<P> Throughout the era of European colonization, those in power routinely partitioned land masses and created borders that are still in place today . It has been estimated that Britain and France traced almost 40% of the entire length of today's international boundaries . Sometimes boundaries were naturally occurring, like rivers or mountains, but other times these borders were artificially created and agreed upon by colonial powers . The Berlin Conference of 1884 systemized European colonization in Africa and is frequently acknowledged as the genesis of the Scramble for Africa . The Conference implemented the Principle of Effective Occupation in Africa which allowed European states with even the most tenuous connection to an African region to claim dominion over its land, resources, and people . In effect, it allowed for the arbitrary construction of sovereign borders in a territory where they had never previously existed . </P> <P> Jeffrey Herbst has written extensively on the impact of state organization in Africa . He notes, because the borders were artificially created, they generally do not conform to "typical demographic, ethnographic, and topographic boundaries ." Instead, they were manufactured by colonialists to advance their political goals . This led to large scale issues, like the division of ethnic groups; and small scale issues, such as families' homes being separated from their farms . </P> <P> William F.S. Miles of Northeastern University, argues that this perfunctory division of the entire continent created expansive ungoverned borderlands . These borderlands persist today and are havens for crimes like human trafficking and arms smuggling . </P> <P> Herbst notes a modern paradox regarding the colonial borders in Africa: while they are arbitrary there is a consensus among African leaders that they must be maintained . Organization of African Unity in 1963 cemented colonial boundaries permanently by proclaiming that any changes made were illegitimate . This, in effect, avoided readdressing the basic injustice of colonial partition, while also reducing the likelihood of inter-state warfare as territorial boundaries were considered immutable by the international community . </P>

Which of the following avoided european colonialization and became a colonial power