Details of the Berlin conference

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Berlin Conference Summary
Details of the Berlin conference
The Berlin Conference, also known as the Congo Conference or the West Africa Conference, was a series of meetings held in Berlin, Germany, between November 1884 and February 1885. The conference was convened by the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck to discuss the future of Africa and its colonization by European powers.
The main purpose of the conference was to regulate and facilitate the colonization and trade of Africa by European nations. Representatives from 14 European countries and the United States attended the conference. No African nations were invited or represented at the conference.
At the conference, the participating nations agreed on rules for the partition of Africa among European powers, with the aim of avoiding conflict between the various colonial powers. They established the principle of effective occupation, which meant that a European power had to actually control and administer a territory in order to claim ownership of it. The conference also established the principle of free trade in the Congo Basin, which was to be administered by an international organization known as the International Association of the Congo.
The Berlin Conference had far-reaching consequences for Africa. It led to the partition of Africa among European powers, with colonial powers claiming territories based on their own interests rather than taking into account the cultural and political realities of the region. This resulted in the artificial creation of many African states with little regard for the diverse ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups within them. The conference also contributed to the exploitation and subjugation of African people and the destruction of traditional African societies.
Overall, the Berlin Conference marked a turning point in the history of Africa, as it accelerated the colonization of the continent by European powers and set the stage for the exploitation and oppression of African people for many decades to come.
 
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