Africa the European powers that laid claim to African territories. The Berlin Conference sought to end the European powers' Scramble for Africa, by agreeing on political division and spheres of influence. They set up the political divisions of the continent, by spheres of interest, that exist in Africa today. Imperial rule by Europeans would continue until after the conclusion of World War II, when almost all remaining colonial territories gradually obtained formal independence. Independence movements in Africa gained momentum following World War II, which left the major European powers weakened. In 1951, Libya, a former Italian colony, gained independence. In 1956,
Administrative divisions of Somalia became part of Italian East Africa with Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Eritrea. Italian Somaliland was one of six governorates of the new colony, the Somalia Governorate, and incorporated Somali-inhabited parts of the former Abyssinia. The governorate was subdivided into 10 commissariats, which were themselves divided into residencies. Following World War II, the Italian-administered Trust Territory of Somalia consisted of six Regions. The British Somaliland protectorate also consisted of two Regions. Upon independence in 1960, the Somali Republic maintained the 12 districts of the former Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland that merged to form the new country. In 1964, a new Northeastern