Final answer:
The Berlin Conference in 1884-1885, which was attended by 14 European countries and the United States, sought to divide Africa among colonial powers without the presence of any African nations. The correct option is B.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that 'in 1884 and 1886, 14 African nations met at the Berlin conference to discuss the future of Africa' is False. In reality, the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 was hosted by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. It included 14 colonial European countries and the United States, not African nations.
The conference was essentially a meeting to determine how Africa would be divided among the colonial powers, and no African representatives were present to have a say in the future of their own continent. Instead, the conference was characterized by the colonization and territorial division of Africa by European states motivated by economic interests, strategic objectives, and national pride.
The correct answer to the multiple-choice question 'What was the purpose of the 1884–1885 Berlin Conference?' would be 'b. to decide which European countries possessed different parts of Africa', as the conference was held to agree upon the division and colonization of Africa by European powers.