The African Scramble by Europeans
The late 19th century was known as the “Age of Imperialism,” as European nations grew their empires and tried to spread their global influence. This was a time of the most important occasions, and one of them was the Berlin Conference between 1884 and 1885. The reasons for the Berlin Conference were so that European countries would not go to war with each other and so that European nations would keep control of which countries in Africa they would colonise and trade with. It played on the future of the continent and it was a turning point in the colonisation of Africa.
The Reasons for the Conference
European nations wanted to strengthen their own economies and their own governments at the time and so were keen to set up colonies in Africa and take a share in Africa’s wealth, such as diamonds, gold, ivory and rubber. But the expansion of the European countries had also become tense as its speed was fast.
One of the main aim of the Berlin conference was that Africans be divided amongst European countries based on principles and regulators that would avoid disputes between European countries regarding what would be theirs while protecting each country’s interest. German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck held the meeting so that Germany wouldn’t be forgotten in the race for Africa. Invited to attend were the chief European powers—the Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and Italy—and the United States.
The Discussions and Conclusions
The “General Act of the Berlin Conference” are the concepts adopted while the months long Berlin Conference was going on. One of the most important results was the recognition and validation of the effective occupation concept. It claimed first, it added, that European powers had to actually be in a territory and have effective authority over it in order to claim it.
European powers took to dividing Africa along the lines of the theory of effective occupation, drawing lines on maps without regard to linguistic, tribal or cultural divides. Borders created without the consent of, or knowledge of, the native African populations caused a lot of strife, thereafter contributing to the post-colonial development of the continent.
Benefits: Development and Regulation
It is true, however, that the effects of the Berlin Conference on Africa are frequently regarded as negative, but there were some benefits. The conference concluded and ended the slave trade by establishing trade restrictions so as to encourage lawful trade. It also set rules for preventing conflicts between European states, also for resolving disputes between European states with a diplomatic procedure.
Modernising and bringing Africa infrastructure, healthcare, and education projects were the commitment of the European powers. However, to what extent these promises were kept varied greatly, some colonies witnessed considerable improvement while others not at all, except for resource exploitation.
Negative Effects: Boundaries and Colonisation
The Berlin conference in effect approved the colonising of Africa, which among other things divided the continent among European states. In consequence, European political institutions, languages and values, which were insensitive to the African traditions, exploitation of resources and African political institutions. In any case, African were mostly non-existent in the decision this made about their fate.
Additionally, Europeans’ random placement of borders led to a number of disputes and tenuous relationships which still exist today. Other colonies often divided one type of ethnic groups against the other, as local rivalries and ethnic divisions were ignored, further exacerbating preexisting tensions and generating new ones.
The Heritage and Acquired Knowledge
The Berlin Conference left a deep impression in the African continent. An indication that it presaged European nations’ African ‘rush’ to exploit and colonise for a span of many decades to come. The conference also highlighted the necessity of international diplomacy and negotiation to avoid conflicts and maintain stability.
That colonial arbitrary borders and power imbalances are very much with us in Africa today. These differences of the Berlin Conference have not disappeared from the political, economical and social life of it.
It is important to know and learn from what we cannot change from the past so deep we cannot change it. Knowledge of the proceedings and aftermath of the Berlin Conference makes for easier examination of colonialism’s impact on Africa and on decolonisation, reconciliation and equitable development.
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