WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Rivalry between Great Britain and France led Bismarck to intervene, and in late 1884 he called a meeting of European powers in Berlin. In the subsequent meetings, Great Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, and King Leopold II negotiated their claims to African territory, which were then formalized and mapped.

Detailed explanation-2: -The immediate reason for the Berlin Conference was the jealousy of the king of a small country, Belgium, towards his cousin, Queen Victoria of Great Britain. King Leopold II of Belgium considered himself to be an important man. Yet in the 1870s, Leopold had no territory other than the small state of Belgium itself.

Detailed explanation-3: -Under support from the British and the initiative of Portugal, Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor of Germany, called on representatives of 13 nations in Europe as well as the United States to take part in the Berlin Conference in 1884 to work out a joint policy on the African continent.

Detailed explanation-4: -Purpose of the Berlin Conference Bismark appreciated the opportunity to expand Germany’s sphere of influence over Africa and hoped to force Germany’s rivals to struggle with one another for territory. At the time of the conference, 80 percent of Africa remained under traditional and local control.