Berlin Colonial Conference

The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was a meeting of colonial powers that concluded with the signing of the General Act of Berlin, an agreement regulating European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period.^¹ The conference of fourteen countries was organised by Otto von Bismarck, the first chancellor of Germany, at the request of Leopold II of Belgium at a building on Berlin’s central Wilhelmstrasse.^¹ It met on 15 November 1884 and, after an adjournment, concluded on 26 February 1885 with the signing of the General Act.^¹ During the conference, attendees also discussed other related issues and agreed on a common framework for the recognition of European ''effective occupation'' of African coastal territory elsewhere on the continent.^¹ After the conference, European claims on African territory increased with international legal recognition, having a newly established legal framework for establishing colonies.^¹