Western Civilization II / Unit 13 WC2 1211 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Berlin Conference, 1884: No Africans Present
Captions available
The idea
Bismarck called the powers to Berlin in eighteen eighty-four to settle the Congo. European states, the United States and the Ottomans divided Africa into spheres. No Africans were present. The impetus, the anchor says, was tension between the powers more than profit, which was still theoretical.
In practice
"A collective land grab", in the anchor's phrase.
Where people slip
The witness: eighteen eighty-four to eighty-five.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it