State · 1884–1885
Berlin Conference and the Scramble for Africa
Wilhelmstrasse, Berlin (Germany)
Organised by German chancellor Otto von Bismarck at the request of King Leopold II of Belgium, the Berlin Conference met from 15 November 1884 to 26 February 1885, when fourteen countries signed the General Act regulating European colonisation and trade in Africa, including a common framework for recognising claims backed by 'effective occupation'. As late as the 1870s Europeans controlled about 10 percent of Africa, mostly near the coasts; by 1914 only Ethiopia and Liberia remained outside European control.
Why it mattered
The conference gave international legal backing to a rapid wave of European claims, and the colonial states carved out in the following decades became the framework from which most modern African countries emerged.
Related
- The world in 1880: Steam, Rail and Empire chapter
- Electricity for cities: Edison's Pearl Street station previous moment · 1882
- Battle of Adwa next moment · 1896