The Berlin Conference of 1884: How Europe Divided Africa in 104 Days

The Berlin Conference of 1884: How Europe Divided Africa in 104 Days

On November 15, 1884, representatives of 14 European nations gathered in Berlin to divide Africa among themselves. Not a single African was invited.

Over 104 days, they established the rules for carving up an entire continent—drawing borders through kingdoms, ethnic groups, and families with straight lines on maps they barely understood.

Those borders, drawn 140 years ago, remain almost entirely unchanged today. And the regions they divided experience 57% more political violence than areas that weren't split.

This is the story of the Berlin Conference—and why it still matters.

What Was the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885?

The Berlin Conference (also called the Berlin West Africa Conference or Congo Conference) was a meeting of European colonial powers held from November 15, 1884 to February 26, 1885.

Key Facts:

• Location: Berlin, Germany (Wilhelmstrasse)

• Organizer: German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck

• Duration: 104 days

• Attendees: 14 nations (no African representatives)

• Outcome: The General Act of the Berlin Conference

Countries That Attended:

1. Germany (host)

2. Great Britain

3. France

4. Portugal

5. Belgium (King Leopold II)

6. Spain

7. Italy

8. Netherlands

9. Austria-Hungary

10. Denmark

11. Sweden-Norway

12. Russia

13. Ottoman Empire

14. United States (observer, didn't sign)

Zero African nations. Zero African representatives.

As Nigerian historian Professor Godfrey Uzoigwe observed, the only clue to the meeting's purpose was a large map of Africa hanging on the wall—the continent "drooping down like a question mark."

What Did the Berlin Conference Actually Do?

Contrary to popular belief, the Berlin Conference didn't literally partition Africa at the table. What it did was worse: it established the rules for conquest.

The Conference Established:

1. The Principle of "Effective Occupation" — European powers could claim African territory by demonstrating actual control (building outposts, posting troops)

1. Notification Requirements — When claiming new coastal territory, powers had to notify other signatories

1. Free Trade Zones — The Congo and Niger River basins were declared open to free trade

1. Recognition of Leopold's Congo — King Leopold II's personal claim to the Congo was internationally recognized

What This Meant in Practice:

The "effective occupation" principle triggered a race to plant flags. Whoever could demonstrate control first owned the land.

Within 30 years, 90% of Africa was under European control (up from just 10% in 1870).

The Scramble for Africa: Before and After Berlin

Before the Conference (1870)

• European powers controlled only ~10% of Africa

• Control was mostly limited to coastal trading posts

• The interior remained largely unknown to Europeans

After the Conference (1914)

• European powers controlled ~90% of Africa

• Only Liberia and Ethiopia remained independent

• The continent was divided among 7 European powers

Who Took What:

How Colonial Borders Split African Ethnic Groups

The Europeans drew borders with no knowledge of who lived where.

As British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury admitted:

"We have been engaged in drawing lines upon maps where no white man's feet have ever trod; we have been giving away mountains and rivers and lakes to each other, only hindered by the small impediment that we never knew exactly where the mountains and rivers and lakes were."

The Research: 28% of Ethnic Groups Were Partitioned

A landmark study published in the American Economic Review mapped 834 pre-colonial ethnic groups against modern national borders.

The finding: 28% of all ethnic groups were split across different countries.

Examples of Divided Peoples:

The five-pointed star on Somalia's flag represents the five regions where Somalis were divided: Italian Somaliland, British Somaliland, French Somaliland (Djibouti), Ethiopian Somaliland (Ogaden), and Kenya's Northern Frontier District.

The Violence Statistics: Colonial Borders Still Kill

The evidence is now clear: colonial borders didn't prevent violence—they fueled it.

Key Research Findings:

Study 1: American Economic Review (1997-2013 data)

• Tracked 64,000+ incidents of political violence across Africa

• Finding: Partitioned ethnic homelands experience 57% more political violence than non-partitioned areas

• This effect is comparable to having oil deposits—a notorious source of conflict

Study 2: Civil Wars Analysis (1970-2005)

• Civil conflict intensity (casualties + duration) is 25-35% higher in areas with partitioned ethnicities

• The Afar and Esa peoples each experienced 5 civil wars in this period

Most Conflict-Prone Partitioned Groups:

Why Did African Leaders Keep Colonial Borders?

At the 1964 Cairo Summit, African heads of state made a fateful decision: they voted to keep the colonial borders.

The Cairo Resolution (1964)

The Organization of African Unity (OAU) adopted Resolution AHG/Res. 16 (I), declaring:

"All Member States pledge themselves to respect the borders existing on their achievement of national independence."

This principle—called uti possidetis juris or "intangibility of colonial frontiers"—was later enshrined in the African Union's Constitutive Act.

Why They Did It:

1. Fear of chaos — With hundreds of ethnic groups divided, redrawing borders could trigger endless wars

2. Precedent concerns — If one border changed, all borders could be challenged

3. Irredentism fears — Morocco and Somalia (who voted against) were already claiming neighbors' territory

Only two countries voted against the resolution: Morocco and Somalia—both making territorial claims on their neighbors.

Julius Nyerere's Warning:

Tanzania's President captured the dilemma:

"We have artificial 'nations' carved out at the Berlin Conference in 1884, and today we are struggling to build these nations into stable units of human society… we are in danger of becoming the most Balkanised continent of the world."

Wars Caused by Colonial Borders

The toll has been catastrophic.

Major Conflicts Rooted in Colonial Borders:

Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970)

• Deaths: 1-3 million

• Cause: British lumped together Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, and Fulani—groups with distinct languages, religions, and traditions

Ethiopian-Eritrean War (1998-2000)

• Deaths: ~80,000

• Cause: Disputed colonial borders drawn between Italy's former colony and Ethiopia

Somalia Conflicts (1991-present)

• Deaths: Hundreds of thousands

• Cause: Artificial state assembled from British and Italian territories; ongoing clan warfare

Rwandan Genocide (1994)

• Deaths: ~800,000 in 100 days

• Cause: Colonial policies hardened Hutu-Tutsi distinctions through identity cards

Congo Wars (1996-2003)

• Deaths: ~5.4 million (deadliest conflict since WWII)

• Cause: Colonial creation of vast, ungovernable territory; ethnic tensions spilling over from Rwanda

Africa's Border Crisis Today

140 years after Berlin, Africa's borders remain almost unchanged—and largely unresolved.

Current Status:

• Two-thirds of African borders still lack clear delimitation and demarcation

• The AU Border Programme missed its 2017 and 2022 deadlines

• Multiple separatist movements continue

Active Separatist Movements:

Somaliland is particularly notable: it functions as a stable, democratic state, meets the Montevideo criteria for statehood, was briefly independent before voluntarily joining Somalia in 1960—yet remains unrecognized.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Berlin Conference of 1884?

The Berlin Conference (November 1884 – February 1885) was a meeting of 14 European powers that established rules for colonizing Africa. No Africans attended. It formalized the "Scramble for Africa" and set up the principle of "effective occupation" that triggered rapid colonization.

Did the Berlin Conference actually divide Africa?

Not directly. The conference established rules for claiming territory, not specific borders. However, those rules triggered a race to colonize, and by 1914, 90% of Africa was under European control. The actual borders were drawn in subsequent bilateral agreements.

Why are African borders so straight?

European powers drew borders in their capitals using maps with limited geographic knowledge. They followed latitudes, longitudes, and simple geometric lines rather than ethnic, linguistic, or geographic boundaries. Hence the straight lines visible on any map of Africa.

How many ethnic groups did colonial borders split?

Research shows 28% of all African ethnic groups (231 of 834 mapped) were partitioned by colonial borders. Major examples include the Somali (split 5 ways), Maasai (Kenya/Tanzania), Ewe (Ghana/Togo), and Hausa (Nigeria/Niger).

Why didn't African countries change the borders after independence?

The 1964 OAU Cairo Resolution committed African states to respect colonial borders to prevent chaos. Leaders feared that opening border questions would trigger endless territorial disputes. The principle is enshrined in African Union law today.

Do colonial borders still cause conflict?

Yes. Research shows partitioned ethnic homelands experience 57% more political violence than non-partitioned areas. Civil war intensity is 25-35% higher in regions with divided ethnic groups. Many of Africa's deadliest conflicts trace directly to colonial boundary decisions.

The Deeper Question

The Berlin Conference wasn't just about maps. It established a principle that still governs Africa today: outsiders decide Africa's fate.

The conference template persists: summits about Africa held outside Africa, decisions made without meaningful African input, resources treated as prizes for external powers to compete over.

As the Al Jazeera analysis noted:

"That first-ever international conference on Africa established a template for how the world deals with the continent. Today, Africa is still seen primarily as a source for raw materials for the outside world and an arena for them to compete over."

The borders remain. The violence continues. The question endures:

When will Africans finally have the power to draw their own lines?