The
Berlin Conference of 1884–85, also known as the
Congo Conference or
West Africa Conference (
Westafrika-Konferenz), regulated
European colonization and trade in
Africa during the
New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power. Called for by
Portugal and organized by
Otto von Bismarck, first
Chancellor of Germany, its outcome, the
General Act of the Berlin Conference, can be seen as the formalization of the
Scramble for Africa. The conference ushered in a period of heightened colonial activity by European powers, which eliminated or overrode most existing forms of African
autonomy and self-governance.