Final answer:
European "effective occupation" in Africa involved military conquest, the establishment of extractive colonial governments, and economically benefiting from African resources while suppressing local resistance. The Berlin Conference formalized European territorial claims, which despite African resistance, led to European dominance throughout Africa.
Step-by-step explanation:
European "Effective Occupation" of African Territories
The European notion of "effective occupation" was demonstrated in Africa through several means during the era of imperialism and colonization. Firstly, by military conquest and the establishment of colonial governments that subordinated and replaced local African political systems. Secondly, through the establishment of authoritarian, militaristic, and extractive systems aimed at securing resources for the European economies. Colonial powers enforced taxation, forced labor on infrastructural projects, and leveraged African economic systems to serve European interests, as seen in the exploitation of African labor in mines.
Despite strong African resistance to the European advance and encroachment on their lands, European military campaigns and tactics, such as the système Bugeaud which involved state-sponsored terror, eventually led to European domination. The Berlin Conference in 1884-1885 allowed European powers to formalize their claims by drawing boundary lines for their African colonies. Resistance persisted, but the imbalance of power and the ensuing systematic control over local populations through economic and military means cemented European control over nearly all societies in Africa by the early 20th century.