The intent of the ‘Neutrality Act’ as signed by the European nations taking part in the Berlin Conference was to preserve the status quo of African borders, which was beneficial to most of the parties taking part in the conference at that time (1884-5). More specifically the neutrality act was supposed to prevent Africa from becoming a battlefield in the event of a European war, with different colonies fighting each other. This ensured that even in the event of a war Europeans would not be forced to spend their entire treasury shipping soldiers and supplies down to Africa, and that the Europeans could concentrate on protecting their home soil instead of worrying their colonies. The agreement was plagued by its vagueness, and eventually fell apart.