The Berlin Conference of 1884 - the Scramble for Africa

Like his ancestors over thousands of years, this young Samburu shepherd stares across the desert, guarding against predators from a hill above a lake called "Basso Narok" in the Samburu language, which means "Black Lake”. Meanwhile, 6000 kilometers away in Berlin, Germany, representatives from 14 Western countries stare at a wall containing a blank map ...except for the outline of Africa with its rivers and lakes. The men in the room have no idea about the Samburu herder, his people, nor their African homeland. They place a name on the map, over the shepherd’s lake: "Lake Rudolf", in honor of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria. A new name, by Europeans who invite no Africans into the room.

Until the 1870s, European settlements in Africa are mostly trading posts along the coast. At this time, about ten percent of the continent is under European influence. Europeans view the interior of Africa, as mysterious and feared. Through the 19th century, Western explorers and missionaries probe deeper expeditions into the interior of Africa looking for the source of the Nile, cities of gold, and spreading Christianity. The expeditions are funded by Western entrepreneurs, governments, and newspapers.

The Europeans see it as their mission to bring Christianity, commerce, and civilisation to Africa. In Africa, explorers are often welcomed, but generally met with disinterest about the uninvited sharing of Western religion and values. Throughout Europe, newspapers publish endless stories featuring themes of “Dark versus light” and “Africa versus the West”. Africa is presented as the “Dark Continent,” and “under-utilized” by its inhabitants. European colonialists make up the idea of “race” to justify Europeans as the “superior race” deserving to control and govern colonies in Africa.

In the 1870s, tensions run high throughout Europe. An economic depression is destroying economies worldwide, and pressures grow to find cheaper resources and future markets. European leaders fear if they don’t improve the economies, they might face uprisings within their countries – or even war – throughout Europe. To avoid this, the leaders look beyond Europe for options. Africa has everything Europe desires, in the form of valuable minerals and raw materials.

The race is on. European powers scramble to claim African territory as their own. To maintain European colonial competition in Africa from turning into war, The German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck invites representatives from 14 European countries to the Berlin Conference of 1884. The first mission is to find a peaceful settlement over disputes in the Congo, a vast region in central Africa claimed by three contenders: France, Portugal, and Leopold II, of the Belgians. Once the dispute is settled, the Conference sets upon a more important task.

In accordance with “international law", which they conveniently create, the African landmass is divided into about 50 different pieces amongst the European members. They draw artificial borders and boundaries with no recognition of indigenous Africans’ political, economic, spiritual, and social institutions. Following the Berlin Conference, Britain and France receive the largest colonial territories. Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal gain multiple smaller colonies. The other 7 participants: Sweden-Norway, Denmark, Austria-Hungary, Netherlands, Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and the USA claim no territories.

When a country rules over a foreign nation it’s called imperialism. With this conference, a new era of modern European Imperialism is established. The 1884 Berlin Treaty claims to offer Africa civilization and Christianity in the name of free trade and peacebuilding. The reality is a European invasion, occupation, division, and colonization of the entire African continent. Today, the African continent is colonially liberated, but many of the borders are still the same – borders drawn on a map, in Berlin.