Why did Bismarck call the Berlin Conference in 1884, and what were its ultimate consequences?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers will vary. Concerned over the "scramble for Africa" and upsetting what little balance of power remained in Europe, Bismarck convened this meeting for a discussion among the major participants of European politics with the stated intent of trying to convince Leopold of Belgium to permit free trade in the Congo. The real purpose, however, was to reach an agreement about the partitioning of Africa by European nations. Among the participants were the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, as well as Germany and Belgium. Bismarck used the occasion to stake a claim for Germany in Southwest Africa, Togo, and Cameroon, to be followed by East Africa (today's Tanzania) a year later. Germany later established colonies in the South Pacific, which the United States had largely claimed as its dominion, and this strained relations between them. In the long run, it left Germany scrambling to get a foothold in Africa before England and France seized the whole continent, and while this gave Bismarck temporary popularity, it left Germany in an awkward position because it did not have coherent plans on how to manage a colony, and there was no real economic or political reason for having colonies other than to compete in the nationalist arena. While both England and France had several centuries of experience in establishing and maintaining colonies, Germany was new to the concept and failed to enact a successful plan.