GENERAL ACT OF THE BERLIN CONFERENCE

TREATY AT A GLANCE

CompletedFebruary 26, 1885, at Berlin

SignatoriesGreat Britain, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and orway,

Turkey, and the United States (United States failed to ratify)

OverviewOstensibly convened to "civilize" central Africa and suppress theslave trade, the Berlin Congress actually developed an agreementfor the European commercial exploitation of the Congo.

Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia,Src., and Apostolic King of Hungary; His Majesty theKing of the Belgians; His Majesty the King of Den-mark; His Majesty the King of Spain; the President ofthe United States of America; the President of theFrench Republic; His Majesty the King of Italy; HisMajesty the King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke ofLuxembourg, Src.; His Majesty the King of Portugaland theAlgarves, Src.; His Majesty the Emperor of Allthe Russias; His Majesty the King of Sweden and Nor-way, &c.; and His Majesty the Emperor of theOttomans, wishing, in a spirit of good and mutualaccord, to regulate the conditions most favorable tothe development of trade and civilization in certainregions of Africa, and to assure to all nations theadvantages of free navigation on the two chief rivers ofAfrica flowing into the Atlantic Ocean; being desirouson the other hand, to obviate the misunderstandingand disputes which might in future arise from newacts of occupation (prises de possession) on the coast ofAfrica; and concerned, at the same time, as to themeans of furthering the moral and material well-beingof the native populations; have resolved, on the invi-tation addressed to them by the Imperial Governmentof Germany, in agreement with the Government of theFrench Republic, to meet for those purposes in Con-ference at Berlin, and have appointed as their Plenipo-tentiaries to wit:-

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom ofGreat Britain and Ireland, Empress of IndiaSir Edward Baldwin Maler, Her Ambassador Extraor-dinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Majestythe German Emperor, King of Prussia;

His Majesty the German Emperor, King of PrussiaOtto, Prince von Bismarck, his President of the Pruss-ian Council of Ministers, Chancellor of the Empire;

Historical Background. From his youth, King Leopold II of Belgium had beenfascinated by Africa and the potential it offered for eco-nomic and colonial expansion. It was Leopold whosponsored Sir Henry Stanley's 1879-84 expedition tothe Congo, and in 1882 at Leopold's instigation, theInternational Congo Association was formed. An asso-ciation of international bankers, it was personallydominated by Leopold, acting as a private individualrather than as king of Belgium. Indeed, Leopold ranthe Congo as a private fiefdom, and the overseers of hisvarious enterprises (primarily rubber plantations)inflicted great brutality against the Congolese. This,combined with border disputes involving Portugal,England, and France, led to the Berlin Conference,which was convened under the leadership of Otto vonBismarck on November 15, 1884, and was conductedthrough February 26, 1885.

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TermsWhile the assembled powers, including Leopold,agreed to certain principles of humanity in dealingwith the peoples of Africa, the preamble to the Con-gress's February 26 General Act was clear on its prior-ities. The preamble gave a roll call of participants anda summary of the extent of the understandingsreached:

In the ame oj Almighty God.Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of

Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India; HisMajesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia; His

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Paul, Count von Hatzfeldt, his Minister of State andSecretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Auguste Busch,his Acting Privy Councillor of Legation and Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; and Henri vonKusserow, Privy Councillor of Legation in the Depart-ment for Foreign Affairs;

His Majesty the Emperor of Austria, King ofBohemia, &:c., and Apostolic King of HungaryEmeric, Count Szechenyi de Sarvari Felso- Videk,Chamberlain and Acting Privy Councillor, his Ambas-sador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Courtof His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia;

His Majesty the King of the BelgiansGabriel Auguste Count .van der Straten-Ponthoz,Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary atthe Court of His Majesty the German Emperor, King ofPrussia; and Auguste, Baron Lambermont, Minister ofState, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten-tiary;

His Majesty the King of DenmarkEmile de Vind, Chamberlain, his Envoy Extraordinaryand Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of HisMajesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia;

His Majesty the King of SpainDon Francisco Merry y Co 10m, Count Benomar, hisEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary atthe Court of His Majesty the German Emperor, King ofPrussia;

The President of the United States of AmericaJohn A. Kasson, Envoy Extraordinary and MinisterPlenipotentiary of the United States of America at theCourt of His Majesty the German Emperor, King ofPrussia, and Henry S. Sanford, ex-Minister;

The President of the French RepublicAlphonse, Baron de Courcel, Ambassador Extraordi-nary and Plenipotentiary of France at the Court of HisMajesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia;

His Majesty the King of ItalyEdward, Count de Launay, his Ambassador Extraordi-nary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of His Majestythe German Emperor, King of Prussia;

His Majesty the King of the NetherlandsGrand Duke of Luxembourg, Frederick Philippe,Jonkheer van der Hoeven, his Envoy Extraordinaryand Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of HisMajesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia;

His Majesty the King of Portugal and theAlgarves, &:c.Da Serra Gomes, Marquis de Penafiel, Peer of theRealm, his Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo-tentiary at the Court of his Majesty the GermanEmperor, King of Prussia, and Antoine de SerpaPimentel, Councillor of State and Peer of the Realm;

His Majesty the Emperor of All the RussiasPierre, Count Kapnist, Privy Councillor, his EnvoyExtraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at theCourt of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands;

His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, &:c.Gillis, Baron Bildt, Lieutenant-General, his EnvoyExtraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the

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Court of His Majesty the German Emperor, King ofPrussia;

His Majesty the Emperor of the OttomansMehemed Said Pasha, Vizir and High Dignitary, hisEnvoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Courtof His Majesty the German Emperor, King of Prussia;

Who, being provided with full powers, whichhave been found in good and due form, have succes-sively discussed and adopted:-

(1) A Declaration relative to freedom of trade inthe basin of the Congo, its embouchures and circum-jacent regions, with other provisions connected there-with.

(2) A Declaration relative to the Slave Trade, andthe operations by sea or land which furnish slaves tothat trade.

(3) A Declaration relative to the neutrality of theterritories comprised in the Conventional basin of theCongo.

(4) An Act of Navigation for the Congo, which,while having regard to local circumstances,. extends tothis river, its affluents, and the waters in its systemC'eaux qui 'leur sont assimilees"). the general princi-ples enunciated in Articles CVlII and CXVI of theFinal Act of the Congress of Vienna, and intended toregulate, as between the Signatory Powers of that Act, .the free navigation of the waterways separating or tra-versing several States-these said principles havingsince then been applied by agreement to certain riversof Europe and America, but especially to the Danube,with the modifications stipulated by the Treaties ofParis (1856), of Berlin (1878), and of London (1871and 1883).

(5) An Act of Navigation for the Niger, which,while likewise having regard to local circumstances,extends to this river and its affluents the same princi-ples as set forth in Articles CVIII and CXVI of theFinal Act of the Congress of Vienna.

(6) A Declaration introducing into internationalrelations certain uniform rules with reference to futureoccupations on the coast of the African Continent.

And deeming it expedient that all these severaldocuments should be combined in one single instru-ment, they (the Signatory Powers) have collectedthem into one General Act, composed of the followingArticles:-

By virtue of the Berlin Congress, the Interna-tional Congo Association became the Congo FreeState. Politically, it was anything but free; the congressrecognized Leopold II as personal sovereign of theCongo Free State. Economically, however, the CongoFree State was free in that it was open to businessmenof all nations:

IIAll flags, without distinction of nationality, shall havefree access to the whole of the coast-line of the terri-tories above enumerated, to the rivers there runninginto the sea, to all the waters of the Congo and its

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affluents, including the lakes, and to all the ports situ-ated on the banks of these waters, as well as to allcanals which may in future be constructed with intentto unite the watercourses or lakes within the entirearea of the territories described in Article 1. Thosetrading under such flags may engage in all sorts oftransport, and carry on the coasting trade by sea andriver, as well as boat traffic, on the same footing as ifthey were subjects.

IIIWares, of whatever origin, imported into theseregions, under whatsoever flag, by sea or river, oroverland, shall be subject to no other taxes than suchas may be levied as fair compensation for expenditurein the interests of trade, and which for this reasonmust be equally borne by the subjects themselves andby foreigners of all nationalities. All differential dueson vessels, as well as on merchandize, are forbidden.

IVMerchandize imported into these regions shall remainfree from import and transit dues.

The Powers reserve to themselves to determineafter the lapse of twenty years whether this freedom ofimport shall be retained or not.

VNo Power which exercises or shall exercise sovereignrights in the above-mentioned regions shall be allowedto grant therein a monopoly or favor of any kind inmatters of trade.

Foreigners, without distinction, shall enjoy protec-.tion of their persons and property, as well as the rightof acquiring and transferring movable and immovablepossessions; and national rights and treatment in theexercise of their professions,

The powers whose citizens were now free toexploit the region pledged themselves to (as the Britishwriter Rudyard Kipling put it in a related context)"take up the white man's burden" and look after thewelfare of the African people (however these powersmight define "welfare"):

VIAll the Powers exercising sovereign rights or influencein the aforesaid territories bind themselves to watchover the preservation of the native tribes, and to carefor the improvement of the conditions of their moraland material well-being and to help in suppressingslavery, and especially the Slave Trade. They shall,without distinction of creed or nation, protect andfavor all religious, scientific, or charitable institutionsand undertakings created and organized for the aboveends, or which aim at instructing the natives andbringing home to them the blessings of civilization.

Christian missionaries, scientists, and explorers,with their followers, property, and collections, shalllikewise be the objects of especial protection.

Freedom of conscience and religious toleration areexpressly guaranteed to the natives, no less than to

subjects and to foreigners. The free and public exerciseof all forms of Divine worship, and the right to buildedifices for religious purposes, and to organize reli-gious Missions belonging to all creeds, shall not belimited or fettered in any way whatsoever.

The slave trade was explicitly outlawed-

Chapter IIDeclaration Relative to the Slave Trade

IXSeeing that trading in slaves is forbidden in conform-ity with the principles of international law as recog-nized by the Signatory Powers, and seeing also that theoperations, which, by sea or land, furnish slaves totrade, ought likewise to be regarded as forbidden, thePowers which do or shall exercise sovereign rights orinfluence in the territories forming the Conversitionalbasin of the Congo declare that these territories maynot serve as a market or means of transit for the tradein slaves, of whatever race they may be. Each of thePowers binds itself to employ all the means at its dis-posal for putting an end to this trade and for punish-ing those who engage in it.

-and the region's neutrality guaranteed:

Chapter III

Declaration Relative to the Neutrality of the TerritoriesComprised in the Conventional Basin of the Congo

XIn order to give a new guarantee of security to tradeand industry, and to encourage, by the maintenance ofpeace, the development of civilization in the countriesmentioned in Article I, and placed under the free tradesystem, the High Signatory Parties to the present Act,and those who shall hereafter adopt it, bind them-selves to respect the neutrality of the territories, orportions of territories, belonging to the said countries,comprising therein the territorial waters, so long asthe Powers which exercise or shall exercise the rightsof sovereignty or Protectorate over those territories,using their option of proclaiming themselves neutral,shall fulfil the duties which neutrality requires.

XIIn case a Power exercising rights of sovereignty or Pro-tectorate in the countries mentioned in Article I, andplaced under the free trade system, shall be involvedin a war, then the High Signatory Parties to the pres-ent Act, and those who shall hereafter adopt it, bindthemselves to lend their good offices in order that theterritories belonging to this Power and comprised inthe Conventional free trade zone shall, by the com-mon consent of this Power and of the other belligerentor belligerents, be placed during the war under therule of neutrality, and considered as belonging to anon-belligerent State, the belligerents thenceforthabstaining from extending hostilities to the territories

thus neutralized, and from using them as a base forwarlike operations.

XIIIn case a serious disagreement originating on the sub-ject of, or in the limits of, the territories mentioned inArticle I, and placed under the free trade system, shallarise between any Signatory Powers of the present Act,or the Powers which may become parties to it, thesePowers bind themselves, before appealing to arms, tohave recourse to the mediation of one or more of thefriendly Powers.

In a similar case the same Powers reserve to them-selves the option of having recourse to arbitration.

ConsequencesThe Berlin Congress was an important step in Europe'sinvolvement in Africa. Despite its provisions relative to

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the welfare of native populations, reports of horribleexploitation and abuse continued to flow out ofLeopold's Congo. By the end of the 19th century, aninternational protest movement, with genuinelyhumane motives, was steadily mounting. Finally, in1908 the Belgian parliament compelled the king to stepdown as personal sovereign of the Congo Free Stateand cede it as a colony of Belgium. It was granted inde-pendence on June 30, 1960. After a decade as beingknown as the Congo (Leopoldvillej-e-the capital nametagged on to distinguish it from the formerly French-controlled Congo (Brazzaville) to its west-the Afro-conscious nation changed its name to Zaire in 1971, itscapital's name to Kinshasa, and the next year orderedall Zairians with Christian names to change them toAfrican names.