Explanation

European powers divided Africa in the late 1800s. Berlin Conference (1884-85) set rules for colonization without African input. By 1914, only Ethiopia and Liberia remained independent.

Motivations: raw materials for industry, markets for manufactured goods, strategic locations, national prestige, missionary activity. Technology (steamships, quinine, weapons) enabled conquest.

Effects: arbitrary borders divided ethnic groups and joined rivals, traditional governments destroyed, economies restructured for export, languages and cultures suppressed. Colonial legacy shapes Africa today.