Imperialism In Central Africa

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.

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.

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

Today, the Congo is an undeveloped, poor, and corrupt country. The life expectancy is around 43 years due to the lack of protection and unhealthy living conditions. According to The World Bank, around 64 percent of the whole population is living in poverty. In fact, it is the seventh poorest country in the world, just below Madagascar, as well as being the third least developed country under Cape Verde (Nations Online). This is because “The Republic of the Congo still struggles with their economy due to its historical inability to form on its own” (Mckinley). After the Congo was finally able to gain independence from Belgium, they were unable to keep strong markets. This inevitably led to an increase of poverty. Additionally, a country’s GDP (gross domestic product) per capita can determine how well a country is doing economically. The GDP per capita is calculated by dividing total gross domestic product by the total population in the country. Today, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has a GDP per capita of 484.21 USD. This is relatively low compared to other countries; for example, the United States of America’s GDP per capita is around 53,041.98 USD (World Bank). After Belgium granted the Congolese independence, years of being under Belgian control resulted in an inhibition to develop. The African country “were not yet ready for independence”(Scheyven). Their monarchy was inexperienced, which caused an

The Republic of Congo was colonized by the Belgians under the ruling of King Leopold II. He exploited the natural resources and the natives for his selfish reasons. Nearly half its population were worked to death, whipped, dismembered, executed outright or sent running into the bush to die of starvation and disease in a pitiless quest for first ivory and then rubber. Whereas, India was subjugated to Great Britain. Great Britain was able to exploit India’s natural resources because of the control they had over the country. They made the raw materials like cotton and tea be sold and exported for a cheap price while they make money off of other countries through tariffs. When these two western countries left their colonies their cultures, infrastructure,

Imperialism had a vast impact on the Congo’s economy. The first thing the Belgians wanted was control over the Congo’s economy, so that they could have their supplies of ivory and rubber.

Belgium had joined the rest of Europe in its creation of colonies and decided they needed their own, and in their journey to find one, they found the Congo.

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

King Leopold is fully responsible for the effects of the Congo Free State because of what he did to colonize it. First, he privately established a colony in the region through his private holding company, the Association Internationale Africaine, and through his famous explorer Henry Morton Stanley. From then on, he slowly gained full control of the area by making advantageous deals with local chiefs. In a

Starting from the European colonization period, Congo has constantly been plagued with foreign interference, namely by external countries and multinational corporations looking to gain wealth. They have demolished the “magnificent African cake” systematically throughout the years, starting primarily from Leopold’s Congo Free state, which he ruled single handedly, to the modern day Democratic Republic of Congo. Leopold began his regime by holding conferences regarding Africa, and formed organizations that he claimed would aid Africa. Not only did Leopold abuse the abundance of natural resources out of greed, he also destroyed the economy, political system, and the people for generations to come. Leopold’s framework of a Congo whose resources

In contrast to French or Britain rule, where indirect rule was preferred. But, despite the success, the Congo was extremely segregated. Large number of white people would immigrate here and become superior to African Americans because of their skin color, not matter how high on the social spectrum the white person is. During the 1940’- 50’s the Congo had very big amount urbanisation. The Country’s colonial administration began various development programs to change the territory into a “model colony”. This resulted in a new middle class of Europeanised African in cities developed. By 1950 the Congo had a wage labor force two times as big as that in any other African country. In 1960 as a result of widespread radical pro-independence movement, the Congo achieved its full independence. Thus becoming the Republic of Congo-Leopoldville under the rule of Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Kasa-Vubu. The Congo had not gotten its separation from Belgian forces helping the native people. Political factions inside the Congo’s economy and political structure had very poor relations evolved into continued involvement of Belgium in Congolese

First, the European Imperialism in Africa is going to be taken into account in order to explain British Colonialism in West Africa. At the beginning of the 20th century, several powers - France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal - were struggling desperately for more land and more control. The aim was to gain power and prestige by acquiring territories in other parts of the world. The interplay of economic, political, military and social factors generated a sparkling interest in African territories. Therefore, the Berlin Conference, in 1884–1885, was held to draw lines on maps and determine European possession of Africa. Thirty years later, most of the African continent was under European control. In order to make this possible,

King Leopold II’s notorious reign in the Congo was famously marked by “brutality, the mistreatment of the natives, and the deliberate plundering and looting of natural resources such as ivory and rubber” (Shihada 14). In Europe, the colonization of Africa was justified on the grounds that not only would it bring wealth to Europe, it would also civilize and educate the "savage" African natives (Litcharts). Unfortunately, as Conrad put it the conquest was more about dominating the native people and stripping the land of its natural resources.

In order to understand these colonial legacies it is necessary that we go back nearly 150 years to the beginnings of Belgian exploration of what was once the great Kingdom of Kongo. The Scramble for Africa brought with it a large change in how the European continent interacted with the African one. According to A History of Modern Africa by Richard Reid, “ As for explorers, these were increasingly employed-quietly or otherwise- essentially as commercial agents, working for government-chartered companies and pushing into the interior to discover the continent’s economic potential.” One of these such explorers was Henry Morton Stanley who was commissioned by King Leopold of Belgium to explore the Congo basin. Stanley was quick to discover the possible wealth in the polity and report it back to the Belgian King. This led to the development of the Congo Free State. In 1885 at the Berlin “West Africa Conference” an important decision was made According to Reid “Leopold’s authority in the Congo basin was recognized, in return for which European traders were allowed free access to the region; thus the Congo Free State was born, a