Differences Between The Belgian And British Colonies

Similarities and Differences Between the Main Colonial Powers Almost immediately after the New World was discovered, countries all around the world began financing voyages to the newly discovered land for reasons such as exploitation, settlement and simple curiosity. Before the American Revolution, there were three main countries that dominated the colonization of America: France, Spain, and England. All of these countries did things similarly and differently that eventually led to the English colonists having control over the country. Some of these similarities included the rigidity of the colonies’ central government and the diversity of their economies. Some of the differences include the population growth within each country’s colonies and each country’s relations with the Native Americans.

In order to achieve his dream, King Leopold II wanted to be sure that no other country got in his way. Belgium was a small country and Leopold knew that his country posed no threat to others. If he started to conquer the Congo, other

A contrast of the colonies are where they settled. The early English colonies settled mostly in Virginia and Massachusetts but quickly spread from Maine to Georgia and even to the Mississippi River. The French Colonies settled in parts of Canada, the Mississippi River, Quebec, and Louisiana. While the Spanish colonies claimed most of the south/southwestern regions including Florida, New Mexico, and places in Texas, and California. Another difference would be where the population of the colonists came from. In English colonies the population arose from specialist such as lumberman and sawmill workers, middle-class farmers, tradesman, convicted criminals, and immigrants from other countries were also allowed over. A similarity between the French

Both English and French have different reasons to be motivated in establishing a colony in the Americas. To the French, their main reasons for establishing a colony in the Americas seems to be their close connection with the fur trade.

The English and French both developed colonies in the Americas with the purpose of expanding and growing their territory. The beginning of the England’s colonization in America started with James I and Charles I’s religious forces pushing for a civil war. The English were happy to ship Puritans and Catholics across the sea. So those who were unhappy at home, had the opportunity to go live in a new place that accepted their religious beliefs (Jones, 36). While the beginning of France’s colonization in America began in the 1600s, after France’s domestic situation improved, King Henry IV decided it was time to build colonies within the Americas. Both nations had difference in their ways of governing, developing relationships with Indians, and handling the demand for labor in the New World.

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.

Throughout history people have been conquered or have been suppressed. In the years between 1800 and 2000, Europeans nations such as Belgium colonized Africa. These European powers subjugated the African people for their economic and influence gain. When these nations had these motives, the “Scramble of Africa” started and Africa was conquered. Therefore, the Berlin Conference is formed to decide the property of each European nation in Africa. When this conference took place, Belgium verified that their King Leopold will hold the territory of the Congo, by lobbying other nations. When King Leopold took power, many catastrophes took place, however other events helped the Congo develop. Therefore, colonialism cannot be judged by the Belgians

From Rome conquering and expanding across Europe to modern civilizations attempting to colonize space, expansion and exploration have always been an inevitable part in any developed country. This is especially true with the discovery of the Americas in the seventeenth century with many countries rushing over to the new land. During the 1600s, both the French and the English discovered and explored North America in search of wealth. The French initially built stations along the coast in order to trade with the Native Americans, but eventually established their first outpost in 1608 near the river by Quebec where there was fertile ground, allowing easy access to farming and water (Jones 2013, p.32). The English, on the other hand, had significant

Colonies, colonies, we all should know that a colony is a region of land that is under the political control of another country. The reason for colonies is Queen Elizabeth wanted to grow Britain and encounter Spanish. There are 13 colonies divided into three groups, Northern, southern and middle. The reason for this is that they all have idiosyncratic backgrounds. The New England (Northern), Southern, and Middle colonies are different, particularly in terms of land, labor, religion, native relations, and etc. One might think that all of the British colonies in the new world were all the same. That’s false statement. The colonies, although they were all British they had some similarities but mainly they had differences.

American do not like under full control by anybody. Proof that the Americans do not like being control by others is that they separated themselves from Britain. They were sick of live under Britain.

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.

5 years later, Belgians began to revolt and demanded for independence, one of the reasons was because of their religion. To understand this revolution you have to start in the beginning when the Spanish ruled the Low country areas, they forced their ideals onto the region. Then came the time where the French took over but the Dutch community along with the Dutch themselves revolted against French occupation. Ironically in the Belgian revolution, the Belgians received support from the French. You see, the Belgians were and still are strong Catholic believers and the Dutch reign was Protestant. The history of this revolution sparked social turmoil and created the current borders, political parties and linguistic. After Belgium's independence,