Stepping back into the past, we find a significant historical event that altered the course of Africa’s future: the Berlin Conference of 1884. This conference, also known as the Congo Conference, marked a turning point in the colonization of Africa by European powers. Delve with us into this momentous gathering, its decisions, and the lasting impact it had on the continent.
What Was the Berlin Conference of 1884?
The Berlin Conference was a congress of nine western chieftains held in Berlin from November 1884 to February in 1885. The goal of the conference was to partition Africa among the leading European colonial powers; to set the rules of further colonization and prevents possible European colonialist conflicts among themselves.
Viewing the Need for the Conference
In the last two decades of the nineteenth century, Europeans began a rush to politically divide and colonise Africa. This scramble for Africa arose from various factors: : Among the factors driving imperialism before world war II as a policy there was; the Industrial Revolution, the need for new markets, new sources of basic materials, and a quest for national glory. People in Europe watched with increasing concern as the Franco-Prussian rivalry amongst other tensions mounted to a level that besides seeking for power they had to find other ways of settling differences without having to go to war considering the impact it would have on their emerging huge empires. Hence the call for the Berlin Conference.
Main Decisions and Outcomes
During the conference, several key decisions were made that significantly shaped Africa’s future:
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Territorial Division and ‘Effective Occupation’
The Europeans approved the policy of “occupation effective” as the measure for a state to acquire territory in Africa. This meant that for a nation to post a viable claim, it had to prove profitable occupation, development and control of the place in question. This provision would later be used to argue the arguing for colonization and the redrawing of modern African map disregarding the native boundaries.
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Historical background of the Formation of the Congo Free State
One of major results of the conference was the legitimisation and creation of the Congo Free State, governed by King Leopold II of Belgium. This huge area in central Africa was beneficial to the European countries and was an ideal platform of exploitative of natural endowment especially rubber.
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Accordance of Existing Claims
The conference endorsed existing Partition of territories that European powers claimed hence cementing there authority in Africa. Forces lo and behold some of the major losses like Britain’s claim over Egypt and Sudan. Still parts of the world already under French control were acknowledged like Algeria and most of the area known as West Africa.
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Promotion of Free Trade
In order to reach fair economic rivalry within the framework of European empire, the conference declared free trade area inside the Congo Basin and Niger River area. But this made African resources to be exploited more without xxperiencing corresponding social change and development in the African societies.
Legacy and Lingering Effects
This paper seeks to describe the impact of the Berlin conference on the map of Africa in the colonial period. Its decisions and the subsequent colonization that followed had far-reaching consequences for the continent:
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Fictitious Divides and Ethnthical Strifes
When the conference was deciding on the division of Africa, the borders which were drawn were not good fit ethnic or cultural divides. This set the tone for future civil wars within African nations before and after their independent struggle against their colonial masters as ethnicities, languages and sociopolitical systems that would otherwise would have been separate were forced to live in artificial geographical entities.
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Areas B: Exploitation and Extraction of Resources
The Europeans hence set up colonies in Africa mainly for the purpose of economic exploitation of the south of its natural resources. These resources included rubber, diamonds and minerals where European powers got involved the ecological system and society faced serious detrimental impacts.
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Indigenous people’s cultures and languages have always been suppressed for one reason or the other.
From colonization it made Europeans impose on indigenous languages and their cultures thus demising them. These social assumptions exerted a profound influence on African societies, the education of their children and their view of their own past and selves.
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Postponed Rise of Self-Determination and Nationals Movements
The imperialism of Africa derailed the natural progression of self determination and therefore independence for the nations in Africa. The European powers kept supressing the growth of independent nations politically, economically and militarily up to the mid twentieth century when a number of countries across the African continent began to demand independence through the decolonization movements.
In Conclusion
The Berlin Conference of 1884, although intended to prevent conflicts, marked a significant turning point in the colonization of Africa. Its decisions not only formalized the colonization process but also set the stage for long-lasting consequences. The artificial division of Africa into European colonies led to ethnic conflicts, exploitation of resources, suppression of cultures, and delayed self-determination. Recognizing and understanding this historical event is crucial to comprehending the challenges that Africa faced and continues to face in the present day.
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