They were afraid of what might happen if the Union were to dissolve
Germany<span>, </span>France<span>, </span>Great Britain<span>, Netherlands, </span>Belgium<span>, </span>Portugal<span>, and </span>Spain<span> were all considered to have a future role in the </span>imperial<span> partition of Africa. The United States was invited because of its interest in </span>Liberia<span> but did not attend because it had no desire to build a colonial empire in Africa.</span>
