King Leopold II was the ruler of Belgium from 1865 - 1909. On February 5, 1885, The Congo Free State was established. This was a state 76x larger than Belgium, also ruled by Leopold II. In the Congo Free State, 10 million Africans died from war, starvation, birth reduction, and diseases, and there was a great loss of land. King Leopold was fully responsible for all of the effects of the Congo Free State on its people and the region. In 1885, right after the Berlin Conference, King Leopold II became the sole owner of the Congo Free State, a state at which had an estimated population of 30 million people. Before he claimed the state as his personal property, Leopold had no consent from the people of the Congo, had never even been there, and most …show more content…
In King Leopold’s letter to Henry Stanley, a journalist and Central African explorer, he tells him that it is “indispensable” to buy land from the Africans and have it under his “suzerainty”. This shows Leopold’s desperation to take control of as much land as he can. Furthermore, it is Leopold who will end up profiting from this lan purchase if it ends up happening, and it was also his idea for it to happen. In addition, Leopold is responsible for the mistreatment of the Africans, for as he says in his interview with Publishers’ Press in 1906, “It would be absurd for us to mistreat the blacks because no state prospers unless the population is happy and increasing … cruelty, even crimes have been committed … convictions before Congo tribunals for these offenses”. By publicizing this, King Leopold is hoping to gain the respect of Africans so he can expand his Congo and get more slaves for collecting rubber. As a result of their many hours of rubber and ivory collecting, many natives were considered “slaves in all but name” (Religious Tolerance). The more rubber and ivory exported from the Congo, meant more profit for Leopold, which gave him purpose for capturing Africans. As shown in Document C, the exports of rubber and ivory from the Congo as time progresses, it can be seen that rubber exports had significantly increased with time. This piece of data is a result of more slaves in the
Summary of the text: Adam Hochschild’s King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa is a historical fiction published in 1998 (Hochschild, 1998). It comprises a myriad of evidence to testify the Belgian King Leopold II’s atrocities in Congo between 1885 and 1908 for the sake of capturing the attention of various readers towards the Belgian imperialist delinquencies through a detailed narration of a number of main characters’, including George Washington Williams and William Henry Sheppard, experiences in Belgian Congo (Hochschild, 1998). In this excerpt, it illustrates William’s peaceful exploration in Congo as the first American-Black missionary. During his journey, not only did he explore the Congolese culture,
George Washington Williams, an African American legislator, and Kande Kamara, an African colonial subject, both experienced some of the most brutal products of European Imperialism. Williams, in the late nineteenth century, toured the Belgian controlled Congo and witnessed the harsh measures King Leopold implemented to maintain absolute control and bleed the country of its resources. Kamara, on the other hand, bore witness to the end result of overzealous imperial ambitions when he was forced to fight for the allies in the trenches of WWI. These two men’s experiences, although considerably different, both shed light on Europe’s colonial philosophy of racism and ethnic superiority and its position of immense power during this period.
American president: Eisenhower. USSR leader: Khrushchev. NATO, created in 1949 to stop the spread of communism - Belgium and United States. (Natufe 354) WTO, created in 1955, an alliance of Eastern European communist countries - USSR. (Natufe 355)
Also Wood describes, “This Aladdin’s cave of treasure is Congo’s great fortune, but is also her greatest blight” (49). Many country want part of all this treasured but taking of advantage of its undeveloped stage. Many countries come to Congo to obtain its valuable resource but not only take its resource but influence the country government. In 1960 after the Belgian regime Patrice Lumumba wanted to be president. This man had different ideas that many did not like as the Americans.
Uganda is a country with a rich history filled with turmoil, failure, and success. The country and its people suffered for many years to gain independence from the country that controlled it, Great Britain. Finally, in 1962, Uganda gained independence and became a free country. All was looking up for Uganda and its people until they were thrown into a world of dictators and civil wars. Through their colonization, fight for independence, and the aftermath, they persevered to become the country they are today.
In conclusion, the Congo was an Empire of ivory, built on exploitation. They utilized get rich quick schemes and their actions against black natives was absolutely senile. In comparison to the Americas, they used forced labor, came to colonize for new opportunities, and had various successful slave revolts. I thought this source was very important to read because it taught me various things previous history classes would have never. Mostly because only the winners write the
The Congolese were forced to work all day and were very overworked. The photograph from document 5 shows that the Congolese suffer consequences for not collecting enough rubber. This also indicates that King Leopold II didn’t come to Congo for the well-being of the Congolese but for the well-being of himself. This demonstrates that the Belgians caused the deaths of many people and the loss of natural resources. But it
As the leader of the Congolese National Movement, and first prime minister of the Congo Free State, Patrice Émery Lumumba made a significant political impact by shepherding his country to independence and establishing its new government. Patrice Émery Lumumba had a political impact on the world by succeeding in the leadership of the Congolese National Movement (MNC), and following this he became significant in creating an independent country, and both impacts he made eventually led to the independence of the Congo. To start, Patrice Émery Lumumba had a political impact because he became a strong leader of the MNC, which led to the independence of the Congo. Patrice Lumumba started becoming politically active relatively early in
Lets first talk about both countries gaining their independence. In 1849, France began to take over Guinea, a country located in western Africa in 1849. Before then, they country were being ruled by the Muslims. Alongside, other European countries such as the Portuguese people, and British also began to take over other African countries such as Liberia, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, etc. At this point, all the African countries were being taken over by the three European countries.
He used direct rule to enhance his greed, carelessness, and brutality towards the Congo. With an estimated loss of about 10 million Congolese, the Congo could surely be classified as the most murderous part of the European Scramble for Africa. Leopold ordered his soldiers to cut off hands, whip Congolese, starve them, break their families apart, kill if they disobeyed, and
When King Leopold established the Congo Free State, he destroyed the link between the Congolese people and their homeland (Kenneth). King Leopold made one single country between Belgium and Congo. He combined the ethnicities of both of these cultures, taking away the Congolese people’s heritage and culture. In addition to this, the Roman Catholic Church forced their religion and values on the Congolese people, taking away their beliefs, and using violence if necessary. The Belgians forced their values upon the Congolese people in order to assimilate their religion and gain more power.
During King Leopold II’s life, spanning from 1835-1909, his greatest financial achievement was that of the Congo Free State and it’s rubber. This time period arrived directly following the Industrial Revolution, so many people were still looking for resources. The people of Europe also didn’t give much credit to African people and believed they were not very civilized. To do so well Leopold took major advantage of the Congo’s people's fears. The Book King Leopold’s Ghost written by Adam Hochschild is about the treachery Leopold laid down on the native people for the precious rubber.
The Black Man’s Burden In the late-nineteen century, the term new imperialism became an element of politics implemented by many European powers to impose their supremacy around the globe. Between 1870 and 1914, as a result of the Great Depression (1873-1879), imperialistic powers such as Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium, constructed colonies and protectorates in Asia and Africa in order to exploit their resources and their labor . In 1880, France and Britain led European nations in the “scramble of Africa,” which divided the continent from 1880 to 1914. After the king of Belgium Leopold II conquered most of the Congo River with the excuse of promoting Christianity and civilization, other European nations caught “African fever.”
The Black Man’s Burden In the late-nineteen century, the term new imperialism became an element of politics implemented by many European powers to impose their supremacy around the globe. Between 1870 and 1914, as a result of the Great Depression (1873-1879), imperialistic powers such as Britain, France, Germany, and Belgium, constructed colonies and protectorates in Asia and Africa in order to exploit their resources and their labor . After the decline of the transatlantic slave trade by the late 1860s, a change occurred around 1880 when France and Britain led European nations in the “scramble of Africa,” which divided the continent from 1880 to 1914. Indeed, after king Leopold II of Belgium conquered most of the Congo River with the excuse of promoting
Hochschild's argument successfully claims that European imperialism in Africa (specifically that of King Leopold) led to devastating effects on the natives and their land. The nineteen-chapter, two part book starts off with a brief introduction. This introduction sets up the first part of the book, where the Hochschild describes the early life of Leopold and his main explorer: Henry Morton Stanley. From the first European-completed expedition of the Congo River and its basin to the Berlin Conference, Hochschild explains the story behind Leopold’s reception of the Congo - specifically how he gained power of the Congo with only the permission of