European Imperialism Of The Congo In The 1800's

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Imagine going about your day to day life when all the sudden foreigners invade and turn your world completely upside down. This was what it was like for the people of Africa in the 1800’s. The Congo was brutally taken over by imperialism, the process of which one nation takes over another in order to gain economic growth. The Congo was invaded by the Europeans for economic growth, and the spread of religion but what they left was a line of death and destruction that would be remembered for years to come.

The Congo was seen as very valuable to the Europeans economically. As the world of exploration and trade grew, it was a fight for each nation to claim valuable land in order to succeed economically. “These associations, grown jealous and …show more content…

“…converted to Christianity also adopted European customs” (“Colonialism in the Congo” 7). This was the start of the conversion to Christianity that the European’s had wanted. They believed that by doing this, it would impact the rest of the world and spread the religion. “Many Europeans saw it as their duty to save the souls of those less fortunate, to uplift the populations, and bring civilization to what they saw as a heathen continent” (“Colonialism in the Congo” 7). This shows that the Europeans believed that it was their main job to spread their religion and beliefs into the world to better the communities of …show more content…

The Europeans were extremely cruel in their treatment towards the natives. “Full blooded, eager, restless, and aggressive, it pressed on me, and claimed me for its own, without allowing me the time to cast one retrospective glance at the horrors left behind” (Stanley 1). The people of the Congo were viciously invaded and treated with the harshest of cruelty. They believed that they had no choice but to give themselves to the stronger European country. “Men who had tried to run from the country and had been caught, were brought to the station and made to stand one behind the other, and an Albini bullet sent through them” (Scrivener 1). The people who would try to escape the horror were punished by death and were shown no mercy. The Europeans wanted to make an example and show that the natives worked for them, anyone opposed would be killed. This made a psychological impact on the people and proved the point that they were enslaved to the European

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