Imperialism In The Congo Research Paper

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,

King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild explains the lead up to and the establishment of the Congo Free State under Belgium. Hochschild does so through many accounts of the life going on inside the Congo during the exploration of the Africa and the beginning of an established government in the Congo. The death toll during Leopold’s reign could have reached over 10 million before the Belgium government would take the Congo away from the out of control Leopold. This could make the Leopold’s Congo one of the worst genocides in human history. Unfortunately there was no basis for recording the murders by Leopold’s officers, so we will never know the exact figure of the death toll.

creates a lack of understanding between the social groups in the Congo and their own

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

Some preface before delving deep into the roots of the Congo Genocide is that before all of this happened there was King Leopold II who was in the throne of Belgium from 1865 until he died in 1909. The Congo Free State occupied almost all the Congo River basin however, now it exists as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was formed in the 1880’s as a private property by a group of European investors, and formed by King Leopold II. King Leopold II brought his attention to the Congo during the exploration of the Congo River by Henry Morton Stanley in 1874-1877. In November of 1877 Leopold formed the Committee for Studies of the Upper Congo and opened trade between Europe and The Congo through the Congo River. Between 1879 and 1882, with help from sponsors Stanley created posts in the upper Congo and created negotiations with local rulers. By the time that 1884 rolled around, their Association Internationale du Congo had signed treaties with 450 independent African tribes and regions, and with that they declared the right to govern all their territory as a singular state; this state of 905,000 square miles with an area seventy-six times as large as Belgium. King Leopold II was to

In the late 19th century, the Congo was but a peaceful African country – a land rich in farms, rainforests, and hard workers, but by the time the imperialist King Leopold II finally ceded the Congo Free State to Belgium in 1908, the Congo was without 10 million people and those that remained were scarred with terrible memories. Imperialist countries seek to expand their empire or create an empire by taking control of another country for a number of reasons including political, social, cultural, military, and economic dominance. Africa was a coveted continent to be colonized especially by Europeans because of its abundance of natural resources that were highly profitable and in high demand. Belgium was one of those imperialist European countries

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.

At these moments, life in the Congo is a living nightmare. The eastern provinces of the Congo see violence every day. Women are getting raped at alarming rates. Children are constantly abused and forced to become child soldiers. There are no sources of medicine or even clean water. Anyone can get murdered at any time, and no one is even safe in their own homes.

Between the years 1884-1912, European powers were in competition to acquire African colonies. This was the emergence of the new age of imperialism and what historians refer to as the scramble for Africa. By the end of the 19th century, all of Africa with the exception of Liberia and Ethiopia was divided amongst European powers. During that time, the Belgium government had no interest in imperializing Africa except for their King, Leopold II. Due to lack of support from the Belgium government, King Leopold independently gained private possession of the Congo. While King Leopold embodied the ideas of imperialism, he did not effectively demonstrate the civilized mission, but instead exploited workers in desperation to acquire imperial power. The atrocities committed under his rule went unacknowledged for decades until the publication of reports exposed the atrocities in the Congo. The widespread exposure King Leopold was a catalyst in his removal.

Firstly, the Belgians abused their power in the Congo. The Belgians stole land from the Congolese. This led to a widespread famine, for the Congolese previously used much of this land for hunting and

• The famine continued to spread, the population did not recover. • What were the long-term results of the conflict? • One of the long term effects of the Congo genocide was that because of King Leopold II the Congolese people lost their heritage and culture. To this day, Congo continues to struggle economically (Kenneth, The Effects of King Leopold…).

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.

What is imperialism? According to Britannica, imperialism is a state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas. Belgium taking over the Congo is an example of this. The Congo was a peaceful country, located in the heart of Africa, consisting of warm sunny days and beautiful Lake Malebo. The people were free, and happy. This was before the hell started… King Léopold II was the reason for this to happen. Léopold found the Congo and immediately fell in love with all the resources that flourished there. Léopold then went on to colonizing the Congo and taking it in for his own. He colonized the

Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest

The people of Congo have had a rough time throughout history. After World War II Congo had a civil war which began immediately after Congo became independent in 1960 and ended 1965. It was called The Congo War. The Congo Crisis was a proxy war, America was on one side and the Soviet Union was on the other. The war killed around 100,000 people in total. Later another civil war caused by two Ethnic groups which started in the 1993 and ended 1994, this was known as The Second Congo War : which was followed by another war that was continuation of the two Ethnic groups fight and It lasted 5 June 1997 and continuing until December 1999.