King Leopold: The Belgian Congo

The impact of King Leopold II’s reign sent shock waves overseas. Despite his worldwide campaign to paint himself as Congo’s savior, King Leopold

Barna da Siena’s Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine and Other Scenes from 1340 is vastly different in content, composition, and a number of other attributes from Fra Carnevale’s 1467 painting Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple. It is clear between the roughly hundred years between when the two were painted that advancements in realistic painting soared and a further appreciation for realism and humanism developed. The need to portray more than just the holy subjects, and to show how far painting had evolved is evident in the differences between Barna and Fra Carnevale’s works. Although, the emotion behind Barna’s work, and its significance are, in my eyes, far greater than that of Fra Carnevale’s.

European powers began to take over territories throughout the continent of Africa during the 19th century. Historian Adam Hochschild’s depiction of King Leopold of Belgium was written in 1998 and titled, King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Hochschild talked extensively about the greed for money and slavery resulting in the genocide of the Congo and the protests of humanitarians that followed the King’s exploitation of Africans. In his thesis, the author stated that “[t]his is the story of that movement, of the savage crime that was its target, of the long period of exploration and conquest that preceded it, and of the way the world has forgotten one of the great mass killings of recent history.”

Independence could either be the uprising of a new and better maintained country or the uprising of a very deadly war. Kenya and Congo were very alike in terms of how they got to become independent, but how they handled it was the difference. Just like Congo and Kenya many other countries have their differences and similarities. For example, Congo had a much more violent approach to the situation unlike Kenya. Congo took everything very offensive, which is why the there was much tension between the colonies and the African countries. Kenya tried to fix their problem by not ignoring the important things and realizing that things can be fixed.

Since the late 1800’s, almost all of Africa had been under European colonial rule, but this changed drastically in 1960. Sixteen African nations gained their independence that year, including the former Belgian Congo, which became the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 30. One of the key personalities that made this possible was Patrice Lumumba, who experienced widespread support in gaining independence and became the first Prime Minister of the DROC. However, he lost much of this support once he was in office, and lasted fewer than 200 days. Lumumba’s ability to communicate was a key reason for his success and failure.

Italy can be looked at as the home of the renaissance and consequently the immergence of great art. Artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, Da Vinci, and Raphael are some of the greats and are looked at for standards. But what about the artists whose lives are mysteries, and their works that were influenced by the greats? These artists hold just as much importance in the history of art as do the artist’s whose names can be recalled off the top of an average person’s head. During the sixteenth century things began to change in the art world, and that change was the Baroque. This new style of art brought a revolution to how subject matter was painted, it brought upon “… a radical reconsideration of art and its purposes…” (249) and how artists of all ranks could learn to paint the up and coming style of Baroque.

Moral traits are shaped by the culture you’ve grown up in. This can be found true in the novel The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, characters prove in many ways how their culture shows through the approach to the Price family. The Price family moved to the Kilanga to spread the word of Jesus Christ. While on their mission they come to meet a individual by the name of Anatole Ngemba that shows how the Congo does define a person's character but by their actions only.

Morel was one of the bigger people that helped end King Leopold's reign over the Congo. He was employed by Elder Dumpster to supervise the arrival and departure of ships coming to or from the Congo. Just like Sheppard and Williams he saw the atrocities that Leopold was doing to the territory. He did dabble with freelance writing which he then used to write about what he saw. Elder Dempster did try keep him quiet, but Morel decided to devote his life to exposing Leopold’s plans.

The second king of Belgians, King Leopold II, were admired throughout European. He was first known for his generous and noble act, sacrificing his time and fortune to benefits the Africans. Of course, Edmund Dene Morel learned the truth behind King Leopold II’s practices of slave labors and eventually brought it to the public eyes. King Leopold II was able to keep the horrific practices of slavery murder, and mutilation of millions in the Congo hidden from the rest of the world for roughly two decades through propagandas. As stated on page 1, “ … the troop, it is said, fought, and defeated local slave-traders who preyed on the population, and for more than a decade European newspaper has praised him for investing his personal fortune in public works to benefit the Africans.” Newspaper bragging about King Leopold II’s selfless service to the Africans was preventing the people from seeing the truth about his true practices.

The painting The Holy Family with Saints Anne and John the Baptist, 1592 (oil on canvas) was created by Italian painter Sofonisba Anguissola (c.1532-1625). It is currently held at the Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, as a gift from Mrs. Forbes Hawkes and Bridgeman Images. This painting is among the unique pious narrative paintings by Anguissola. “The Holy Family” is the last dated painting by the artist. It was executed when she had just returned to Italy after spending 14 years working for King Philip II at the Spanish court. By this time, she had already married to a Genoese ship captain. Her various visits to court and her personal contacts with great painter at that time largely inspired herself. Through these contacts, she successfully stayed in touch with current developments in art. By closely observing this masterpiece, I argue that the artist perfectly sustain the beauty of counter-reformation arts in her work by use of light and shadow, delicate brushwork and accurate proportions of each subjects.

Many of us today have things in our culture that we appreciate without thinking about where they have come from. The things we enjoy so much could be from another culture, and even another place in time. This document will explore the influence of Italian Renaissance art on today's civilization, which has greatly changed the art of today.

This is a tale of horror and tragedy in the Congo, beginning with the brutal and exploitative regime of King Leopold II of Belgium, and culminating with the downfall of one of Africa’s most influential figures, Patrice Lumumba. The Congo is but one example of the greater phenomenon of European occupation of Africa. The legacy of this period gives rise to persistent problems in the Congo and throughout Africa. Understanding the roots and causes of this event, as focused through the lense of the Congo, is the subject of this paper.

(Mandela pg.294) Mandela was the first democratic President of South Africa. Both leaders took action to develop a democratic country and became well known political leaders of their respective countries. Like Mandela, Maathai was dealing with a corrupt government that both leaders felt needed change.

Houphouëtism, known as “the culture of dialogue and peace,” was a leadership style similar to a kind of “political engineering,” that was left behind by the political-mastermind, Felix Houphouët Boigny, a political legacy. Houphouët began by leading Côte d'Ivoire to a negotiated independence in 1960, and he continued to lead until his death in 1993. To this day, he is considered “the father of the nation” but life in Côte d'Ivoire has not been the same since his death (Akindes, 2004).

A charismatic, dedicated, and zealous leader, Patrice Emery Lumumba (1925-1961) was a civil servant, activist, and the first democratically elected Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During his lifetime, Lumumba was very active in African politics and supported the Pan-Africanist movement