alliance]], an event which upset Bismarck's carefully laid plans and led Germany to join the European invasion of Africa.<ref>William L. Langer, ''European Alliances and Alignments: 1871–1890'' (1950) pp 217–220.</ref>
  
France moved to take over [[Beylik of Tunis|Tunisia]], one of the last of the [[Barbary states]], using a claim of another [[piracy]] incident.  French claims by [[Pierre de Brazza]] were quickly acted on by the French military which took control of what is now the [[Republic of the Congo]] in 1881 and [[French Guinea|Guinea]] in 1884.  Italy became part of the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]], an event which upset Bismarck's carefully laid plans and led Germany to join the European invasion of Africa.<ref>William L. Langer, ''European Alliances and Alignments: 1871–1890'' (1950) pp 217–220.</ref>
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In 1882, realizing the geopolitical extent of Portuguese control on the coasts, but seeing penetration by France eastward across Central Africa toward Ethiopia, the Nile, and the [[Suez Canal]], Britain saw its vital trade route through Egypt to India threatened. Under the pretext of the collapsed Egyptian financing and a subsequent mutiny (Urabi Revolt) in which hundreds of British subjects were murdered or injured, Britain intervened in the nominally [[Ottoman Empire]]s, Khedivate of Egypt, which it controlled for decades.<ref>Langer, ''European Alliances and Alignments: 1871–1890'' (1950) pp 251–280.</ref>
 
 
In 1882, realizing the geopolitical extent of Portuguese control on the coasts, but seeing penetration by France eastward across Central Africa toward Ethiopia, the Nile, and the [[Suez Canal]], Britain saw its vital trade route through Egypt to India threatened. Under the pretext of the collapsed Egyptian financing and a [['Urabi Revolt|subsequent mutiny]] in which hundreds of British subjects were murdered or injured, Britain intervened in the nominally [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Khedivate of Egypt|Egypt]], which it controlled for decades.<ref>Langer, ''European Alliances and Alignments: 1871–1890'' (1950) pp 251–280.</ref>
 
  
 
==Conference==
 
==Conference==
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[[image:Kongokonferenz.jpg|400px|left|thumbnail|The delegates]]
 
The European race for colonies made Germany start launching expeditions of its own, which frightened both British and French statesmen. Hoping to quickly soothe the brewing conflict, Belgian King Leopold II convinced France and Germany that common trade in Africa was in the best interests of all three countries. Under support from the British and the initiative of Portugal, [[Otto von Bismarck]], the [[chancellor of Germany]], called on representatives of 13 nations in [[Europe]] as well as the [[United States]] to take part in the Berlin Conference in 1884 to work out a joint policy on the African continent.
 
The European race for colonies made Germany start launching expeditions of its own, which frightened both British and French statesmen. Hoping to quickly soothe the brewing conflict, Belgian King Leopold II convinced France and Germany that common trade in Africa was in the best interests of all three countries. Under support from the British and the initiative of Portugal, [[Otto von Bismarck]], the [[chancellor of Germany]], called on representatives of 13 nations in [[Europe]] as well as the [[United States]] to take part in the Berlin Conference in 1884 to work out a joint policy on the African continent.
  
The conference was opened on November 15, 1884, and continued until it closed on 26 February 1885.<ref name="TC">{{cite web|last1=Rosenberg|first1=Matt|title=The Berlin Conference: Where a Continent Was Colonized|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/berlin-conference-1884-1885-divide-africa-1433556|website=ThoughtCo|publisher=ThoughtCo|access-date=19 September 2017}}</ref> The number of [[plenipotentiaries]] varied per nation,<ref name="王世宗">{{cite report|last=Wang|first=Shih-tsung|others={{lang|zh-Hant|王世宗}}|title=The Conference of Berlin and British ‘New’ Imperialism, 1884-85|trans-title={{lang|zh-Hant|柏林會議與英國「新帝國主義」,1884-85}}|date=1998-07-31|publisher=Department of History and Research Institute of [[National Taiwan University]] ({{lang|zh-Hant|國立臺灣大學歷史學系暨研究所}})|location=[[Taipei]]|language=en|url=http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw/bitstream/246246/21237/1/872411H002025.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200913172627/http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw/bitstream/246246/21237/1/872411H002025.pdf|archive-date=2020-09-13|df=mdy-all}} Also available [https://web.archive.org/web/20200913172830/http://140.112.142.79/publish/pdfs/22/22_08.pdf here], original [http://140.112.142.79/publish/pdfs/22/22_08.pdf here].</ref> but these 14 countries sent representatives to attend the Berlin Conference and sign the subsequent Berlin Act:<ref name="General-Akte der Berliner Konferenz">[[:de:s:General-Akte der Berliner Konferenz (Kongokonferenz)|{{lang|de|General-Akte der Berliner Konferenz|italic=no|nocat=yes}} [{{lang|fr|Acte Général de la Conférence de Berlin|italic=no|nocat=yes}}]]], 26 February 1885.</ref>
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The conference was opened on November 15, 1884, and continued until it closed on 26 February 1885.<ref name="TC">[https://www.thoughtco.com/berlin-conference-1884-1885-divide-africa-1433556 The Berlin Conference: Where a Continent Was Colonized]</ref> The number of [[plenipotentiaries]] varied per nation,<ref name="王世宗">Shih-tsung Wang, [https://web.archive.org/web/20200913172627/http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw/bitstream/246246/21237/1/872411H002025.pdf The Conference of Berlin and British ‘New’ Imperialism, 1884-85] - Department of History and Research Institute of [[National Taiwan University]], 1998, also available [https://web.archive.org/web/20200913172830/http://140.112.142.79/publish/pdfs/22/22_08.pdf here], original [http://140.112.142.79/publish/pdfs/22/22_08.pdf here].</ref> but these 14 countries sent representatives to attend the Berlin Conference and sign the subsequent Berlin Act:<ref name="General-Akte der Berliner Konferenz">https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/General-Akte_der_Berliner_Konferenz_(Kongokonferenz)</ref>
 
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
|-
 
! State !! Colonial empire !! Plenipoteniaries
 
|-
 
| {{flagcountry|German Empire}} || [[German colonial empire]] || [[Otto von Bismarck]]<br/> [[Paul von Hatzfeldt]]<br/> [[Clemens Busch]]<br/> [[Heinrich von Kusserow]]
 
|-
 
| {{flag|Austria-Hungary}} || [[Austrian colonial policy|Austrian colonial empire]] ||[[Imre Széchényi|Emerich Széchényi von Sárvár-Felsővidék]]
 
|-
 
| {{flag|Belgium}} || [[Belgian colonial empire]] || [[Gabriel August van der Straten-Ponthoz]]<br/> [[Auguste, Baron Lambermont|Auguste Lambermont]]
 
|-
 
| {{flag|Denmark}} || [[Danish overseas colonies|Danish colonial empire]] || [[Emil Vind]]
 
|-
 
| {{flagcountry|Restoration (Spain)}} || [[Spanish Empire|Spanish colonial empire]] || [[Francisco Merry, 1st Count of Beñomar|Francisco Merry y Colom, 1st Count of Beñomar]]
 
|-
 
| {{flag|United States|1877}} || [[American imperialism|American colonial empire]] ||[[John A. Kasson]]<br/> [[Henry S. Sanford]]
 
|-
 
| {{flagcountry|French Third Republic}} || [[French colonial empire]] || [[Alphonse de Courcel]]
 
|-
 
| {{flagcountry|United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland}} || [[British Empire|British colonial empire]] || [[Edward Baldwin Malet]]
 
|-
 
| {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}} || [[Italian Empire|Italian colonial empire]]|| [[Edoardo de Launay]]
 
|-
 
| {{flag|Netherlands}} || [[Dutch Empire|Dutch colonial empire]] || [[Philip van der Hoeven]]
 
|-
 
| {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal}} || [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese colonial empire]]|| [[Antônio José da Serra Gomes]]<br/> [[António de Serpa Pimentel]]
 
|-
 
| {{flagcountry|Russian Empire}} || [[Territorial evolution of Russia|Russian colonialism]] || [[Pyotr Kapnist]]
 
|-
 
| {{flagcountry|Union between Sweden and Norway}} || [[Swedish overseas colonies|Swedish colonial empire]] || [[Gillis Bildt]]
 
|-
 
| {{flag|Ottoman Empire}} || [[Vassal and tributary states of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]] || [[Mehmed Said Pasha]]
 
|}
 
  
Uniquely, the United States reserved the right to decline or to accept the conclusions of the Conference.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://lril.oxfordjournals.org/content/3/1/31.full |title=Between law and history: the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 and the logic of free trade | journal = [[London Review of International Law]] | publisher=Lril.oxfordjournals.org |date=2015-03-10 |access-date=2018-09-24}}</ref>
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Uniquely, the United States reserved the right to decline or to accept the conclusions of the Conference.<ref>[http://lril.oxfordjournals.org/content/3/1/31.full Between law and history: the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 and the logic of free trade], [[London Review of International Law]]</ref>
  
 
==General Act==
 
==General Act==
 
The General Act fixed the following points:
 
The General Act fixed the following points:
* To gain public acceptance,<ref name="DS">{{cite web|last1=David|first1=Saul|title=BBC - History - British History in depth: Slavery and the 'Scramble for Africa'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/scramble_for_africa_article_01.shtml|website=www.bbc.co.uk/history|publisher=BBC|access-date=19 September 2017}}</ref><ref name=Craven/> the conference resolved to end slavery by African and Islamic powers. Thus, an international prohibition of the slave trade throughout their respected spheres was signed by the European members. The point made the writer [[Joseph Conrad]], acclaimed author of [[Heart of Darkness]], sarcastically refer to one of the participants at the conference, the [[International Association of the Congo]] (also called "[[International Association of the Congo|International Congo Society]]"), as "the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs" in his novella ''[[Heart of Darkness]]''.<ref name="HistoricalContext">"Historical Context: ''Heart of Darkness''." EXPLORING Novels, Online Edition. Gale, 2003. [http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/DC Discovering Collection]. {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stengers|first=Jean|title=Sur l'aventure congolaise de Joseph Conrad.|journal=In Quaghebeur, M. And van Balberghe, E. (Eds.), Papier Blanc, Encre Noire: Cent Ans de Culture Francophone en Afrique Centrale (Zaïre, Rwanda et Burundi). 2 Vols. Pp. 15-34. Brussels: Labor.|volume=1}}</ref> The first name of this Society had been the "[[International African Association|International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of Central Africa]]".
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* To gain public acceptance,<ref name="DS">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/scramble_for_africa_article_01.shtml BBC - History - British History in depth: Slavery and the 'Scramble for Africa']</ref><ref name=Craven/> the conference resolved to end slavery by African and Islamic powers. Thus, an international prohibition of the slave trade throughout their respected spheres was signed by the European members. The point made the writer Joseph Conrad, acclaimed author of Heart of Darkness, sarcastically refer to one of the participants at the conference, the International Association of the Congo, as "the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs" in his novella ''[[Heart of Darkness]]''. The first name of this Society had been the "International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of Central Africa".
* The properties occupied by Belgian King Leopold's [[International Association of the Congo|International Congo Society]], the name used in the General Act, were confirmed as the Society's and hence Leopold's private property. On August 1, 1885, a few months after the closure of the Berlin Conference, Leopold's Vice-Administrator General in the Congo, Francis de Winton, announced that the territory was henceforth called "the [[Congo Free State]]", a name that in fact was not in use at the time of the conference and does not appear in the General Act.<ref name=Cornelis/><ref name=Katzenellenbogen/>
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* The properties occupied by Belgian King Leopold's International Congo Society, the name used in the General Act, were confirmed as the Society's and hence Leopold's private property. On August 1, 1885, a few months after the closure of the Berlin Conference, Leopold's Vice-Administrator General in the Congo, Francis de Winton, announced that the territory was henceforth called "the [[Congo Free State]]", a name that in fact was not in use at the time of the conference and does not appear in the General Act.<ref name=Cornelis/><ref name=Katzenellenbogen/>
 
* The 14 signatory powers would have [[free trade]] throughout the [[Congo Basin]] as well as [[Lake Malawi]] and east of it in an area south of 5° N.
 
* The 14 signatory powers would have [[free trade]] throughout the [[Congo Basin]] as well as [[Lake Malawi]] and east of it in an area south of 5° N.
 
* The [[Niger River|Niger]] and [[Congo River|Congo]] rivers were made free for ship traffic.
 
* The [[Niger River|Niger]] and [[Congo River|Congo]] rivers were made free for ship traffic.
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==Agenda==
 
==Agenda==
* '''Portugal–Britain''': The Portuguese government presented a project, known as the "[[Pink Map]]", or the "[[Rose (color)|Rose]]-Coloured Map", in which the colonies of Angola and Mozambique were united by co-option of the intervening territory (the land later became [[Zambia]], [[Zimbabwe]], and [[Malawi]]). All of the countries attending the conference, except for Britain, endorsed Portugal's ambitions, but just over five years later, in 1890, the British government, in breach of the [[Treaty of Windsor (1386)|Treaty of Windsor]] and the Treaty of Berlin itself, issued an [[British Ultimatum|ultimatum]] that demanded for the Portuguese to withdraw from the disputed area.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}
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* '''Portugal–Britain''': The Portuguese government presented a project, known as the "Pink Map", or the "Rose Coloured Map", in which the colonies of Angola and Mozambique were united by co-option of the intervening territory (the land later became [[Zambia]], [[Zimbabwe]], and [[Malawi]]). All of the countries attending the conference, except for Britain, endorsed Portugal's ambitions, but just over five years later, in 1890, the British government, in breach of the [[Treaty of Windsor (1386)|Treaty of Windsor]] and the Treaty of Berlin itself, issued an [[British Ultimatum|ultimatum]] that demanded for the Portuguese to withdraw from the disputed area.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}
 
* '''France–Britain''': A line running from [[Say, Niger|Say]] in [[Niger]] to [[Maroua]], on the northeastern coast of [[Lake Chad]], determined which part belonged to whom. France would own territory to the north of the line, and Britain would own territory to the south of it. The basin of the [[Nile]] would be British, with the French taking the basin of [[Lake Chad]]. Furthermore, between the [[11th parallel north|11th]] and [[15th parallel north|15th]] degrees north in [[latitude]], the border would pass between [[Ouaddai Kingdom|Ouaddaï]], which would be French, and [[Darfur]] in [[Sudan]], which would be British. In reality, a [[no man's land]] 200&nbsp;km wide was put in place between the [[21st meridian east|21st]] and [[23rd meridian east|23rd]] meridians east.
 
* '''France–Britain''': A line running from [[Say, Niger|Say]] in [[Niger]] to [[Maroua]], on the northeastern coast of [[Lake Chad]], determined which part belonged to whom. France would own territory to the north of the line, and Britain would own territory to the south of it. The basin of the [[Nile]] would be British, with the French taking the basin of [[Lake Chad]]. Furthermore, between the [[11th parallel north|11th]] and [[15th parallel north|15th]] degrees north in [[latitude]], the border would pass between [[Ouaddai Kingdom|Ouaddaï]], which would be French, and [[Darfur]] in [[Sudan]], which would be British. In reality, a [[no man's land]] 200&nbsp;km wide was put in place between the [[21st meridian east|21st]] and [[23rd meridian east|23rd]] meridians east.
 
* '''France–Germany''': The area to the north of a line, formed by the intersection of the [[14th meridian east]] and Miltou, was designated to be French, and the area to the south would be German, later called [[German Cameroon]].
 
* '''France–Germany''': The area to the north of a line, formed by the intersection of the [[14th meridian east]] and Miltou, was designated to be French, and the area to the south would be German, later called [[German Cameroon]].
Line 91: Line 85:
  
 
==Aftermath==
 
==Aftermath==
[[File:Colonial Africa 1913 map.svg|thumb|350px|
+
[[image:Map African colonies.png|400px|left|Thumbnail]]
European claims in Africa, 1913. Today's boundaries, which are largely a legacy of the colonial era, are shown.<br>
+
The conference provided an opportunity to channel latent European hostilities towards one another outward; provide new areas for helping the European powers expand in the face of rising American, Russian and Japanese interests; and form constructive dialogue to limit future hostilities. In Africa, colonialism was introduced across nearly all the continent. When African independence was regained after [[World War II]], it was in the form of fragmented states.<ref name="de_Blij__Muller">[https://archive.org/details/geographyrealmsr00debl/page/340 Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts.], 1997, page 340</ref>
{{Legend inline|#f7fab2|Belgium}}
 
{{Legend inline|#bbfdd9|Germany}}
 
{{Legend inline|#eaaff7|Spain}}
 
{{Legend inline|#a4dbfb|France}}<br>
 
{{Legend inline|#fbc5c0|Britain}}
 
{{Legend inline|#d2f89b|Italy}}
 
{{Legend inline|#c0a6f2|Portugal}}
 
{{Legend inline|#f6f6f6|Independent|outline=silver}}
 
]]
 
 
 
The conference provided an opportunity to channel latent European hostilities towards one another outward; provide new areas for helping the European powers expand in the face of rising American, Russian and Japanese interests; and form constructive dialogue to limit future hostilities. In Africa, colonialism was introduced across nearly all the continent. When African independence was regained after [[World War II]], it was in the form of fragmented states.<ref name="de_Blij__Muller">{{cite book |last1=de Blij |first1=H.J. |last2=Muller |first2=Peter O. |title=Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts. |url=https://archive.org/details/geographyrealmsr00debl |url-access=registration |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |year=1997 |page=[https://archive.org/details/geographyrealmsr00debl/page/340 340]}}</ref>
 
  
The [[Scramble for Africa]] sped up after the Conference since even within areas designated as their sphere of influence, the European powers had to take effective possession by the principle of effectivity. In central Africa in particular, expeditions were dispatched to coerce traditional rulers into signing treaties, using force if necessary, such as was the case for [[Msiri]], [[King of Katanga]], in 1891. Bedouin- and Berber-ruled states in the [[Sahara]] and the [[Sub-Sahara]] were overrun by the French in several wars by the beginning of [[World War I]]. The British moved up from South Africa and down from Egypt and conquered states such as the [[Mahdist State]] and the [[Sultanate of Zanzibar]] and, having already defeated the [[Zulu Kingdom]] in South Africa in 1879, moved on to subdue and dismantle the independent [[Boer]] republics of [[South African Republic|Transvaal]] and the [[Orange Free State]].
+
The [[Scramble for Africa]] sped up after the Conference since even within areas designated as their sphere of influence, the European powers had to take effective possession by the principle of effectivity. In central Africa in particular, expeditions were dispatched to coerce traditional rulers into signing treaties, using force if necessary, such as was the case for Msiri, King of Katanga, in 1891. Bedouin- and Berber-ruled states in the [[Sahara]] and the [[Sub-Sahara]] were overrun by the French in several wars by the beginning of [[World War I]]. The British moved up from South Africa and down from Egypt and conquered states such as the [[Mahdist State]] and the [[Sultanate of Zanzibar]] and, having already defeated the [[Zulu Kingdom]] in South Africa in 1879, moved on to subdue and dismantle the independent [[Boer]] republics of [[South African Republic|Transvaal]] and the [[Orange Free State]].
  
 
Within a few years, Africa was at least nominally divided up south of the [[Sahara]]. By 1895, the only independent states were:
 
Within a few years, Africa was at least nominally divided up south of the [[Sahara]]. By 1895, the only independent states were:
* {{flag|Morocco|1666}}, involved in colonial conflicts with Spain and France, which conquered the nation in the 20th century.
+
* Morocco, involved in colonial conflicts with Spain and France, which conquered the nation in the 20th century.
* {{flag|Liberia}}, founded with the support of the [[United States]] for freed slaves to return to Africa.
+
* Liberia, founded with the support of the [[United States]] for freed slaves to return to Africa.
* {{flag|Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinia (Ethiopia)}}, the only free native state, which fended off Italian invasion from [[Eritrea]] in the [[First Italo-Ethiopian War]] of 1889–1896 but was defeated in 1936 during the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]]
+
* Ethiopian Empire, the only free native state, which fended off Italian invasion from [[Eritrea]] in the [[First Italo-Ethiopian War]] of 1889–1896 but was defeated in 1936 during the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]]
* [[File:Majeerteen sultanate flag.jpg|22px]] [[Majeerteen Sultanate]], founded in the early 18th century, it was annexed by [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] in the 20th century.
+
* [[Majeerteen Sultanate]], founded in the early 18th century, it was annexed by [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]] in the 20th century.
* [[File:Majeerteen sultanate flag.jpg|22px]] [[Sultanate of Hobyo]], carved out of the former Majeerteen Sultanate, which ruled northern [[Somalia]] until the 20th century, when it was conquered by Italy.
+
* [[Sultanate of Hobyo]], carved out of the former Majeerteen Sultanate, which ruled northern [[Somalia]] until the 20th century, when it was conquered by Italy.
  
 
The following states lost their independence to the British Empire roughly a decade after (see below for more information):
 
The following states lost their independence to the British Empire roughly a decade after (see below for more information):
  
* {{flag|Orange Free State}}, a [[Boer]] republic founded by Dutch settlers
+
* a [[Boer]] republic founded by Dutch settlers
* {{flag|South African Republic}} (Transvaal), also a Boer republic
+
* (Transvaal), also a Boer republic
  
 
By 1902, 90% of all the land that makes up Africa was under European control. Most of the [[Sahara]] was French, but after the quelling of the [[Muhammad Ahmad|Mahdi rebellion]] and the ending of the [[Fashoda Incident|Fashoda crisis]], the Sudan remained firmly under joint British–Egyptian rulership, with [[Khedivate of Egypt|Egypt]] being under British occupation before becoming a [[Sultanate of Egypt|British protectorate]] in 1914.<ref>Roger Owen, ''Lord Cromer: Victorian Imperialist, Edwardian Proconsul'' (Oxford UP, 2005).</ref>
 
By 1902, 90% of all the land that makes up Africa was under European control. Most of the [[Sahara]] was French, but after the quelling of the [[Muhammad Ahmad|Mahdi rebellion]] and the ending of the [[Fashoda Incident|Fashoda crisis]], the Sudan remained firmly under joint British–Egyptian rulership, with [[Khedivate of Egypt|Egypt]] being under British occupation before becoming a [[Sultanate of Egypt|British protectorate]] in 1914.<ref>Roger Owen, ''Lord Cromer: Victorian Imperialist, Edwardian Proconsul'' (Oxford UP, 2005).</ref>
Line 124: Line 107:
  
 
== Analysis by historians ==
 
== Analysis by historians ==
{{Expand section|date=September 2020}}
+
Historians have long marked the Berlin Conference at the formalisation for the [[Scramble for Africa]]<ref>Why Redraw the Map of Africa: A Moral and Legal Inquiry, Harvard Law School, 1995</ref> but recent scholarship have questioned the legal and economic impact of the conference.<ref name=Craven/>
Historians have long marked the Berlin Conference at the formalisation for the [[Scramble for Africa]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Matua |first1=Maka Wu |title=Why Redraw the Map of Africa: A Moral and Legal Inquiry |journal=Harvard Law School |date=1995 |volume=16 |issue=4}}</ref> but recent scholarship have questioned the legal and economic impact of the conference.<ref name=Craven/>
 
  
Some have argued the conference central to imperialism. [[African-Americans|African-American]] historian [[W. E. B. Du Bois]] wrote in 1948 that alongside the [[Atlantic slave trade]] in Africans a great world movement of modern times is "the partitioning of Africa after the Franco-Prussian War which, with the Berlin Conference of 1884, brought colonial imperialism to flower" and that "[t]he primary reality of imperialism in Africa today is economic," going on to expound on the extraction of wealth from the continent.<ref name="foreignpolicyDuBois">{{cite magazine|last=Du Bois|first=W. E. Burghardt|author-link=W. E. B. Du Bois|date=July 1943|title=The Realities in Africa: European Profit or Negro Development?|volume=21|number=4|magazine=[[Foreign Affairs]]|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/africa/1943-07-01/realities-africa|issn=0015-7120|url-access=subscription|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
+
Some have argued the conference central to imperialism. [[African-Americans|African-American]] historian [[W. E. B. Du Bois]] wrote in 1948 that alongside the [[Atlantic slave trade]] in Africans a great world movement of modern times is "the partitioning of Africa after the Franco-Prussian War which, with the Berlin Conference of 1884, brought colonial imperialism to flower" and that "[t]he primary reality of imperialism in Africa today is economic," going on to expound on the extraction of wealth from the continent.<ref name="foreignpolicyDuBois">[https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/africa/1943-07-01/realities-afric The Realities in Africa: European Profit or Negro Development?]</ref>
  
Other historians debate the historical legal implications in international law. The focus on principle of effectivity and spheres of influence have lead to not<sup>clarify / needs clarification; original writer's account no longer exists</sup> the Berlin Conference as a major development in international law and imperialism.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aghie |first1=Antony |editor1-last=Landauer |editor1-first=Carl |title=Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law |date=2004 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> Some have argued the conference was more a failure and used to blame Germany for [[Scramble for Africa]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hargreaves |first1=John |title=Prelude to the partition of West Africa. |date=1963 |publisher=Macmillam}}</ref>
+
Other historians debate the historical legal implications in international law. The focus on principle of effectivity and spheres of influence have lead to not the Berlin Conference as a major development in international law and imperialism.<ref>Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law, Cambridge University Press, 2004</ref> Some have argued the conference was more a failure and used to blame Germany for [[Scramble for Africa]].<ref>Hargreaves, John ''Prelude to the partition of West Africa.'', 1963, publisher: Macmillam</ref>
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 
*[[Brussels Conference Act of 1890]]
 
*[[Brussels Conference Act of 1890]]
 
*[[Impact of Western European colonialism and colonisation]]
 
*[[Impact of Western European colonialism and colonisation]]
 
==References==
 
{{Reflist}}
 
  
 
==Sources==
 
==Sources==
Line 152: Line 131:
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
{{Commons category|Berlin Conference (1884)}}
 
 
* [http://geography.about.com/cs/politicalgeog/a/berlinconferenc.htm Geography.about.com - Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 to Divide Africa].
 
* [http://geography.about.com/cs/politicalgeog/a/berlinconferenc.htm Geography.about.com - Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 to Divide Africa].
 
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03ffkfd "The Berlin Conference"], BBC ''In Our Time''
 
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03ffkfd "The Berlin Conference"], BBC ''In Our Time''
 
* [https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/general-act-berlin-conference-west-africa-26-february-1885 General Act of the Berlin Conference]. South African History Online.
 
* [https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/general-act-berlin-conference-west-africa-26-february-1885 General Act of the Berlin Conference]. South African History Online.
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-BerlinConference-article.ogg|date=2017-12-11}}
 
  
{{Authority control}}
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{{SMWDocs}}
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 +
==References==
 +
{{reflist}}
  
[[Category:European colonisation in Africa]]
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{{PageCredit
[[Category:1884 in Germany]]
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|site=Wikipedia
[[Category:1885 in Germany]]
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|date=13 January 2021
[[Category:Diplomatic conferences in Germany]]
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|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Conference
[[Category:19th-century diplomatic conferences]]
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}}
[[Category:1884 in international relations]]
 
[[Category:1885 in international relations]]
 
[[Category:1884 conferences]]
 
[[Category:1885 conferences]]
 
[[Category:1885 in Africa]]
 
[[Category:1884 in Africa]]
 
[[Category:19th century in Berlin]]
 
[[Category:1880s in Prussia]]
 

Latest revision as of 08:51, 24 May 2024

This is a shortened import from the Wikipedia article as it appeared 13 January 2021.

Event.png Berlin Conference (imperialism,  colonialism,  “racism”,  slavery) Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
Bismarck Congo conference.png
German Chancellor Bismarck leads the partitioning of Africa like a cake (contemporary cartoon)
Date15 November 1884 - 26 February 1885
LocationBerlin
Description1880s conference to regulate European colonization and trade in Africa

The Berlin Conference of 18841885, also known as the Congo Conference or the West Africa Conference,[1] regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the "New Imperialism" period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power. The conference was organized by Otto von Bismarck, the first chancellor of Germany.

Its outcome, the "General Act of the Berlin Conference", can be seen as the formalization of the "Scramble for Africa", but some scholars of history warn against an overemphasis of its role in the colonial partitioning of Africa and draw attention to bilateral agreements concluded before and after the conference.[2][3][4] The conference contributed to ushering in a period of heightened colonial activity by European powers, which eliminated or overrode most existing forms of African autonomy and self-governance.[5]

Background

Prior to the conference, European diplomats approached governments in Africa in the same manner as they did in the Western Hemisphere by establishing a connection to local trade networks. In the early 1800s, the European demand for ivory, which was then often used in the production of luxury goods, led many European merchants into the interior markets of Africa.[6] European spheres of power and influence were limited to coastal Africa at this time as Europeans had only established trading posts up to this point.[7]

King Leopold II of the Belgians managed to get a fantastic deal for himself at the Conference, thanks to his use of NGO front organizations, skillful PR and courting the right persons, thereby secured himself a gigantic area as a personal fief. It would soon make him one of the richest men in the world. The world may only know the numbers of killed Africans in the areas under his control because other participants of the conference were unhappy with the size of his share.

In 1876, King Leopold II of Belgium, who had founded and controlled the NGO International African Association (a precursor to modern use of humanitarian NGOs as front organizations) the same year, invited Henry Morton Stanley to join him in researching and 'civilizing' the continent. In 1878, the International Congo Society was also formed, with more economic goals but still closely related to the former society. Léopold secretly bought off the foreign investors in the Congo Society, which was turned to imperialistic goals, with the 'African Society' serving primarily as a philanthropic front.[8]

From 1878 to 1885, Stanley returned to the Congo not as a reporter but as Leopold's agent, with the secret mission to organise what would soon after the closure of the Berlin Conference, in August 1885, become known as the Congo Free State.[9][2] French agents discovered Leopold's plans and in response France sent its own explorers to Africa. In 1881, French naval officer Pierre de Brazza was dispatched to central Africa, travelled into the western Congo basin and raised the French flag over the newly founded Brazzaville in what is now the Republic of Congo. Finally, Portugal, which had essentially abandoned a colonial empire in the area, long held through the mostly defunct proxy Kongo Empire, also claimed the area, based on old treaties with Restoration-era Spain and the Roman Catholic Church. It quickly made a treaty on 26 February 1884 with its former ally, Great Britain, to block off the Congo Society's access to the Atlantic.

By the early 1880s many factors including diplomatic successes, greater European local knowledge, and the demand of resources such as gold, timber, and rubber, triggered dramatically increased European involvement in the continent of Africa. Stanley's charting of the Congo River Basin (1874–1877) removed the last terra incognita from European maps of the continent, delineating the areas of British, Portuguese, French and Belgian control. These European nations raced to annex territory that might be claimed by rivals.[10]

France moved to take over Tunisia, one of the last of the Barbary states, using a claim of another piracy incident. French claims by Pierre de Brazza were quickly acted on by the French military which took control of what is now the Republic of the Congo in 1881 and French Guinea in 1884. Italy became part of the Triple Alliance, an event which upset Bismarck's carefully laid plans and led Germany to join the European invasion of Africa.[11]

In 1882, realizing the geopolitical extent of Portuguese control on the coasts, but seeing penetration by France eastward across Central Africa toward Ethiopia, the Nile, and the Suez Canal, Britain saw its vital trade route through Egypt to India threatened. Under the pretext of the collapsed Egyptian financing and a subsequent mutiny (Urabi Revolt) in which hundreds of British subjects were murdered or injured, Britain intervened in the nominally Ottoman Empires, Khedivate of Egypt, which it controlled for decades.[12]

Conference

The delegates

The European race for colonies made Germany start launching expeditions of its own, which frightened both British and French statesmen. Hoping to quickly soothe the brewing conflict, Belgian King Leopold II convinced France and Germany that common trade in Africa was in the best interests of all three countries. Under support from the British and the initiative of Portugal, Otto von Bismarck, the chancellor of Germany, called on representatives of 13 nations in Europe as well as the United States to take part in the Berlin Conference in 1884 to work out a joint policy on the African continent.

The conference was opened on November 15, 1884, and continued until it closed on 26 February 1885.[13] The number of plenipotentiaries varied per nation,[14] but these 14 countries sent representatives to attend the Berlin Conference and sign the subsequent Berlin Act:[15]

Uniquely, the United States reserved the right to decline or to accept the conclusions of the Conference.[16]

General Act

The General Act fixed the following points:

  • To gain public acceptance,[17][4] the conference resolved to end slavery by African and Islamic powers. Thus, an international prohibition of the slave trade throughout their respected spheres was signed by the European members. The point made the writer Joseph Conrad, acclaimed author of Heart of Darkness, sarcastically refer to one of the participants at the conference, the International Association of the Congo, as "the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs" in his novella Heart of Darkness. The first name of this Society had been the "International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of Central Africa".
  • The properties occupied by Belgian King Leopold's International Congo Society, the name used in the General Act, were confirmed as the Society's and hence Leopold's private property. On August 1, 1885, a few months after the closure of the Berlin Conference, Leopold's Vice-Administrator General in the Congo, Francis de Winton, announced that the territory was henceforth called "the Congo Free State", a name that in fact was not in use at the time of the conference and does not appear in the General Act.[9][2]
  • The 14 signatory powers would have free trade throughout the Congo Basin as well as Lake Malawi and east of it in an area south of 5° N.
  • The Niger and Congo rivers were made free for ship traffic.
  • The Principle of Effectivity (based on "effective occupation", see below) was introduced to prevent powers from setting up colonies in name only.
  • Any fresh act of taking possession of any portion of the African coast would have to be notified by the power taking possession, or assuming a protectorate, to the other signatory powers.
  • Definition of regions in which each European power had an exclusive right to pursue the legal ownership of land

The first reference in an international act to the obligations attaching to "spheres of influence" is contained in the Berlin Act.

Principle of effective occupation

The principle of effective occupation stated that powers could acquire rights over colonial lands only if they possessed them or had "effective occupation": if they had treaties with local leaders, flew their flag there and established an administration in the territory to govern it with a police force to keep order. The colonial power could also make use of the colony economically. That principle became important not only as a basis for the European powers to acquire territorial sovereignty in Africa but also for determining the limits of their respective overseas possessions, as effective occupation served in some instances as a criterion for settling disputes over the boundaries between colonies. However, as the Berlin Act was limited in its scope to the lands that fronted on the African coast, European powers in numerous instances later claimed rights over lands in the interior without demonstrating the requirement of effective occupation, as articulated in Article 35 of the Final Act.

At the Berlin Conference, the scope of the Principle of Effective Occupation was heavily contested between Germany and France. The Germans, who were new to the continent, essentially believed that as far as the extension of power in Africa was concerned, no colonial power should have any legal right to a territory unless the state exercised strong and effective political control and, if so, only for a limited period of time, essentially an occupational force only. However, Britain's view was that Germany was a latecomer to the continent and was assumptively unlikely to gain any new possessions, apart from territories that were already occupied, which were swiftly proving to be more valuable than those occupied by Britain. That logic caused it to be generally assumed by Britain and France that Germany had an interest in embarrassing the other European powers on the continent and forcing them to give up their possessions if they could not muster a strong political presence. On the other side, Britain had large territorial holdings there and wanted to keep them while it minimised its responsibilities and administrative costs. In the end, the British view prevailed.

The disinclination to rule what the Europeans had conquered is apparent throughout the protocols of the Berlin Conference but especially in the Principle of Effective Occupation. In line with Germany and Britain's opposing views, the powers finally agreed that it could be established by a European power establishing some kind of base on the coast from which it was free to expand into the interior. The Europeans did not believe that the rules of occupation demanded European hegemony on the ground. The Belgians originally wanted to include that "effective occupation" required provisions that "cause peace to be administered", but Britain and France were the powers that had that amendment struck out of the final document.

That principle, along with others that were written at the conference, allowed the Europeans to conquer Africa but to do as little as possible to administer or control it. The principle did not apply so much to the hinterlands of Africa at the time of the conference. This gave rise to "hinterland theory", which basically gave any colonial power with coastal territory the right to claim political influence over an indefinite amount of inland territory. Since Africa was irregularly shaped, that theory caused problems and was later rejected.[18]

Agenda

  • Portugal–Britain: The Portuguese government presented a project, known as the "Pink Map", or the "Rose Coloured Map", in which the colonies of Angola and Mozambique were united by co-option of the intervening territory (the land later became Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi). All of the countries attending the conference, except for Britain, endorsed Portugal's ambitions, but just over five years later, in 1890, the British government, in breach of the Treaty of Windsor and the Treaty of Berlin itself, issued an ultimatum that demanded for the Portuguese to withdraw from the disputed area.[citation needed]
  • France–Britain: A line running from Say in Niger to Maroua, on the northeastern coast of Lake Chad, determined which part belonged to whom. France would own territory to the north of the line, and Britain would own territory to the south of it. The basin of the Nile would be British, with the French taking the basin of Lake Chad. Furthermore, between the 11th and 15th degrees north in latitude, the border would pass between Ouaddaï, which would be French, and Darfur in Sudan, which would be British. In reality, a no man's land 200 km wide was put in place between the 21st and 23rd meridians east.
  • France–Germany: The area to the north of a line, formed by the intersection of the 14th meridian east and Miltou, was designated to be French, and the area to the south would be German, later called German Cameroon.
  • Britain–Germany: The separation came in the form of a line passing through Yola, on the Benoué, Dikoa, going up to the extremity of Lake Chad.
  • France–Italy: Italy was to own what lies north of a line from the intersection of the Tropic of Cancer and the 17th meridian east to the intersection of the 15th parallel north and the 21st meridian east.

Aftermath

Thumbnail

The conference provided an opportunity to channel latent European hostilities towards one another outward; provide new areas for helping the European powers expand in the face of rising American, Russian and Japanese interests; and form constructive dialogue to limit future hostilities. In Africa, colonialism was introduced across nearly all the continent. When African independence was regained after World War II, it was in the form of fragmented states.[19]

The Scramble for Africa sped up after the Conference since even within areas designated as their sphere of influence, the European powers had to take effective possession by the principle of effectivity. In central Africa in particular, expeditions were dispatched to coerce traditional rulers into signing treaties, using force if necessary, such as was the case for Msiri, King of Katanga, in 1891. Bedouin- and Berber-ruled states in the Sahara and the Sub-Sahara were overrun by the French in several wars by the beginning of World War I. The British moved up from South Africa and down from Egypt and conquered states such as the Mahdist State and the Sultanate of Zanzibar and, having already defeated the Zulu Kingdom in South Africa in 1879, moved on to subdue and dismantle the independent Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State.

Within a few years, Africa was at least nominally divided up south of the Sahara. By 1895, the only independent states were:

  • Morocco, involved in colonial conflicts with Spain and France, which conquered the nation in the 20th century.
  • Liberia, founded with the support of the United States for freed slaves to return to Africa.
  • Ethiopian Empire, the only free native state, which fended off Italian invasion from Eritrea in the First Italo-Ethiopian War of 1889–1896 but was defeated in 1936 during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War
  • Majeerteen Sultanate, founded in the early 18th century, it was annexed by Italy in the 20th century.
  • Sultanate of Hobyo, carved out of the former Majeerteen Sultanate, which ruled northern Somalia until the 20th century, when it was conquered by Italy.

The following states lost their independence to the British Empire roughly a decade after (see below for more information):

  • a Boer republic founded by Dutch settlers
  • (Transvaal), also a Boer republic

By 1902, 90% of all the land that makes up Africa was under European control. Most of the Sahara was French, but after the quelling of the Mahdi rebellion and the ending of the Fashoda crisis, the Sudan remained firmly under joint British–Egyptian rulership, with Egypt being under British occupation before becoming a British protectorate in 1914.[20]

The Boer republics were conquered by British in the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1902. Morocco was divided between the French and Spanish in 1911, and Libya was conquered by Italy in 1912.

Analysis by historians

Historians have long marked the Berlin Conference at the formalisation for the Scramble for Africa[21] but recent scholarship have questioned the legal and economic impact of the conference.[4]

Some have argued the conference central to imperialism. African-American historian W. E. B. Du Bois wrote in 1948 that alongside the Atlantic slave trade in Africans a great world movement of modern times is "the partitioning of Africa after the Franco-Prussian War which, with the Berlin Conference of 1884, brought colonial imperialism to flower" and that "[t]he primary reality of imperialism in Africa today is economic," going on to expound on the extraction of wealth from the continent.[22]

Other historians debate the historical legal implications in international law. The focus on principle of effectivity and spheres of influence have lead to not the Berlin Conference as a major development in international law and imperialism.[23] Some have argued the conference was more a failure and used to blame Germany for Scramble for Africa.[24]

See also

Sources

  • Chamberlain, Muriel E. (2014). The Scramble for Africa. London: Longman, 1974, 4th ed. ISBN 0-582-36881-2.
  • 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.
  • Crowe, Sybil E. (1942). The Berlin West African Conference, 1884–1885. New York: Longmans, Green. ISBN 0-8371-3287-8 (1981, New ed. edition).
  • Förster, Stig, Wolfgang Justin Mommsen, and Ronald Edward Robinson, eds. Bismarck, Europe and Africa: The Berlin Africa conference 1884–1885 and the onset of partition (Oxford UP, 1988) online
  • Hochschild, Adam (1999). King Leopold's Ghost. ISBN 0-395-75924-2.
  • Katzenellenbogen, S. 1996. It didn't happen at Berlin: Politics, economics and ignorance in the setting of Africa's colonial boundaries. In Nugent, P. and Asiwaju, A. I. (Eds.), African boundaries: Barriers, conduits and opportunities. . pp. 21–34. London: Pinter.
  • Petringa, Maria (2006). Brazza, A Life for Africa. ISBN 978-1-4259-1198-0.
  • Lorin, Amaury, and de Gemeaux, Christine, eds., L'Europe coloniale et le grand tournant de la Conférence de Berlin (1884-1885), Paris, Le Manuscrit, coll. "Carrefours d'empires", 2013, 380 p.

Further reading

External links


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References

  1. "Berlin West Africa Conference", Encyclopædia Britannica.
  2. a b c African Boundaries: Barriers, Conduits and Opportunities, 1996, pages 21–34, chapter: It didn't happen at Berlin: Politics, economics and ignorance in the setting of Africa's colonial boundaries.
  3. https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/3116386
  4. a b c Between law and history: the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 and the logic of free trade, London Review of International Law, volume 3, pages 31–59, doi=10.1093/lril/lrv002
  5. The Nature of African Boundaries, Africa Spectrum, volume 18, issue 2, 1983, pages 177–189, publisher: Institute of African Affairs at GIGA, Hamburg - "Kwame Nkrumah 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 for "the partition of Africa" on the doors of the Berlin Conference. But Wm. Roger Louis holds a contrary view, although he conceded that "the Berlin Act did have a relevance to the course of the partition" of Africa.
  6. Student Resources in Context
  7. Muriel E. Chamberlain, The Scramble for Africa (1999).
  8. Neal Ascherson, The King Incorporated: Leopold the Second and the Congo (1999).
  9. a b H.M. Stanley: Explorateur au Service du Roi, Cornelis, S., pages 41–60 (53–54), publisher: Royal Museum for Central Africa
  10. Stig Förster, Wolfgang Justin Mommsen, and Ronald Edward Robinson, eds. Bismarck, Europe and Africa: The Berlin Africa Conference 1884–1885 and the Onset of Partition (1988).
  11. William L. Langer, European Alliances and Alignments: 1871–1890 (1950) pp 217–220.
  12. Langer, European Alliances and Alignments: 1871–1890 (1950) pp 251–280.
  13. The Berlin Conference: Where a Continent Was Colonized
  14. Shih-tsung Wang, The Conference of Berlin and British ‘New’ Imperialism, 1884-85 - Department of History and Research Institute of National Taiwan University, 1998, also available here, original here.
  15. https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/General-Akte_der_Berliner_Konferenz_(Kongokonferenz)
  16. Between law and history: the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 and the logic of free trade, London Review of International Law
  17. BBC - History - British History in depth: Slavery and the 'Scramble for Africa'
  18. Herbst, Jeffrey. States and Power in Africa. Ch. 3 p. 71–72
  19. Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts., 1997, page 340
  20. Roger Owen, Lord Cromer: Victorian Imperialist, Edwardian Proconsul (Oxford UP, 2005).
  21. Why Redraw the Map of Africa: A Moral and Legal Inquiry, Harvard Law School, 1995
  22. The Realities in Africa: European Profit or Negro Development?
  23. Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law, Cambridge University Press, 2004
  24. Hargreaves, John Prelude to the partition of West Africa., 1963, publisher: Macmillam
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