Fri, September 22, 2017 at 12:51 pm GMT
Hello all.I am so good.this week my favourite subject is history.Let me share about it.The Resolutions of the Berlin Conference
Evaluate the resolutions of the Berlin conference
Representatives at the Berlin conference agreed on the following principles: (these principles were to be followed by all colonial masters).
1. To abolish slave trade in their colonies; All and any elements of slave trade in their respective colonies should be made illegal activity and had to bind themselves to improve the conditions of African moral and material being as well as total suppression of slave trade or any European signatory powers who claim an area in Africa should abolish slave trade wherever it was conducted.
2. They agreed to send a lot of missionaries, traders and explorers on their respective colonies and therefore should be protected from local attacks and allowed to have direct access to the interior of Africa so as to conduct various activities of civilization.
3. They were required to stop or to make an end of resistances that occurred between Africans and colonial government such resistances were Nandi, Chagga, Chimurenga, Hehe, Asante, Bwana Heri, Saadan etc,
4. They were required to have effective control of their colonies e.g. by building/constructing social services such as education centers, health services, and water services.
5. Colonial masters were required to notify others on the possession of colonies. The aim of the principles of notification was to avoid two powers from processing one colony.
6. They agreed to have free navigation on the navigable rivers like Congo, Niger etc. (In order to solve the conflict between the European Countries).
7. They were required to open up economic activities on their respective colonies (establishment of colonial economy e.g. agriculture, trading and industries
8.
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1. Principle of notification; Each power which claimed any part of African territory was required to inform the other European power that had signed the treaty in order to avoid crushes among themselves.
2. Principle of effective occupation or control; European powers which claimed any part of Africa would be recognized by the other power if it was effectively occupied by such European powers lie under this clause. The claimants were supposed to develop their areas through their missionaries, trading companies and explorers and by starting economic activities.
3. King Leopold was allowed to rule Congo; But the Congo River was left free zone for all nations. In this case the basin was in international highway.
4. Freedom of navigation; the conference declared that, Congo River, Niger River and other big Rivers as a free for international navigation i.e. Niger River under the authority of Britain and the Congo River under authority of Belgium.
5. Abolition of slave trade; Each European power which attended the meeting had to abolish slave trade in African territory and should further extend its sphere of influence from the coastal regions to the internal land and draw political boundaries.
The Berlin conference involved division of colonies to the imperial trading companies’ e.g.
• BEACO - Kenya
• BSACO - South Africa, S. Rhodesia, N. Rhodesia
• GEACO - Tanganyika, Rwanda and Burundi
Others involved:
• Germany - Cameroon, Togo
• France - Congo, Kinshasa, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal etc.
• Belgium - Congo Brazzaville
• Portugal - Angola and Mozambique
There were two steps of dividing Africa.
a) Anglo German agreement of 1886; The Western boundaries was not drawn between Kenya and Tanganyika. Competition of Uganda was high due to soil fertility, high population and being the source of River Nile. British feared German to control Uganda. There was treaty signed by the Kabaka Mwanga and the Nabongo Sekwanga Mumia in Western Kenya. Therefore the rivalry between them led to another agreement.
b) The Anglo Germany agreement or Heligoland treaty 1890. Germany recognized Uganda and Kenya as British sphere of influence. Germany recognized Zanzibar as the British protectorate and the rest of the sultan’s dominion. German lost the Witu which became under British possession in Kenya. In compensation for Witu, Germany was given Heligoland an Island off the coast of Germany in the North Sea to use it as a military base. German continued to rule Tanganyika and she acquired coastal strip from the sultan of Zanzibar by buying the areas as compensation to the sultan for possession, then the German controlled ports of Tanga, Bagamoyo, Dar es Salaam, Kilwa and Mikindani and other parts of Tanganyika. The western boundaries between Tanganyika, Uganda and Kenya were defined .Uganda become British protectorate.
The Significance of the Berlin Conference to Africa
1) The Berlin conference abolished slave trade; Colonial agents were sent to Africa to campaign against slavery and slave trade. This went hand in hand with the introduction of legitimate trade. Through this legitimate trade cheap European goods were exchanged with African raw materials like cotton, coffee, sisal, palm oil and groundnuts.
NB Legitimate trade was the trade in natural commodities i.e. European manufactured goods with African raw materials.
2) Division of some African ethnic groups; This denied the natural boundaries that had existed for example Makonde in Tanzania, and Mozambique, Maasai and Luo in East Africa, Ewe in Ghana and Gambia.
3) Suffering of African people; This happened during the penetration of the colonial rule in Africa. Those who tried to resist were crushed to death e.g. during the Samouri Toure resistance the Mandinka were killed, the same applied to majimaji resistance.
4) Conference opened the interior of Africa for colonization; All important areas in the interior were opened and colonized by the colonial powers. The European established various activities in the interior of Africa basing on the resources available in particular territory.
5) The conference solved the issue of Congo crisis; Which would have resulted in to European war. Many European powers were competing to get some areas in Congo. This may led to the conflicts of two powers in one area.
6) The conference set up chain of problem for the future generation of Africa; The map of Africa which was introduced during colonial rule divided the people who are in one group into different group. This led to the conflicts with themselves.
