In parliamentary procedure , an adjournment ends a meeting . It could be done using a motion to adjourn. A time for another meeting could be set using the motion to fix the time to which to adjourn.
56-583: The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 met on 15 November 1884 and, after an adjournment , concluded on 26 February 1885 with the signature of a General Act regulating European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period. The conference was organized by Otto von Bismarck , the first chancellor of Germany , at the request of Leopold II of Belgium . The General Act of Berlin can be seen as
112-417: A quorum , it is one of the only motions allowed in the absence of a quorum. The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure (TSC) treats the motion to adjourn as a privileged motion but under fewer circumstances. Like RONR, TSC considers it a privileged motion (and thus non-debatable) when business is pending. As a privileged motion, however, TSC allows the motion to be amended to a limited extent to establish
168-639: A decade after (see below for more information): By 1902, 90% of all the land that makes up Africa was under European control. Most of the Sahara was French, but after the quelling of the Mahdi rebellion and the ending of the Fashoda crisis , the Sudan remained firmly under joint British–Egyptian rulership, with Egypt being under British occupation before becoming a British protectorate in 1914. The Boer republics were conquered by
224-635: A joint policy on the African continent. The conference opened on 15 November 1884 and closed on 26 February 1885. The number of plenipotentiaries varied per nation, but these 14 countries sent representatives to attend the Berlin Conference and sign the subsequent Berlin Act: Uniquely, the United States reserved the right to decline or to accept the conclusions of the conference. The General Act fixed
280-715: A new session. Congo River The Congo River , formerly also known as the Zaire River , is the second-longest river in Africa , shorter only than the Nile , as well as the third-largest river in the world by discharge volume, following the Amazon and Ganges rivers. It is the world's deepest recorded river, with measured depths of around 220 m (720 ft). The Congo– Lualaba – Luvua – Luapula – Chambeshi River system has an overall length of 4,700 km (2,900 mi), which makes it
336-569: A philanthropic front. From 1878 to 1885, Stanley returned to the Congo not as a reporter but as Leopold's agent, with the secret mission to organise what would become known as the Congo Free State soon after the closure of the Berlin Conference in August 1885. French agents discovered Leopold's plans, and in response France sent its own explorers to Africa. In 1881, French naval officer Pierre de Brazza
392-576: A total area of about 4,000,000 km (1,500,000 sq mi), or 13% of the entire African landmass. The name Congo/Kongo originates from the Kingdom of Kongo once located on the southern bank of the river. The kingdom in turn was named after the indigenous Bantu Kongo people , known in the 17th century as "Esikongo". South of the Kingdom of Kongo proper lay the similarly named Kakongo kingdom, mentioned in 1535. Abraham Ortelius labelled "Manicongo" as
448-517: Is an incidental main motion . An adjourned meeting is a term used in parliamentary procedure to mean a meeting that is continued from the previous meeting. The motion to fix the time to which to adjourn sets up an adjourned meeting, which is part of the same session (series of related meetings). Despite the name, an adjourned meeting is not related to the act of adjourning (i.e. "an adjourned meeting" does not mean "a meeting that has been adjourned"). To reduce this confusion, an adjourned meeting
504-481: Is apparent throughout the protocols of the Berlin Conference but especially in the Principle of Effective Occupation. In line with Germany and Britain's opposing views, the powers finally agreed that it could be established by a European power establishing some kind of base on the coast from which it was free to expand into the interior. The Europeans did not believe that the rules of occupation demanded European hegemony on
560-3938: Is in the Ruwenzori Mountains , at an altitude of around 4,340 m (14,240 ft) above sea level. Distribution of the Congo basin area between countries: The most important hydrological stations along the Congo River are: Brazzaville The Congo River discharge at Kinshasa / Brazzaville stations since the start of measurements (1902 to 2021): 5°08′30.4″S 13°59′27.9″E / 5.141778°S 13.991083°E / -5.141778; 13.991083 5°02′57.3″S 13°59′28.2″E / 5.049250°S 13.991167°E / -5.049250; 13.991167 5°01′49.5″S 14°01′37.2″E / 5.030417°S 14.027000°E / -5.030417; 14.027000 5°2′20.6″S 14°02′09.2″E / 5.039056°S 14.035889°E / -5.039056; 14.035889 4°56′50.7″S 14°09′21.2″E / 4.947417°S 14.155889°E / -4.947417; 14.155889 4°55′38.5″S 14°15′16.5″E / 4.927361°S 14.254583°E / -4.927361; 14.254583 4°54′03.3″S 14°24′18.2″E / 4.900917°S 14.405056°E / -4.900917; 14.405056 Brazzaville 4°16′47.3″S 15°18′32.8″E / 4.279806°S 15.309111°E / -4.279806; 15.309111 4°05′24.4″S 15°30′39.1″E / 4.090111°S 15.510861°E / -4.090111; 15.510861 3°52′43.4″S 15°55′11.6″E / 3.878722°S 15.919889°E / -3.878722; 15.919889 3°33′18.7″S 16°05′32.2″E / 3.555194°S 16.092278°E / -3.555194; 16.092278 3°28′52.5″S 16°07′18.3″E / 3.481250°S 16.121750°E / -3.481250; 16.121750 3°11′23.7″S 16°11′09.6″E / 3.189917°S 16.186000°E / -3.189917; 16.186000 3°10′36.4″S 16°11′41.5″E / 3.176778°S 16.194861°E / -3.176778; 16.194861 3°09′59.7″S 16°10′51.7″E / 3.166583°S 16.181028°E / -3.166583; 16.181028 2°48′33.9″S 16°11′40.1″E / 2.809417°S 16.194472°E / -2.809417; 16.194472 2°12′22.9″S 16°10′49.0″E / 2.206361°S 16.180278°E / -2.206361; 16.180278 2°09′28.5″S 16°12′16.5″E / 2.157917°S 16.204583°E / -2.157917; 16.204583 1°52′15.5″S 16°30′43.4″E / 1.870972°S 16.512056°E / -1.870972; 16.512056 1°37′55.5″S 16°37′59.4″E / 1.632083°S 16.633167°E / -1.632083; 16.633167 1°14′22.2″S 16°47′44.5″E / 1.239500°S 16.795694°E / -1.239500; 16.795694 1°03′13.5″S 17°08′58.0″E / 1.053750°S 17.149444°E / -1.053750; 17.149444 0°54′39.2″S 17°23′27.1″E / 0.910889°S 17.390861°E / -0.910889; 17.390861 0°43′38.5″S 17°33′02.9″E / 0.727361°S 17.550806°E / -0.727361; 17.550806 0°41′00.4″S 17°36′43.7″E / 0.683444°S 17.612139°E / -0.683444; 17.612139 0°25′58.1″S 17°50′13.3″E / 0.432806°S 17.837028°E / -0.432806; 17.837028 0°01′17.4″N 18°13′10.9″E / 0.021500°N 18.219694°E / 0.021500; 18.219694 0°30′22.1″N 25°11′03.4″E / 0.506139°N 25.184278°E / 0.506139; 25.184278 The main river and tributaries are (sorted in order from
616-418: Is qualified in any way (such as "adjourn at 10 p.m."), the time for adjourning is already established, or unless adjournment would dissolve the assembly (in these cases, it is a main motion ). The privileged motion to adjourn is used to end the meeting immediately without debate. If it is a main motion, it cannot interrupt pending business, and is amendable and debatable. If there is any unfinished business at
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#1732837135442672-578: Is sometimes called a "continued meeting". An adjourned meeting is set up to complete the business of the assembly. After an adjourned meeting is scheduled, an item of business could be postponed to that meeting. The adjourned meeting must be scheduled before the next regular meeting of the assembly. In the United States Congress , an adjournment of more than three days requires the consent of both houses (the United States Senate and
728-613: The Atlantic Ocean and an additional 6% of bedload . The river and its tributaries flow through the Congo rainforest , the second largest rainforest area in the world, after the Amazon rainforest in South America. The river also has the second-largest flow in the world, behind the Amazon ; the second-largest drainage basin of any river, behind the Amazon; and is one of the deepest rivers in
784-592: The Catholic Church . It quickly made a treaty on 26 February 1884 with its old ally, Great Britain , to block off the Congo Society's access to the Atlantic. By the early 1880s, many factors including diplomatic successes, greater European local knowledge, and the demand for resources such as gold, timber, and rubber, triggered dramatically increased European involvement in the continent of Africa. Stanley's charting of
840-558: The Congo River Basin (1874–1877) removed the last terra incognita from European maps of the continent, delineating the areas of British, Portuguese, French and Belgian control. These European nations raced to annex territory that might be claimed by rivals. France moved to take over Tunisia , one of the last of the Barbary states , using a claim of another piracy incident. French claims by Pierre de Brazza were quickly acted on by
896-521: The Franco-Prussian War which, with the Berlin Conference of 1884, brought colonial imperialism to flower" and that "[t]he primary reality of imperialism in Africa today is economic," going on to expound on the extraction of wealth from the continent. Other historians focus on the legal implications in international law and argue that the conference was only one of many (mostly bilateral) agreements between prospective colonists, which took place after
952-560: The Inga dams , about 200 kilometres (120 mi) southwest of Kinshasa. The project was launched in the early 1970s, when the first dam was completed. The plan (as originally conceived) called for the construction of five dams that would have had a total generating capacity of 34,500 megawatts (MW). To date only the Inga I and Inga II dams have been built, generating 1,776 MW. In February 2005, South Africa 's state-owned power company, Eskom , announced
1008-585: The International African Association the same year, invited Henry Morton Stanley to join him in researching and "civilising" the continent. In 1878, the International Congo Society was also formed, with more economic goals but still closely related to the former society. Leopold secretly bought off the foreign investors in the Congo Society, which was turned to imperialistic goals, with the "African Society" serving primarily as
1064-793: The Mahdist State and the Sultanate of Zanzibar and, having already defeated the Zulu Kingdom in South Africa in 1879, moved on to annex the independent Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State . Within a few years, Africa was at least nominally divided up south of the Sahara . By 1895, the only independent states were: The following states were annexed by the British Empire roughly
1120-560: The Pool Malebo (Stanley Pool). Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) and Brazzaville are on opposite sides of the river at the Pool, where the river narrows and falls through a number of cataracts in deep canyons (collectively known as the Livingstone Falls ), running by Matadi and Boma , and into the sea at Muanda . Lower Congo constitutes the "lower" parts of the great river; that is
1176-597: The United States House of Representatives ). In March 1835, there was controversy on whether Congress could stay in session past the end of the term without adjourning. It was debated on whether the motion to adjourn was valid. Eventually there was an adjournment. This issue was resolved when the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution set a specific date and time for the start of
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#17328371354421232-506: The Uíge Province in Angola to the confluence with the Congo at Zongo some 80 km (50 mi) downstream from the twin capitals. Because of the vast number of rapids, in particular the Livingstone Falls , this section of the river is not operated continuously by riverboats. The Congo basin covers ten countries and accounts for about 13% of Africa . The highest point in the Congo basin
1288-408: The 1884–85 Berlin Conference... most did not take their final form until over two decades later." The conference contributed to ushering in a period of heightened colonial activity by European powers; one writer once made the point that the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 was responsible for "the old carve-up of Africa". Other writers have also laid the blame in "the partition of Africa" on the doors of
1344-520: The Atlantic Ocean. Opportunities for the Congo River and its tributaries to generate hydropower are therefore enormous. Scientists have calculated that the entire Congo Basin accounts for 13 percent of global hydropower potential. This would provide sufficient power for all of Sub-Saharan Africa 's electricity needs. Currently, there are about 40 hydropower plants in the Congo Basin. The largest are
1400-560: The Berlin Conference as the formalisation of the Scramble for Africa but recently, scholars have questioned the legal and economic impact of the conference. Some have argued the conference central to imperialism. African-American historian W. E. B. Du Bois wrote in 1948 that alongside the Atlantic slave trade in Africans a great world movement of modern times is "the partitioning of Africa after
1456-638: The Berlin Conference. But Wm. Roger Louis holds a contrary view, although he conceded that "the Berlin Act did have a relevance to the course of the partition" of Africa. Of the fourteen countries being represented, seven of them – Austria-Hungary , Russia , Denmark , the Netherlands , Sweden-Norway , the Ottoman Empire , and the United States – came home without any formal possessions in Africa. Prior to
1512-703: The British in the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1902. Libya was conquered by Italy in 1911, and Morocco was divided between the French and Spanish in 1912. One of the chief stated justifications "was a desire to stamp out slavery once and for all". Before he died in 1873, Christian missionary, David Livingstone , called for a worldwide crusade to defeat the Arab-controlled slave trade in East Africa. The way to do it
1568-624: The Congo below Boyoma Falls . The Chambeshi River in Zambia is generally taken as the source of the Congo in line with the accepted practice worldwide of using the longest tributary, as with the Nile River. The Congo flows generally toward the northwest from Kisangani just below the Boyoma Falls, then gradually bends southwestward, passing by Mbandaka , joining with the Ubangi River and running into
1624-494: The European powers expand in the face of rising American, Russian and Japanese interests; and form constructive dialogue to limit future hostilities. In Africa, colonialism was introduced across nearly all the continent. When African independence was regained after World War II, it was in the form of fragmented states. The Scramble for Africa sped up after the Conference since even within areas designated as their sphere of influence,
1680-615: The European powers had to take effective possession by the principle of effectivity. In central Africa in particular, expeditions were dispatched to coerce traditional rulers into signing treaties, using force if necessary, such as was the case for Msiri , King of Katanga , in 1891. Bedouin- and Berber-ruled states in the Sahara and the Sahel were overrun by the French in several wars by the beginning of World War I . The British moved up from South Africa and down from Egypt and conquered states such as
1736-539: The French military, which took control of what is now the Republic of the Congo in 1881 and Guinea in 1884. Italy became part of the Triple Alliance , an event that upset Bismarck's carefully laid plans and led Germany to join the European invasion of Africa. In 1882, realizing the geopolitical extent of Portuguese control on the coasts, but seeing penetration by France eastward across Central Africa toward Ethiopia,
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1792-598: The Nile, and the Suez Canal , Britain saw its vital trade route through Egypt to India threatened. Because of the collapsed Egyptian financing and a subsequent mutiny in which hundreds of British subjects were murdered or injured, Britain intervened in the nominally Ottoman Khedivate of Egypt , which it controlled for decades. The European race for colonies made Germany start launching expeditions of its own, which frightened both British and French statesmen. Hoping to quickly soothe
1848-503: The brewing conflict, Belgian King Leopold II convinced France and Germany that common trade in Africa was in the best interests of all three countries. Under support from the British and the initiative of Portugal, Otto von Bismarck , the Chancellor of Germany , called on representatives of 13 nations in Europe as well as the United States to take part in the Berlin Conference in 1884 to work out
1904-516: The city at the mouth of the river in his world map of 1564. The tribal names in Kongo possibly derive from a word for a public gathering or tribal assembly. The modern name of the Kongo people or Bakongo was introduced in the early 20th century. The name Zaire is from a Portuguese adaptation of a Kikongo word, nzere ("river"), a truncation of nzadi o nzere ("river swallowing rivers"). The river
1960-723: The conference, European diplomats approached African rulers and the French leaders had already invaded some parts of Lagos in the same manner as they had in the Western Hemisphere, by establishing a connection to local trade networks. In the early 1800s, the European demand for ivory , which was then often used in the production of luxury goods , led many European merchants into the interior markets of Africa. European spheres of power and influence were limited to coastal Africa at this time as Europeans had only established trading posts (protected by gunboats) up to this point. In 1876, King Leopold II of Belgium , who had founded and controlled
2016-493: The conference, regardless of whether they were finalized and followed in practice. For example, Craven has questioned the legal and economic impact of the conference. However, the countries that ultimately participated in the Final Act ignored requirements set forth within it to establish their satellite governments, rights to the land, and trade for the benefit of their national, and domestic economies. Historians have long marked
2072-431: The conference. Adjournment In law , to adjourn means to suspend proceedings to another time or place, or to end them . In deliberative assemblies , an adjournment ends a meeting. Under Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR), if no time or method has been fixed to reconvene the assembly, the adjournment has the effect of dissolving the body. A motion to adjourn is a privileged motion , unless it
2128-655: The continent, essentially believed that as far as the extension of power in Africa was concerned, no colonial power should have any legal right to a territory unless the state exercised strong and effective political control and, if so, only for a limited period of time, essentially an occupational force only. However, Britain's view was that Germany was a latecomer to the continent and was assumptively unlikely to gain any possessions beyond those it already held, which were swiftly proving to be more valuable than British territories. That logic caused it to be generally assumed by Britain and France that Germany had an interest in embarrassing
2184-409: The following points: The first reference in an international act to the obligations attaching to spheres of influence is contained in the Berlin Act. The principle of effective occupation stated that a power could acquire rights over colonial lands only if it possessed them or had effective occupation: if it had treaties with local leaders, flew its flag there, and established an administration in
2240-474: The formalisation of the Scramble for Africa that was already in full swing. Some scholars, however, warn against an overemphasis on its role in the colonial partitioning of Africa, and draw attention to bilateral agreements concluded before and after the conference. According to a 2024 study, the conference only set the borders for the Congo region (those borders were later revised). The study finds that "most of Africa’s borders were not initially formed until after
2296-500: The ground. The Belgians originally wanted to include that effective occupation required provisions that "cause peace to be administered", but Britain and France were the powers that had that amendment struck out of the final document. That principle, along with others that were written at the conference, allowed the Europeans to conquer Africa but to do as little as possible to administer or control it. The principle did not apply so much to
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2352-474: The hinterlands of Africa at the time of the conference. This gave rise to hinterland theory, which basically gave any colonial power with coastal territory the right to claim political influence over an indefinite amount of inland territory. Since Africa was irregularly shaped, that theory caused problems and was later rejected. The conference provided an opportunity to channel latent European hostilities towards one another outward; provide new areas for assisting
2408-597: The mouth heading upstream): Lower Congo (river mouth to Kinshasa ) Downstream of Kinshasa, from the river mouth at Banana , there are a few major tributaries. Middle Congo ( Kinshasa to the Boyoma Falls ) Upper Congo ( Lualaba ; upstream from the Boyoma Falls ) Although the Livingstone Falls prevent access from the sea, nearly the entire Congo above them is readily navigable in sections, especially between Kinshasa and Kisangani. Large river steamers worked
2464-399: The other European powers on the continent and forcing them to give up their possessions if they could not muster a strong political presence. On the other side, Britain had large territorial holdings there and wanted to keep them while it minimised its responsibilities and administrative costs. In the end, the British view prevailed. The great powers' disinclination to rule their territories
2520-457: The river until quite recently. The Congo River still is a lifeline in a land with few roads or railways. Railways now bypass the three major falls, and much of the trade of Central Africa passes along the river, including copper , palm oil (as kernels), sugar , coffee , and cotton . The Congo River is the most powerful river in Africa. During the rainy season over 50,000 cubic metres (1,800,000 cu ft) of water per second flows into
2576-484: The scope of the Berlin Act was limited to the lands that fronted on the African coast, European powers in numerous instances later claimed rights over interior lands without demonstrating the requirement of effective occupation, as articulated in Article 35 of the Final Act. At the Berlin Conference, the scope of the Principle of Effective Occupation was heavily contested between Germany and France. The Germans, who were new to
2632-526: The section of the river from the river mouth at the Atlantic coast to the twin capitals of Brazzaville and Kinshasa. In this section of the river, there are two significant tributaries, both on the left or south side. The Kwilu River originates in the hills near the Angolan border and enters the Congo some 100 km upstream from Matadi . The other is the Inkisi River , that flows in a northerly direction from
2688-431: The territory to govern it with a police force to keep order. The colonial power could also make use of the colony economically. That principle became important not only as a basis for the European powers to acquire territorial sovereignty in Africa but also for delimiting their respective overseas possessions, as effective occupation served in some instances as a criterion for settling colonial boundary disputes. However, as
2744-461: The time of adjournment, it is carried over to the next meeting if that meeting is within a quarterly time interval . When a body has completed the scheduled order of business at a meeting and there is no further business for the assembly to consider at that time, the chair may simply declare the meeting adjourned without a motion having been made. Along with the motion to fix the time to which to adjourn, recess , and taking measures to obtain
2800-431: The time when the interrupted meeting will continue. Unlike under RONR, however, it is considered a main motion (debatable and amendable) when no business is pending. The motion to fix the time to which to adjourn is used to set the time (and possibly the place) for another meeting to continue business of the session. If it is moved while a question is pending, it is the highest ranking privileged motion . Otherwise, it
2856-565: The world's ninth- longest river . The Chambeshi is a tributary of the Lualaba River , and Lualaba is the name of the Congo River upstream of Boyoma Falls , extending for 1,800 km (1,100 mi). Measured along with the Lualaba, the main tributary, the Congo River has a total length of 4,370 km (2,720 mi). It is the only major river to cross the Equator twice. The Congo Basin has
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#17328371354422912-491: The world, at depths greater than 220 m (720 ft). Because its drainage basin includes areas both north and south of the Equator , its flow is stable, as there is always at least one part of the river experiencing a rainy season . The sources of the Congo are in the highlands and mountains of the East African Rift , as well as Lake Tanganyika and Lake Mweru , which feed the Lualaba River , which then becomes
2968-404: Was dispatched to central Africa, travelled into the western Congo basin, and raised the French flag over the newly founded Brazzaville in what is now the Republic of Congo . Finally, Portugal , which had essentially abandoned a colonial empire in the area, long held through the mostly defunct proxy Kingdom of Kongo , also claimed the area, based on old treaties with Restoration-era Spain and
3024-457: Was known as Zaire during the 16th and 17th centuries; Congo seems to have replaced Zaire gradually in English usage during the 18th century, and Congo is the preferred English name in 19th-century literature, although references to Zahir or Zaire as the name used by the inhabitants remained common. The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo are named after it, as
3080-726: Was the previous Republic of the Congo which had gained independence in 1960 from the Belgian Congo . The Republic of Zaire during 1971–1997 was also named after the river's name in French and Portuguese . The Congo's drainage basin covers 4,014,500 km (1,550,000 sq mi), an area nearly equal to that of the European Union . The Congo's discharge at its mouth ranges from 23,000 to 75,000 m /s (810,000 to 2,650,000 cu ft/s), with an average of 41,000 m /s (1,400,000 cu ft/s). The river transports annually 86 million tonnes of suspended sediment to
3136-474: Was to "liberate Africa" by the introduction of "commerce, Christianity" and civilization. Crowe, Craven, and Katzenellenbogen are authors who have attempted to soften the language and therefore the intent of the conference. They warn against an overemphasis on its role in the colonial partitioning of Africa, extensively justifying it by ignoring the motivations and outcomes of the conference by only drawing attention to bilateral agreements concluded before and after
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