Long before the Berlin Conference of 1884, some of the territories on the African continent had already been secured as colonies. For instance, Gold Coast, the place that is today Ghana, had been annexed by the British around the 1860s.
Many historians caution against over-emphasising the significance of Berlin for Africans. Indeed, it is quite common to read among scholars that the conference was a diplomatic tactic Germany took as part of reinventing itself as an imperial power.
Yet, it will be quite odd to downplay what the conference held for Africans and how it has irrevocably shaped the lives of close to two billion people on the continent.
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Here are five present consequences of the Berlin Conference of 135 years ago.
