American Imperialism Congo Research Paper

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), located in Central Africa, struggles daily because the government fails. The country has been in civil conflicts for nearly a decade, this however is not the main health hazard. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Congo was a popular location for slave trade, while foreign powers intruded they also exposed the area to their diseases that have remained for centuries. These diseases have developed

During the European Scramble for Africa, in the early 20th century, Africans had a peaceful reaction with anti-imperialistic sentiments (docs. 2, 3, 4, and 7), peaceful actions through the approach of diplomacy (docs.1, 2, and 3) and also a rebellious anti-imperialistic reaction (docs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) towards the Scramble for Africa.

Once Léopold and Stanley came together to discuss their ideas of imperialism in the Congo, Leopold decided they needed some way to seize the land to make it his. Leopold sent Stanley down to the land, and discussed a written agreement which explained how Leopold would take over the land to prevent the Arabs from abducting the congolese as slaves. The Congolese could not understand very well, as their main language was French, but nevertheless agreed to the compliance (AWPHRocklin Belgian Congo. Web). Leopold then went on to controlling the land and forced the congolese to do

Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest

During the 18th and early 19th centuries the Belgian took control over the Congo and colonized the area as their property. Near the same time the British wanted a location to colonize and make money eventually they took over India and began to colonize the majority of the area. Both the Belgian and British colonial practices similar in their methods that they used to control the area , but different in the treatment towards native people.

The rule of King Leopold II instilled disturbing methods of ruling. He enslaved the people of The democratic republic of Congo (Congolese) to gather him resources that would only benefit him. He was willing to do whatever it took to gain resources, even if it meant enslaving the people. “ King Leopold II nearly enslaved many of the Congolese people in order to gain wealth, and to bring power” (Citation) imperialism had a negative impact on the country, it had a long lasting impacts on the country because he depleted them of their resources which means they don't have much to export as a country now. King Leopold II used the people as slaves to gather their resources due to the danger of the work, which resulted in many casualties and injuries. He wanted to rule the country as he wanted rather than what was right for the people. He lied to the Belgian government in order to gain power of the country, by saying that his

Riches in central Africa. In what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, there was and still is a plethora of natural resources. Rubber, gold, copper, diamonds and more. That natural wealth has definitely hurt Congo in the past rather than helped. Its resources could have made it one of the wealthiest countries in the world. But yet, this future did not hold true for the Congo. At the turn of the 20th century, King Leopold II began to take notice of the central African country. (National Black United Front). King Leopold II communicated all his ideas and intentions through a speech to European missionaries. (Africa Global Network). In it, his words held the key to all things terrible. Soon, Belgium took over the Congo and began one of the

1909, over one hundred years ago, was the death of King Leopold of Belgium the sole owner of the Congo. Even years after he has left this earth and is no longer in the reign, the long-lasting effects he has had on the people and the land has forever changed the Congo. The memories left behind from the atrocities that occurred and the diminished resources due to extreme exploitation has prompted the author Adam Hochschild to write the novel, King Leopold’s Ghost. Using an Afrocentric point of view Hochschild describes how the events that took place under Leopold’s orders were acts of true terror and inhumanity.

During 1884 through 1906 the Congo was the personal property of King Leopold II and from 1908 to 1960, it was under Belgian rule. Throughout this time, the Congo was ruled with the political form of government known as Imperialism. An imperialistic government would extend its power through military force and the new land. Imperialism in the Congo created unsuccessful resistance movements as well as long term economic impacts to the country.

“King Leopold’s Ghost- a story of greer, terror and heroism in colonial africa” written by Adam Hochschild, reveals the hidden horror in the Congo. Hochschild conveys the exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium from 1885 to 1908, as well as the revolting brutality during that period. Hochschild discloses how King Leopold II’s unpleasant and atrocious capacity of maliciousness is shown through mass killings and colonization of Congolese land. The Ghost of King Leopold II still plagues the world while he is celebrated as a great humanitarian. (use own words).

Between the 1880s and 1908, King Leopold II controlled the Congo Free State, using it mainly as a corporate venture rather than a colonial one. However, in 1908, a global outcry condemned his reign after reports erupted of widespread torture and death taking place in the territory’s rubber plantations by his agents. It was reported that those atrocities left millions of the Congolese dead or injured, and so, in 1908, Belgium annexed the territory into its own jurisdiction, creating the colony of the Belgian Congo. The colony hosted hundreds of Christian missionaries in hopes to westernize the Congolese. Nevertheless, the scars from Leopold’s control were far from erased, both physically and mentally, and in the late 1950s, the independence

In 1959, Congolese nationalism evidently appeared due to the revolts against Belgian colonial rule. Weeks after Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960, there was a prominent struggle for power regarding a constitutional and bureaucratic crisis where Congo became an instrument in the Cold War due to the intervention of the superpowers, United States and Soviet Union. Prior to the independence, president Joseph Kasavubu and prime minister, Patrice Lumumba were elected, the country had little to no governance and was in a crisis of authentic legitimacy. Laws were essentially thrust upon the people with the hopes of restoring the Congolese state.

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 the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s. The Congo colonial experience, first as the Congo Free State then later as Belgian Congo, was harmful to that region of Africa both then and now because of the lack of Belgian and International

King Leopold II ruled the Congo from 1885 to 1908. “He ruled the Congo less as a colony but more as his own personal priority. He treated the native Congolese nearly as slaves and used the wealth of the Congo to grow his own personal wealth.” (http://drcimperialism.weebly.com/life-under-imperialist-power.html). Under his rule the people of the Congo were treated horribly. The Congolese experienced a humanitarian disaster consisting of enslavement, exploitation, and even extermination. Moreover, by the end of this era it was estimated that the population was cut in half. “Eventually international outrage forced Leopold to turn over his personal colony to the Belgian government.” (Esler 572) Nonetheless, during the years of Leopold’s rule imperialism thrived.

When he acceded to the throne in 1865, King Léopold II of Belgium had a dream for his country. His aspiration was to allow the Kingdom of Belgium to own its first colony in order to bring money to the metropole and to compare with the colonial empires of the time, namely the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. King Léopold asked the British explorer Henri Morton Stanley to explore Central Africa between 1874 and 1877. He then started to send Belgian officers to take possession of the region, known today as the Congo. The Congo was officially attributed to King Léopold in 1885 during the Berlin Conference. Before dying, King Léopold donate the Congo to the Belgian State. The Belgian Congo remained under Belgian rule up