Its outcome, known as the General Act of the Berlin Conference, is often seen as the formalization of the Scramble for Africa, where European superpowers carved themselves pieces of Africa on paper in order to extend economic and nationalistic agendas. The conference ushered in a period of heightened colonial activity on the part of the European powers, while simultaneously eliminating most existing forms of African autonomy and self-governance. By 1895, the only independent states in Africa was Liberia and Ethiopia.
