Fourteen nations carved up Africa's future with no African representatives present

Called by Otto von Bismarck and held in Berlin from November 1884 to February 1885, the conference brought together fourteen countries — including the US — to regulate European colonization of Africa. Its General Act formalized the 'Scramble for Africa,' ruling that a colonial claim only counted if a power could show 'effective occupation.' Not a single African ruler or representative sat at the table where the continent's borders were decided.

— Wikipedia contributors, Berlin Conference — 15 November 1884 – 26 February 1885