Belgian Imperialism

Admitted in the Memoir of Ndansi Kumalo, “Well, the white men have brought us some good things. For a start, they brought us European implements - plows; we can buy European clothes, which are an advance. The government has arranged for education and through that, when our children grow up, they may rise in status.” The Europeans admittedly brought many great things to the Natives of the countries they conquered; better technology, education, and overall help were given to the natives. In the beginning, Europeans tried as much as they could to prop up the natives to a better, civilised stature. However, as their power and grasp on the region increased, as did their greed. According to Richard Harding Davis in Leopold, The Janitor from the Congo and the Coasts of Africa, “The Charges brought against Leopold II, as King of the Congo, are three: (1) That he has made slaves of the twenty million blacks he promised to protect. (2) That, in spite of his promise to keep the Congo open to trade, he has closed it to all nations. (3) That the revenues of the country and all of its trade has retained to himself.” Such imperialism allowed far away kings to exploit their populaces of Native Africans as if they were just toys to the crown. Leaders would force their powerless and technologically underdeveloped subjects into fruitless

During the late 19th to early 20th century, King Leopold II impacted the African Continent and the larger International community more than any other European monarch. Firstly, King Leopold II sinisterly orchestrated a colonization operation that is comparative to a genocidal regime. Secondly, King Leopold II’s actions in the Congo led unified condemnation across oceans from a broad range of socioeconomic statues. Lastly, the opposition forces against King Leopold II’s colonization of Congo helped pave the way for future justice on the continent as well as internationally. Ultimately, this Europe created the competitive environment that promoted King Leopold II’s quest for colonization.

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

He uses different perspectives to convey the different moments throughout the book, albeit some are biased toward the European imperialism (opposing Hochschild’s thesis). The diverse reference points throughout the story make for an effective support for Hochschild’s argument because he cross-applies these sources and justifies why one may be more reliable to use. Hochschild even uses the evidence which appears to controvert his thesis to give an explanation for why the imperialism occurred in the first place. He quotes Leopold when the Belgian king was still looking to receive the Congo, reciting “We… wishing to secure for Our beloved fatherland the fruits of the work which, for many long years… have been pursuing on the African continent… declare by these presents, to bequeath and transmit… all Our sovereign rights over [the Congo Free State]” (Hochschild 95). Hochschild then writes, “There was one added twist. When the king made public his will, it was backdated, so that his bequest looked like an act of generosity instead of part of a financial bargain” (Hochschild 95). By exposing Leopold’s actions, Hochschild convincingly allows the reader to understand the moral flaws in Leopold’s imperialism. Additionally, Hochschild backs up these claims with eyewitness accounts of the Congolese peoples who had suffered. One report explains the natives hatred for one general,

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

The resources were King Leopold's main reason to colonize the Congo. He knew that if he could obtain that rich land, he could receive a large sum of money at the expense of ethics. To achieve this, he sent an explorer named Henry Stanley to make his power known (BBC). Mercenaries executed this plan for Leopold. Imperialism is the way King Leopold II took over the Congo and subdued all the people that lived there. Imperialism is the domination over a society by economic or cultural means (Discovery Education). In some cases, imperialism still exists today. Cultural and economic imperialism exists today. Economic imperialism is imperialism for money. For example, one company buys its resources from Country A for a low amount. Country A then begins to believe that it should be receiving more money for all the work that it does. The company then leaves Country A to buy from Country B for the same price. Country B doesn’t complain and the company doesn’t have to spend any more money. Though, it’s not a win-win for everyone. Country A then begins to beg for the company to come back and buy resources from them. This is because the company took away something Country A

The beginning of this imperialism started with king Leopold of Belgium. For several years he had been secretly sending his representatives to the Congo region to sign treaties and purchase land from the local tribes, when it finally came to light what he was doing, he had already acquired 900,000 acres, later known as The Belgian Congo. This land was not for his country, but for his own personal use. Leopold cared nothing about the land or the native people, his goal was to exploit the land and people at all cost and that is exactly what he did. Millions of native Africans were forced into slave labor for Leopold’s needs and the land was stripped of all its natural recourses. The slaves were treated horribly and many millions were slaughtered or died from the horrific conditions forced upon them. Although the exact number is not known it is estimated to be in the tens of millions.

Without the Belgians, the Congo became financially unstable and lost whatever instruction and guidance the Belgians thought to give-- whether it be any degree of education, which was then thrust onto the Africans to teach themselves, or political stability. While the political stability was not in the Congo’s favor, it was still more beneficial than the leader the Congo had after Lumumba. The loss of stability led to the Congo being considered lesser than other countries and led to other countries, the United States of America, for example, shunning the Congolese. The financial instability also led to the Congo being unable to communicate effectively with other countries-- the sister countries of Africa or the countries abroad-- because the people of the Congo (or Zaire, as it was called under Mobutu, the outsider that took the place of Lumumba) could not afford to use what little finances they had for anything apart from basic survival necessities. This was alienating in nature, but exile also proved to be enriching as well. The exile brought about the election of Lumumba which in turn proved to produce ideas that would benefit the Congo. Lumumba’s election also resulted in higher morale. When he was killed, the Congolese were still loyal and remembered what could have been under Lumumba. The Congolese passion and loyalty for Lumumba,

The late 1800’s marked the peak of imperialism throughout Europe, primarily Africa. As a new century began to evolve, many European powers aggressively decide to surmount their power in many parts of Africa. More specifically, King Leopold’s journey to conquer the Congo and exploit the lucrative rubber/ivory market accurately describes the forced efforts of tyranny. King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild explains the propaganda remunerated by people in favor and opposition of King Leopold’s conquest. It also features the contributions of journalists and writers in relation to Leopold colonizing the Congo through means of propaganda, missionaries, use of other countries, and other various other methods to end his rule and change the common perceptions of imperialism. The main goal, however, of writers in the Congo, was to let the world know of Leopold’s actions and to end his selfish ruling.

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

This research paper is focused on the colonization of the Congolese territory. There will be an analysis of the initial colonization of the territory by King Leopold II of Belgium.

Imperialism was a distorted inhumane way of the ruling of a country to transport goods and other needs. The African tribes were put through the most barbaric conditions known to man. And due to these conditions, the African society was changed forever. One of the many jobs the people of the Congo had to complete was extracting rubber from trees and bringing it back to the Europeans to sell it because many people around the world wanted to build products

The legacy of colonization in the African country of Congo has been, to say the least, devastating. Both the people and the economy had been dealt a low blow by King Leopold of Belgium’s invidious, violent regime (1885-1908). Congolese were subject to horrors by Leopold’s soldiers so barbaric that Europeans did not believe the reports of savagery at first. so After that, the Belgian government “reluctantly” took over Congo, finally granting independence to it in the early 1960s. These distressing times caused multiple fractures in the government, social hierarchy, agriculture, and economy. In the short term, women all over Africa, including Congo, lost much of their power - both economic and social. However, a lasting effect of Leopold’s rule

“Belgian colonialism had deliberately kept the African population untrained and uneducated, reduced to the status of beasts of burden...On the eve of independence, the Congo, a territory larger than Western Europe, was seriously underdeveloped. ” (Vann)

This is a tale of horror and tragedy in the Congo, beginning with the brutal and exploitative regime of King Leopold II of Belgium, and culminating with the downfall of one of Africa’s most influential figures, Patrice Lumumba. The Congo is but one example of the greater phenomenon of European occupation of Africa. The legacy of this period gives rise to persistent problems in the Congo and throughout Africa. Understanding the roots and causes of this event, as focused through the lense of the Congo, is the subject of this paper.