Henry Morton Stanley's Impact Upon Imperialist Congo

Livingstone, I presume?”. This was the formal yet informal meeting of the two. Livingstone ended up passing away shortly in 1873. Stanley was very interested in Livingstone’s explorations and wanted to continue his legacy (David Livingstone. Web). Stanley went on to continue to explore the Congo, as he was very intrigued by the resources it had to offer. He found that there was an abundance of ivory, iron, and especially rubber. He wrote about his findings and published them all throughout Europe. Stanley anticipated to develop the Congo region, but found failure in gaining the support he needed from the British. He went on to ask the Belgian king at the time - King Léopold II. Léopold was on board with Stanley’s demands and was thrilled to tap into the Congo’s wealth (Henry Stanley. Web). This marks the start of the idea to have imperialised the Congo.

Africa’s Discovery of Europe, written by David Northrup and much as its name implies, is a monograph detailing Sub-Saharan Africa, starting from 1450 to 1850. This broad timespread starts just before Columbus sailed the ocean blue and ends just beyond the Industrial Revolution. Originally published in 2002, Northrup intended for readers to see Europe from a different perspective; from the lense of African people. The title, Africa’s Discovery of Europe, is interesting within itself. In many cases, majority of people believe it was Europe that opened up the world and conquered the Americas and discovered all this new land, and a sliver of that is true, so many countries surrounding Europe were already major, active players in the modernizing world already. In this case, as Europe was discovering Africa, Africa was also discovering Europe. It switches the mind of the reader from a Eurocentric role to an African one. Northrup discusses how contact was not one-sided, and depicts accurate descriptions of African interactions amongst other Africans and Europeans. Northrup shows the reader that African people were discovering Europe very actively, not passively; African people physically go to European countries and have first-hand experiences with European people and lifestyles.

On a “Trip to Congo” Sir Richard F. Burton writes a story during his exploration to the Yellalla or Cataracts of the Congo leaving some detail insights of the customs and behavior of the African communities. He only gives his point of view from an imperialist position and sometimes denigrates and diminishes the people and their culture. Even though Burton had a translator throughout his trip the language barrier prohibits interaction with the communities and the ability to empathize with the natives. Interaction and understanding is the key to appreciate their behaviors, instead Burton

Imperialism was a negative event that happened to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country was first impressed by the Belgian king, King Leopold II. He ruled the land not as a colony but as his own. He treated the Congolese as slaves to gather him resources to help make him more wealthy. Imperialism was the worst thing that happened to the Democratic Republic of Congo, King Leopold II enslaved the people, and stripped the land of resources, punished them which ultimately lead to the Belgian government stripping him of Power

Throughout this novel we see Leopold’s secrecy as he convinces hundreds of people of his pure intentions to create an area of free trade and prosperity of the African people. He did this by holding conferences such as the Geographical Conference. There he explained his fictitious aspiration for the abolishment of the slave trade and for peace in Africa. This colonial

There are many economic opportunities in Africa, in the form of slave trading and natural resources. Natural resources, such as gold, cotton, ivory, gum, diamonds, sisal, and more (Doc D). This means that if European countries were to colonize these regions and export the resources, they could potentially profit from the vast resources. This is proven by document E, which shows Great Britain’s export totals, starting in 1854, where exports totaled £2.2 million, to 1900 where exports £22 million, meaning that not only was Britain able to import resources from Africa, they were also able to export many resources to the continent. A final piece of evidence can be seen in document A, which

a) Marco Polo (Italian adventurer) returned to Europe in 1295, telling of his journey in China. His book with descriptions of goods made him an indirect discoverer of the New World.

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

When a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, economically, or socially, they are practicing imperialism. It’s a simple way to outsource manufacturing, get cheap labor, and have access to raw materials. Imperialism is perfect solution to those with power, yet it comes at the expense of the ‘lower’ countries bolstering their success. I believe colonized countries should receive reparations from their imperialist powers because most countries that were colonized suffered severe brutalization, were used to the advantage of others, and left without means to support themselves.

Indeed supporters of the Explorers believe that without them we would not have the New World. Even if he wasn't the first his goal was to find a route

Marco Polo went on a 20 year voyage to what he thought was Asia and returned with stories of the mysterious land that further pushed Europeans to find a new trade route. Before the 15th century sub Saharan Africa was unknown to Europe. However; due to new and improved ships the journey became more plausible. Portuguese quickly set up trading posts for gold and enslaved African. Slave trading soon became big business. And finally Portuguese sailor Vasco de Gama made it to India around the tip of Africa in 1498. Meanwhile the unification in Spain inspired them to also look for a

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

Imperialism is the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies. In 1870, the European powers took over the African Congo and enslaved the natives. Moreover, they were forced to work the land, so the Europeans could obtain the products they needed by using a cheap labor force to turn around and sell them at a profit. These products included such commodities as rubber, diamonds and coffee (A New World Order: Imperialism and World War I). Unfortunately, the people of the Congo were beaten, over worked, raped, and even killed by the European powers if they did not do their job correctly or if they refused to do their task entirely. Eventually,

Bartolomeu Dias was born in 1450 in Portugal. On his first voyage, he was sent to find a way to get into the Indian ocean. The current king of Portugal, João Ⅱ was very interested in a mysterious Christian kingdom in Africa, so when he sent explorers to find this kingdom in Ethiopia. Once he sent out explorers, he started a new project, finding a way around the very most Southern tip of Africa. He put Dias in charge of this expedition. In 1487 Dias’ trio of ships, he started by following the coastline. The coastline was previously

He left a trail of death wherever he traveled through the Congo, making him feared among the Africans but was known as a hero at England.