Deshbhakt
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 22, 2008
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It was the late 19th century and European nations were beginning to look at the African continent as a more permanent resource base for their newly growing industrial sectors.
More than the ongoing trade between the two continents that had run for decades, though, the Europeans wanted direct control of Africa’s natural resources. In addition, these countries aimed to “develop and civilise Africa”, according to documents from that period.
Thus began the mad “Scramble for Africa”, as it would later be called. Great Britain, Portugal, France, Germany, and King Leopold II of Belgium began sending scouts to secure trade and sovereignty treaties with local leaders, buying or simply staking flags and laying claim to vast expanses of territory crisscrossing the continent rich with resources from palm oil to rubber.
Squabbles soon erupted in Europe over who “owned” what. The French, for example, clashed with Britain over several West African territories, and again with King Leopold over Central African regions.
To avoid an all-out conflict between the rival European nations, all stakeholders agreed to a meeting in Berlin, Germany in 1884-1885 to set out common terms and manage the colonisation process.
No African nations were invited or represented.
For months leading up to that, French officials, in missives to Bismarck, had raised worries about Britain’s gains, especially its control of Egypt and the Suez Canal transport route. Germany, too, was worried about conflicting areas with the British, such as Cameroon.
The Bismarck-led talks lasted from November 15, 1884 until February 26, 1885. On the agenda was the clear mapping and agreement of who owned which area. Regions of tax-free commerce and free navigation, particularly in the Congo and Niger River basins, were also to be clarified.
Source: Al Jazeera
More than the ongoing trade between the two continents that had run for decades, though, the Europeans wanted direct control of Africa’s natural resources. In addition, these countries aimed to “develop and civilise Africa”, according to documents from that period.
Thus began the mad “Scramble for Africa”, as it would later be called. Great Britain, Portugal, France, Germany, and King Leopold II of Belgium began sending scouts to secure trade and sovereignty treaties with local leaders, buying or simply staking flags and laying claim to vast expanses of territory crisscrossing the continent rich with resources from palm oil to rubber.
Squabbles soon erupted in Europe over who “owned” what. The French, for example, clashed with Britain over several West African territories, and again with King Leopold over Central African regions.
To avoid an all-out conflict between the rival European nations, all stakeholders agreed to a meeting in Berlin, Germany in 1884-1885 to set out common terms and manage the colonisation process.
No African nations were invited or represented.
What was the Berlin Conference about?
In November 1884, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck took up the task of calling for and hosting the conference in Berlin at the Reich Chancellery, his official residence on 77 William Street.For months leading up to that, French officials, in missives to Bismarck, had raised worries about Britain’s gains, especially its control of Egypt and the Suez Canal transport route. Germany, too, was worried about conflicting areas with the British, such as Cameroon.
The Bismarck-led talks lasted from November 15, 1884 until February 26, 1885. On the agenda was the clear mapping and agreement of who owned which area. Regions of tax-free commerce and free navigation, particularly in the Congo and Niger River basins, were also to be clarified.
Source: Al Jazeera
