Increased interest among the European powers in colonising Africa from the late 1870s created a desire to define to "the rules of the game," and to define their respective interests so far as practicable. Competing European territorial ambitions around the lower Congo River brought matters to a head, and it was agreed to hold an international conference on African affairs.
The powers represented were Germany, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Norway, Turkey and the United States.
The conference assembled at Berlin on November 15, 1884, and after protracted deliberations the General Act was signed on February 26, 1885 by the representatives of all the powers attending the conference. Ratifications were subsequently deposited by all the signatory powers with the exception of the United States.
The General Act dealt with six specific subjects:
For most of Africa, the conference foreshadowed the ending of independence, which was largely extinguished during the 1890s and 1900s.