During the early 19th century, Europeans had hardly penetrated the inner lands of Africa and their presence in the coastal regions consisted of small spheres of influence. As the century progressed, the presence of Europeans in Africa became more significant due to the growth of the international economy. As European nations expanded their influence in Africa the actions of Belgian King, Leopold II, were influential to the shaping of the continent at the end of the century. King Leopold wanted to claim the Congo as his own private territory, so he could use the land to make money. However, Leopold could not just claim the Congo as his own. Therefore, he created the Comite’ d’Etudes du Haut Congo to send philanthropic missions to the Congo open …show more content…
As a response de Brazza called for the French government to ratify the treaty. The ratification of this treaty increased the presence of Europe’s scramble for Africa, and this threatened Leopold’s goal regarding the Congo. Leopold now faced a dilemma because the Leopold’s Congo was not recognized as a formal state and this meant Leopold, “would have no legal right to expel the Arabs, the French, or anyone else, and these raiders would soon reach Stanley Pool” (Jeal, 275). New foreign influence in the Congo would hinder his goal of owning the Congo, but it would also expose his actions in the Congo were not based on Livingstonian ideals. Under great pressure to maintain control of the Congo Leopold offered the French a deal that would satisfy them while keeping them away from the Congo. “He had offered France first option on AIC’s territories, exercisable in the event of his financial collapse” (Jeal, 280). This deal erased the French’s fear that the British may end up with control of the Congo because is the AIC fell the French would assume control. Along with this France also backed of their missions to the Congo because they did not want to do anything to threaten the AIC. In the end the French agreed to recognize the AIC as a state due to the ‘first option’ plan, which was a big step towards Leopold’s long term goal for the Congo. Leopold manipulated Stanley in a different way in this situation by not telling him of the deal he made with the French. He did this in order to inhibit Stanley’s opinions which did not match with Leopold’s plan for keeping control of the Congo. However, an international conference between the European powers to determine the fate of the Congo was in the near future and Stanley’s knowledge of the Congo would
My main focus on the History of the Congo was King Leopold and his total takeover of the country without ever once stepping foot in the region himself. King Leopold of Belgium who was nicknamed “The Butcher of Congo” slaughtered around ten million Africans in the Congo region between his rule over the country from 1885-1908. Léopold was the king of Belgium for forty-four years until his death in 1909. His rule over the Congo started with the scramble for Africa during the Berlin conference in 1884-1885. European countries like France, Great Britain, and Germany started looking towards Africa because they felt like they were preordained to expand their culture abroad but the underlining reason was because to profit off of the abundance of untouched natural resources Africa possessed. They all set up a meeting to discuss how Africa would be split up. Note at these meetings no Africans that actually were inhabitants of the region were present. At the end of the Berlin conference, European countries had claimed almost ninety percent of African territory. Britain had the most stakes in
King Leopold II developed his dream for colonization at an early age. Before he even took the throne he was on the lookout for unconquered land that could later be in his possession. The king wanted to become rich as a result of his new land through the process of trading. Once King Leopold II set his sights on the Congo, he would not give up until the land was his. He connived, manipulated and conned his way into the land. He did not care who got hurt; he just wanted his dream to be fulfilled.
European Imperialism heavily impacted the African continent through culturally, economic, and political ideas. This era of history is heavily drenched in the aspect of ethnocentrism, which is the belief that one’s own culture is superior that of another. The Europeans colonized Africa believing that they could bring civilization, but they were often ignorant of Africa’s very complex societies. The European powers divided up the continent of Africa among themselves, without any consent from the people who actually lived there. The tribal stratification was changed to a caste system where racial, ethnic, and religious differences were of utmost importance, as delegated by European rule. The structure and business of the African economy was
During the 1870’s Europeans started colonizing countries in Africa.Europrans did this because they needed all of Africa's valuable resources.Africa was a big target because they were not very modernized in technology so it was easier for the Europeans to sieze control. The Europeans controlled Africa in two ways direct and indirect rule. Direct rule is when the country in charge rules strictly over the country and they try to civilize the people they are ruling. Indirect ruling is when the country in charge is ruling from far away and they usually rule through a native leader. Imperialism negatively affected the lives of the Africans in the 19th and 20th century because the education the Europeans provided for the Africans was of poor quality,
The land Leopold had “was as large as the entire United States east of the Mississippi.” (Hochschild 72). At his point Leopold needed someone to recognize his claim on the Congo as legitimate. In 1883, ex American minister to Belgium and now Belgian kings advocate, Henry Shelton Stanford went to Washington DC to meet with President Chester A. Arthur (Hochschild 76). During this visit Stanford explained “Leopold’s great work of civilization… was much like the generous work the United States itself had done in Liberia.” (Hochschild 77). Stanford alluded that Americans would be able to purchase land and trade with the Congo. In 1884 the Senate recognized Leopold’s claim on the Congo (Hochschild 80). Soon afterwards came the Berlin Conference, which was a way to resolve conflicting claims, yet “not a single African was at the table in Berlin.” (Hochschild 84). The self-proclaimed “Emperor of the Congo” benefited greatly from this Conference, and was seen as a hero (Hochschild 87). Both Stanley and Stanford were in attendance and looked for ways to give their friend an advantage, finally Leopold had the colony he dreamed of (Hochschild 87). Leopold eventually decided he needed to add steamboats and railways to his colony. But he was running out of money to do this, eventually selling bonds and private investors due to no one wanting to lend him money (Hochschild 92). Yet still Leopold wanted more
King Leopold was no exception to this trend, he wanted to expand his kingdom and gain vast riches. Leopold tried to obtain various areas around the world to be placed under Belgium rule. During the mid 1880 's, Leopold was able to convince the international community to give control of the Congo to an organization he owned, Camouflaged as a Philanthropic and scientific group. "Leopold pledged to suppress the East African slave trade; promote humanitarian policies; guarantee free trade within the colony; impose no import duties for twenty years; and encourage philanthropic and scientific enterprises."(Pavlakis, 2010).
The Belgian Congo, as Zaire and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were formerly called was the creation of King Leopold of Belgium who desperately wanted a colony. By the late 19th century there was little land left for the taking except in Africa and it had become obvious that taking over independent lands was neither wise nor practical. King Leopold II, King of the Belgians, was a man of enormous appetites both for land and food—he once ate two whole pheasants at a restaurant in Paris, and it was not unusual for him to order several entrees. His colony was 75 times larger than Belgium.
A key issue created by this rapid seizure of Africa was the disputes over land claims. Major forces of the Colonialism, such as Britain, France, and Portugal, were joined by three new opponents, Germany, Italy, and Belgium, which all became independent states only a few decades earlier (Crump 298). These new countries were able to match the great powers by creating considerable industrial sectors (Blanning 225). The largest controversy was over the Congo, which three countries believed they had a claim: Belgium, France, and Portugal. Belgium’s King Leopold II sent explorers such as Henry Morton Stanley to study the region of the Congo (Chamberlain 50). Leopold claimed to be providing education and religious teachings to the indigenous people. In actuality, he created political treaties with kings and tribal leaders in the region that transferred sovereignty of the area to him. France had settled a town in the Congo Basin in 1849 called Libreville (McKown 53). Specifically, Libreville was located in Gabon along the mouth of the Ogoué River, north of the Congo River. The French settled in this area, believing
Leopold believed oversea colonies were the key to a country’s greatest, so he worked to obtain colonial territory for Belgium. Neither of the Belgian people and government were interested in his “plan”. Soon after he was turned down by the government and people, Leopold began to develop a colony in his private capacity as a typical citizen. After several ineffective schemes in Africa and/or Asia, he organized a private holding company which was called, “Association Internationale Africaine”. It was disguised as an International Scientific and Philanthropic Association in 1876. Leopold hired a famous explorer named Henry Stanley to establish a colony in the Congo region. Stanley gained control of the land from local chiefs through “doth and trinket” treaties. The chiefs assumed they were signing a friendship treaty, instead they were selling their land. Leopold was free to rule the Congo Free State as a personal domain, and soon he was the sole ruler of about thirty million people.
In an attempt to attain colonies for Belgium, Leopold acquired a colony of his own as a private citizen. Leopold was able to establish a private holding company known as the “Association Internationale Africaine”. This company was publically intended to be an international scientific and philanthropic association; however under the guise of this company Leopold hired a Henry Morton Stanley to acquire a colony in the Congo. Stanley was able to gain the land by deceiving the chiefs into signing land deal when they thought they were signing friendship treaties. This colony would be known as the Congo Free State after the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885 when the representatives of 14 European countries as well as the United States recognized Leopold’s claim to most of the land that he had acquired. When everything was said and done the Congo Free State was 905,000 square miles, 76 times larger than Belgium. Leopold had total control over an area 76 times larger than the country he ruled, giving him the ability and the power to do whatever he wished. Though Leopold privately
The Europeans became invested in Africa in the start of the 17th Century when the Dutch established a port on the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa to grant their ships extended range to better access the rich Indies. Modern day South Africa, known at the time as Pretoria, was a hotly contested place among the European powers. Initially there was not much to attract Europeans to the area besides its great strategic location. Dutch settlers, also known as Boers, were apt to travel inland and constantly established properties beyond the official borders of their colony. The migration of the Boers often translated to skirmishes with native African tribes. The British also established a colony on the Cape of Good Hope. The Brits sometimes brokered treaties and attempted to keep the Boers and tribes from fighting amongst each other. In the middle of the 19th century Britain controlled the colonies of the Cape and Natal. The British colonies extended from the Cape to the North and around the eastern sea-shore, nearly to Portuguese Mozambique. The Boers occupied two interior colonies: The Orange Free State and the Transvaal. The African tribes were positioned in between all of the colonies.
The close of the nineteenth century came with one of the most conspicuous forms of imperialism ever experienced in modern history. Just like many other Europeans, king Leopold was fascinated by illustrious accounts of explorers from Africa and he wanted a share of the wealth and power. Through careful scheming, he ultimately established himself a territory, which he called The Congo Free state. Congo was endowed with ivory and rubber, which could be harnessed and
Looking at a map one can see that the African borders are very straight. This is because during “The Scramble for Africa” European leaders sat in a room and carved up Africa. During 1881, King Leopold The Second of Belgium colonized the Congo and named it the The Congo Free State. A main deciding factor in King Leopold’s colonisation was to exploit the Congo’s vast and lucrative resources. King Leopold gained economic advantages by seizing natural resources such as rubber, by establishing a large trade route going north to south of the country and by using the country's native people as slaves which devastated the country and ended the lives of many. It was because of King Leopold's ruthless rule over the Congo and the extraction of the countries natural resources that brought the Belgians riches beyond
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
In the late 1800s, imperialism occurred. It was the time for European countries to try to take as much as they could of African lands. European believed that countries should have empires in order to be strong . UK and France had the most land area in Africa. Leopold believed that he should settle in some territory in Africa to