Berlin hosted the 1884–1885 Berlin Conference, which formalized rules for European colonization and trade in Africa.
German chancellor Otto von Bismarck convened the conference, held from 15 November 1884 to 26 February 1885. Representatives of European powers and the United States attended, but no African government was represented. The discussions addressed trade, navigation, and competing territorial claims.
The General Act of the Berlin Conference established principles including notification of territorial claims and the idea of “effective occupation” for recognizing control. It also declared the Congo Basin open to trade and addressed navigation on the Congo and Niger rivers. The agreement did not itself draw every later colonial border.
The conference is often described as the event that divided Africa, but European expansion had begun earlier and continued afterward. Its rules accelerated the “Scramble for Africa,” while colonial borders and policies caused lasting political, economic, and social consequences across the continent.