The Berlin Conference

1.) In the 19th century, African was a relatively mysterious territory, ripe for European exploration. There was a mad scramble among European powers to harvest Africa’s resources and eventually, it became necessary to establish regulation. This economic and political regulation was the purpose of the Berlin Conference. Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway, Turkey, and the United States all attended the conference. However, France, Great Britain, Germany, and Portugal directed most of the proceedings as they held the most African territory (Shillington 840).

2.) The conference had a profound effect on the existing African nations because it stripped most of them of their autonomy. These European countries agreed on the Principle of Effective Occupation, which stated that they could establish colonies in the territories that they had claimed (Shillington 842). The native Africans were forced to assimilate into the Western culture that the Europeans created there. They were treated as second-class citizens and were required to work long hours as slaves. The Europeans introduced the natives to new diseases that caused thousands of deaths.

3.) There were many cultural misunderstandings between the Africans and Europeans that lead to a widespread sense of resentment among the indigenous people. Europeans often tried to install democratic governments that were met with resistance from the natives. There were political and economic borders established that did not take into consideration the tribal or ethnic boundaries of the area. Tribes and families were split up by the Europeans and this caused conflict not only between the natives and their rulers but also among the new groups of Africans that were forced to live together (Shillington 847). To this day, Africans are still struggling to escape the political and cultural confines placed on them by European powers.

Bibliography

Kevin Shillington, History of Africa, (London: Macmillan, 1989), chap. 21.