Significance of the Berlin Conference

Christian members in Europe established churches in conquered territories during the nineteenth century. With this Western cultural values were spread. Europe found the option to use imperialism to their advantage when the scramble for Africa occurred. This is when The Berlin West Africa conference occurred regarding the split of Africa into colonies. The country was so behind with the rapid industrialization, that new diffusion of ideas was necessary and sought out by citizens. Colliding of religions also involved new education and new foreign languages. As seen in document five, philanthropy was a key part and wanted “five percent better” through Europe at the time. This showed Africa’s hesitant distinction through the late 1880’s to 1950’s and was portrayed across the globe as a developing reputation. Problems with governments, leaders, and trade reflected onto Africa that also left religious views and questions in the air. Against imperialism, Africa saw no hope in ever regaining independence. Colonial conflict struct, and a self government without the help of other countries was out of the picture. In documents three and nine, a German man and German Social Democratic party address how Africa is beginning to look like Europe and how markets within Africa are no longer relevant “to new markets which each country tries to usurp to itself”. These documents showed how after many

The European colonization of Africa, also known as the Scramble for Africa, Partition of Africa, or Conquest of Africa, occurred between the 1870s and 1900s, and was the invasion, occupation, colonization, and annexation of African territory by European powers during a period of New Imperialism. European control of the continent increased from 10 percent (1870) to 90 percent (1914), with only three territories, Saguia el-Hamra, which was later integrated into Spanish Sahara, Ethiopia and Liberia remaining independent of Europe’s control. There were many reasons for the European colonization of Africa, including economic and political motives, with the Berlin Conference serving as a catalyst. Africans resisted the European invasions of their lands, with the two main methods of opposition were guerilla warfare and direct military engagement. European influence on Africa still remains today, though these influences are generally negative and hurt Africa’s overall development.

The rise of new imperialism of the 19th and early 20th century involved Europe going into Africa. The causes of imperialism in Africa were partly due to the decolonization in America. The European powers were out political and economic gain by the United States gaining their independence. In 1876 European powers especially King Leopold II of Belgium, agreed in the Berlin Conference to split up the land in Africa, no longer invading to colonize but to gain political, military and economic power. The methods to imperialism of the African land were done differently, by each

This explains the actions of Otto Von Bismarck the ruler of the newly joined Germany. In document three he explains his plans for Africa, how it will be split up among Europe. He organized the berlin conference in 1884 so that Germany can get recognition and establish itself as a powerful

During 1884-1885 the Berlin conference occurred, three decades after the Berlin conference European authority controlled Africa. This, later on, caused negative and positive actions and reactions towards European scramble for Africa. Some Africans surrendered due to European powers, and some Africans would battle against Europeans. Overall AfricanAfricaactions and reactions, in Response to European scramble for Africa, were violent; however, African actions and reaction were sometimes peaceful.

The Europeans divided the continent amongst each other in a peaceful manner when Otto von Bismarck proposed a conference in Berlin in 1884 and 1885. Technology grew from over the years, for example the repeating rifle, maximum gun, Bessemer process, electric telegraph, and the steam engine (Document C). All this technology help them deprive Africa of its resources, every machine took a certain role to devastate the continent such as manufacturing steel, producing rails, bridges, and tall buildings. This proves how technology took a big part as the Europeans took apart Africa and how imperialism affected it along its way by being divided among different European nations.

The Scramble for Africa from 1876-1914 has influenced many Africans by violent resistance, diplomacy, and adopting traditions. During this time period, Africa was being colonized and taken over by European powers. This was caused by the The Berlin Conference and it consisted of European powers deciding what they should do about Africa. Africa didn't actually have a say in this. Therefore, Europe ended up dividing up Africa into colonies that they took over.

Another relevant part of imperialism was the Berlin Conference, where world leaders traveled up to Berlin, Germany to figure out who would own separate

The answer; while Europe had abolished slavery, the racism dating back to the days of slavery still existed. The conference in reality had no intention of freeing Africa of its negatives, but instead, exploited the circumstances/situations of Africa to fuel the European commercial machine.

With the assembly of the Berlin Conference from 1884 to 1885, the African continent was split between seven European powerhouse countries. These European countries involved, except - Italy, Belgium, and Germany - had all recently lost their American Colonies. Therefore pushing them to colonize new land. England, France, Portugal, Italy, SPain, Belgium, and Germany gained African territories in hopes of civilizing the barbarian native Africans. They hoped to give the Africans the final push into being a civilized place, where could dominate.

During King Leopold’s time he was scrambling for a way to create wealth, but could not dabble in the trade of Africans because of new abolition laws, then he got lucky. In the Berlin Conference held by Otto Von Bismarck, Africa was divided like a cake; pieces were given to European countries. While they had decided that they were “respecting” human rights, it was also believed that Africans needed to be governed. Through this Leopold gained the territory of the Congo, marking the beginning of colonialism, an era of unequal wealth and poverty.

Before the Europeans began to explore Africa, little was known about the continent. However, after some initial exploration of Africa, the Europeans soon realized how economically important this area was, and how much they could profit from it. At the time, European countries had only small colonies in Africa, but after they realized that they could make money from the resources in the inner regions of Africa, they wanted to invade the African regions and assume control. This led to “ the race” and ultimately, the partition of Africa. There were many motives for the Europeans to imperialize Africa. There were humanitarian and religious goals, political goals, military goals, and most importantly, there were economic interests. During the Berlin conference, The European powers decided that they were going to spread the three C’s (Christianity, Commerce, and Civilization) in Africa. To do this, the conference had three aims “ Ensure free trade for all nations throughout the Congo, to ensure free navigation for all countries on the Niger River of West Africa, and agree to set rules by which the Europeans could proceed to divide the rest of the continent.” (Part II: The European Conquest, Pg 11). Later in the document it states that not one African representative was present at the Berlin Conference to discuss Africa's future. The European people tricked themselves into thinking that what they were doing

The dispersal of different ethnicities and the conflict that ensued because of the colonization of different countries, by Europeans, changed the culture and boundaries, set previously, by many overthrown nations. Africa was one of the biggest targets for European colonization and colonialism. The spread of the ideals that sprouted out of the 1884 Berlin Conference and the Scramble for Africa later spread to African American and Cuban culture. The ideals that were brought forth during this time broke apart the heart of Africa and many other countries, and by doing so also developed the concept of and ideals for White supremacy.

Africa is home to countless cultures that all have their own unique ideas and customs. During the past couple of centuries, these cultures were threatened to the point where they almost ceased to exist. The Berlin Conference was a very important occurrence in Africa and Europe's history. It legitimized what the European powers, mainly France and Britain, had been doing for the past hundred years, without the approval of any African country. During the late nineteenth century, France and Britain began imperialistic ventures into Africa, which eventually led Leopold II to conquer the Congo. It was Leopold's II presence in Africa that to led the Berlin Conference.

For much of the 19th century, Europeans occupied African port cities and relied on African locals and trade networks to bring goods and raw materials to the coast. The most valuable elements of this trade included slaves. But the English abolished the slave trade in the mid-eighteen hundreds the United States abolished the import of slaves although some smuggling of slaves from Africa continued. European attention in African materials expanded to include items like palm oil, rubber and copper. European countries negotiated a partitioning of African regions among themselves at the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885. The European countries proceeded to their claims of land and moved up the rivers and trade