On this day in 1884, the "Berlin Conference" began when delegations from nearly every Western European country and the U.S. met in Germany to develop a set of protocols for the seizure and control of African resources.
The conference, which had no African representatives, was the first international conference ever on the subject of Africa, and dealt almost soley with the matter of its exploitation.
At the time, approximately 80% of African land and resources were under domestic control; the influence of Europeans was most strongly exerted on the coast. Following it, colonial powers began seizing resources further inland.
As a result of the conference, which continued into 1885, a "General Act" was signed and ratified by all but one of the 14 nations at the table, the U.S. being the sole exception. The Act's main features were the establishment of a regime of free trade stretching across the middle of Africa, the development of which became the rationale for the recognition of the short-lived "Congo Free State", the abolition of the overland slave trade, and the principle of "effective occupation".
The Conference's rapacious intentions for Africa were noted by outsiders: socialist journalist Daniel De Leon described the conference as "an event unique in the history of political science...Diplomatic in form, it was economic in fact."
Before the Conference ended, the Lagos Observer declared that "the world had, perhaps, never witnessed a robbery on so large a scale." Theodore Holly, the first black Protestant Episcopal Bishop in the U.S., condemned the delegates as having "come together to enact into law, national rapine, robbery and murder".
Berlin 1884: Remembering the conference that divided Africa
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New patch? Not sure.
If you know your labour theory and the connection between Imperial violence and free markets, you can be a pretty ruthless capitalist enabler, which can turn into revolutionary energy.
Probably the first thing you want to do is reduce subsistence peasantry by centralising the farms, along with infrastructure spending. This gives you a pretty big supply of cheap labour to use for other things. This also increases the proletarian class.
Identify what your most expensive necessary imports are and what resources are within easy reach. If you have an economic rival you're sending too much money to, see if you can cut them out or undercut them. If there is a much weaker country with a resource you want, you can invade to set up a treaty port.
Entering a market with already established players is very risky unless you have something they need and don't have access to.
Research is something to go for only once you've established your economy. You start with a little, but it costs money without directly producing anything.