What are the Resolutions or principles reached during Berlin Conference.

Resolutions/principles reached during Berlin Conference.

• The Congo basin was declared Free State under king Leopard of Belgium and the Niger River was free for navigation to all imperialist nations. It recognized Leopard’s so-called international association as the legitimate authority in Congo basin. In return the Belgium king agreed to allow European traders and missionaries free access to the area.

• Strong and sophisticated military weapons were prohibited to be brought in Africa. They allowed light weapons to be used in Africa. This aimed to maintain security in the colonies and to avoid the accessibility of such strong weapons to the colonized subjects. (Africans).

• Effective occupation should be implemented by the imperialist Nations as a sign for claim of any colony by the imperialist nation. Administrators must be sent in the colonies. The conference agreed claim of any area would only be recognized by other European nation if it was ‘effectively occupied’ by that particular European power. This was a deliberate tactic of Bismarck to under mind British claim in the vague ‘spheres of influence.

• In case of resistance by Africans to the colonial Occupation, no any European country should give help to the Africans to fight fellow European. That was another resolution that was reached upon by the Berlin conference so as to make Africans defeated and colonized by the imperialists. This appeared as an alliance among the imperialist powers. 

• All colonial powers, should take the initiative to abolish slave trade and slavery in their colonies and to allow free excess to the colonial agents in: the interior as to campaign against slave trade and spread civilization in the interior.

• In case of any disputes among the imperialist powers they should solve it peacefully without the use of force. As to maintain solidarity and Unity in the foreign land of Africa. Using force may weaken one European power, which can also make her to be defeated by the Africans.

• If a nation occupies a coastal area it had to extend it legally, to the interior and to colony of another colonial master.

• Principle of notification. It was agreed that a power requiring any part of Africa was supposed to inform another power in order to escape misunderstanding among the powers i.e. the principle of notification among the imperialist powers.

• The conference also agreed that areas in Africa already proclaimed protectorate by European nations before conference should remain in their hands, such areas included the Congo and those territories which Germany had annexed like Togo South West Africa (Namibia)