Chapter Six: February 26, 1885

At the other side of the world, a conference of Europe’s leading nations and America had just been concluded in Berlin. There were fourteen nations in attendance and the issue at stake was Africa, or more accurately, the partitioning of Africa amongst themselves. These nations were:

Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Turkey, and the United States of America. Each nation was represented by an ambassador.

The ambassadors were seated along an L-shaped table at the centre of the large conference hall which was rectangular in shape. And hanging on one side of the hall was a large map of Africa mutilated by marker lines and pin-ups depicting the irregular partitioning of the continent into fifty geographical entities, with each colonial power’s name written on it to indicate ownership. Of the fourteen nations; France, Germany, Great Britain, and Portugal had the largest share of the of the carved dark continent.

The meeting was presided over by Otto Von Bismarck, the Minister President of Prussia, Germany, who was also known as the Iron Chancellor. He organized the conference in response to a request from Portugal, concerning the conflicts that the leading European nations had been having amongst themselves over the issue of colonizing the continent of Africa. They were on the brink of war and the only solution was to hold a ‘civilized’ meeting and divide Africa like a large piece of beef among themselves, with total disregard to the welfare of the Africans. 

The conference had gone on for four months starting from November 1884 to February 1885. And after a lot of arguments and compromise, they divided the continent in the following order:

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Colonial Allotments:

France (who had the majority share of the continent):  Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Benin, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Madagascar, Comoros and French Equatorial Africa.

Great Britain (Had the second largest share):   Egypt, British Somaliland, Zimbabwe, Orange Free State, Botswana, British South Africa, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Malawi.

Portugal: Angola, Portuguese Cabinda, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde Islands, São Tomé and Principe.

Spain: Rio de Oro, Ceuta, Saguia el-Hamra, Morocco, Melilla, Rio Muni, Part of Equatorial Guinea, Ifni

Germany: Cameroon, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia and Togoland.

Belgium: Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo Free States).

Italy: (Had the smallest share): Libya, Eritrea and Somalia.

At the end of the allotment, Fombina fell into the hands of two very powerful nations: Germany and Britain, an outcome which spelt doom for the great kingdom.

[End of Chapter Six]

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