Over the course of human history, many believe that the “Congo Free State”, which lasted from the 1880s to the early 1900s, was one of the worst colonial states in the age of Imperialism and was one of the worst humanitarian disasters over time. Brutal methods of collecting rubber, which led to the deaths of countless Africans along with Europeans, as well as a lack of concern from the Belgian government aside from the King, combined to create the most potent example of the evils of colonialism in
II ruled Congo, a region in central Africa, as his personal colony, exploiting the resources and inhabitants for his own gain. Leopold allowed and encouraged Europeans and other Westerners to enter Congo and set up companies whose primary purpose was to gather rubber, which was abundant but difficult to get to in the Congo, using the Congolese as the laborers for the Europeans. Rubber gathering in Congo brutally exploited the inhabitants of the Congo, while at the same time robbed Congo of wealth
did exercise violence against native populations, the case of the Congo Free State saw mass violence and inhumane atrocities committed on a scale likened to the Nazi Holocaust. Similarly to the Holocaust, many historians focussed on the top-down approach. There are eerie similarities though between the natures of the atrocities committed by both states. Violence on the scale purported to have been committed in the Congo Free State under King Leopold II can hardly be attributed to any single
the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In a span of twenty-five gruesome years, over ten-million Congolese were slaughtered and mutilated ("Congo Free State, 1885-1908"). In fact, the genocide is considered one of the worst in history because of the number of people massacred. Although this genocide is not as well known as more infamous ones such as the Holocaust, the Belgian-Congo genocide is still considered one of the deadliest. The Democratic Republic of Congo is located in the central region
to further successful developments of the new European colonies. One of these colonies was the Belgian Congo, ruled by the Belgian King Leopold II. Under The King’s rule, acts of violence against the African people occurred regularly. Violence was believed to be a necessary component in the process of building a successful Belgian state. King Leopold II had set intentions for the Belgian Congo before the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885. His desires were to fight slavery and explore Central Africa:
position there are many variables that need to be taken into account. Congo is a country on the western coastline of the African continent. After being colonized by King Leopold II from Belgium, Congo lived under his ruling for centuries until it gained its independence in 1960. Because of the colonialization and decolonization process the Congo had to surpass many events and these events have an important role in present Congo. During the colonial era the African continent was treated like a cake
Germany are some of the most common examples of late imperialism, but this wave of late imperialism saw the rise of a new major European power: Belgium. King Leopold held a massive tract of land in Central Africa that would come to be know as The Congo Free State. According to the editors of The Encyclopedia Britannica (2015), a small group of investors headed by King Leopold would be drawn to the land after Morton Stanley’s exploration of the land during the 1870’s. Once they had acquired their land
Belgian Colonialism turned Congo into the capitalist world system beginning with the establishment of the personal rule of King Leopold II of Belgium in 1885. During the time of colonialism Belgium colonized Congo, he exploited the natives for rubber and ivory. The Congo Free State was a corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II, through the Association Internationale Africaine, a non-governmental organization. Under Leopold II’s administration, the Congo Free State became the site of one of
do this paper on him because I did not know much about him. He is behind one of the most deadly genocides in history. During his reign over Belgium he became interested in territory of central Africa. From there, he founded/sole owner of the Congo Free State. During his reign millions of Congolese were tortured and killed while supplying Leopold II with valuable resources. Leopold II was a king that demanded to grow his own wealth. With this ambition, he went on to make an attempt to build his fortune
colonialism of the Congo Free State under the pretence of a civilizing mission . The study focuses on how historicizing Conrad's Heart of Darkness has been instrumental in uncovering atrocities committed by King Leopold II's agents in their desperate scramble for the rich resources of Congo like ivory and rubber. King Leopold II's atrocities may account for the death of almost ten million Congolese natives, a crime of a genocidal scale which has terribly affected the future of the Congo and its people
Leopold`s control in the Congo. This was to reach an international audience at the time of the 20th century. Protestors depended on a variety of writing techniques to make their case successful. For example the use of direct letters to officials, published “open letters”, articles in newspapers, and public speeches. These protesters were George Washington Williams, William Sheppard, Edmund Dene Morel, and Roger Casement. These protesters became aware of the situation in the Congo in different ways. They
citizens of the Congo suffer immensely. This made me wonder what other countries that were controlled by outside empires, such as Nigeria controlled by Britain, were treated during this time. Also, what life was like for the citizens of free countries? While the Congo, Nigeria, and Liberia are all relatively in the same location and have similar terrain, during the 1870's to 1914 they experienced many different types of treatment have different
While viewing the film King Leopold’s Ghost one could not ignore the fact that the filmmakers had a position that was critical to the idea of imperialism in the Congo as well as in the rest of the world. This is an understandable view as the depictions of the horrible atrocities in the Congo were beyond deplorable. The enslavement of the populace is unforgivable and the physical as well as emotional torture imposed on the population was truly disturbing. The film portrays Leopold as ruthless,
The history of the Belgian Congo is one of terrible sadness and seldom-noted human devastation. From 1885 to 1908 the Congo was ruled by one man as his sole, personal colony; a ruler ironically noted at the time for his philanthropy, King Leopold II of Belgium. Seeking his own colony, he founded the Congo Free State, a massive territory in the African interior that was larger than seventy-six times the size of his own country (Hochschild, 87). A “sober, respectable businessman” by the name of Edmund
During the age of Imperialism, the Congo fell under the power of King Leopold of Belgium. Leopold Benefited from new technologies, cleverly exploited imperial rivalries between European powers in Africa, and used western ideological developments for his own gain, the Belgian king’s ambitions and greed were the most important factors in creating his atrocious Belgian free state. The creation of the Belgian ruled Congo led to the enslavement of native African tribes. Leopold and other European countries
African nations, the Belgian Congo was one of the poorest and unfairly treated nations. Yes, imperialism and colonization are some of the big reasons why Africa was broken and still is today, but the only reason why the Belgian Congo suffered the most out of all the other nations was mainly due to King Leopold II of Belgium. The extreme unawareness of King Leopold II on Belgian Congo caused it to collapse to detrimental levels. With little to no support systems in place, the Congo region never truly received
atrocities he had seen in Leopold’s greedy pursuit of rubber and ivory in the congo. This book details closely how Leopold made his humongous profit. Leopold issued decrees on the Congo such as that the native people may only trade with his state agents or with his concessions. Leopold’s concessions were private companies that would sell the ivory and rubber, they would give Leopold 50% of their profits. The Abir Congo Company was one of these concessions that harvest the natural rubber of the Congo
However when those factors that make people interconnect with each other becomes distorted, the results can be catastrophic. In this essay I will discuss the how the genocidal events that took place in the U.S. with the Native Americans, the Belgian Congo, and German South West Africa were carried out and why elements of exploitation, racialization, identity, and inferiority played a role in them. During American expansion into the western frontier the belief of nationalism played an important role
colonies and all of the atrocities he caused. Leopold II came to power in when he became King in 1865. When he became King, he was focused on mainly money and territory. King Leopold viewed the Congo as his own personal property, he first claimed the Congo in 1884 during the Berlin Conference, with the Congo Free State being declared in the following year. This became widely known as the European Scramble for Africa. The atrocities that Leopold caused were first exposed by American and British writers amd
King Of The Congo Punishment King of Belgium, Leopold the second was responsible for the deaths and cruelty of millions due to his harsh leadership over the Congo Free State. This large area is in the modern day Democratic Republic of the Congo and at the time was rich in rubber. Congo Free State was created to improve the lives of its native inhabitants, but Leopold II took absolute control. Under his control he mutilated and killed the servants who mined for the rich resources in the land. Workers