Final answer:
Africans were not given any place at the Berlin Conference table. The meeting was solely attended by European powers and the United States, who carved up the African continent without African input, disregarding existing African boundaries.
Step-by-step explanation:
At the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885, Africans were notably absent from the negotiations and decision-making process. The conference, orchestrated by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, was attended primarily by European powers and the United States, who sought to establish guidelines for the colonization and division of Africa. No African leaders or representatives were invited to participate, resulting in a division of their continent that entirely disregarded existing cultural, ethnic, and political boundaries, laying a foundation for future conflict and instability within the region.