The Birth Of Leopold's Congo Free State

It is widely debated why exactly King Leopold decided to conquer the Congo, but the general consensus seems to be that it was out of the belief that “the highlands of the Congo may be as rich in gold as the mountains of the western slope of the American Continent” (Stead). In the mid-1870s, the King hired Henry Stanley, who was familiar with many parts of Africa, to help him go about conquering. During the following years Stanley stayed in Africa, talking various tribes into signing over their lands and rights. After this was completed the King officially took over the Congo, renaming it the Congo Free State. This was especially ironic because all natives of the country were either forced to give up

King Leopold II soon created the International Association of the Congo, which was nothing more than another cover up for the king's sole mission. Leopold managed to get a piece he authored published that stated that the International African Association "was sort of a ‘Society of the Red Cross; it has been formed with the noble aim of rendering lasting and disinterested services to the cause of progress' (66)". The king managed to fool almost everyone and receive some donations for his "humanitarian" endeavors.

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.

Leopold never actually stepped foot in Congo, he had used explorers such as Stanley Mortan and other white men to establish the colony for him. To sneakily undergo his objectives without other countries noticing, he created organizations in which he could operate under. For instance, the International African Association to stop the outspread of slavery. Leopold additionally hosted conference meetings to speak on human rights. “If he was to seize anything in Africa, he could do so only if he convinced everyone that his interest was purely altruistic”. (46) King Leopold succeeded at convincing every one of his goodwill, that he was supported financially from the Belgian government in introducing free trade and religion in the Congo.

Meanwhile, Leopold was able to develop his own economic system, which he leased areas in Congo to different European companies, which he made 50 percent of the wealth gained. “In setting up this structure, Leopold was like the manager of a venture capital syndicate today. He had essentially found a way to attract other people's capital to his investment schemes while he retained half the proceeds.” (Hochschild 117). Most women and children were raped and sometimes treated and hunted like animals for entertainment purposes. Most of the Congolese slaves were tortured and whip by chicotte. Belgium soldiers cut of the hand and leg of the Congolese slaves especially if they don't meet their required it was a way for them to have fun, some even had a skull of slave as part of decorations in front of their house. “For each cartridge issued to their soldiers they demanded proof that the bullet had

William Sheppard was a black man who called out Leopold's injustice in the Congo. Interestingly enough, he was supported by white supremacists who help in the idea of getting African Americans back to Africa. He was one of the first missionary black american missionary in the Congo. He worked there for about 20 years writing articles, speeches, and a book. He worked with the Kuba people who were artists. But unfortunately, the was ransacked when King Leopold discovered the profits he could make with rubber. Leopold used forced labor and made villages meet a certain quota before letting go of hostages/food. It was pretty terrible. William Shepard came to investigate to what had happened and found destroyed villages and corpses. He then went

King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild is a sweeping and often revolting account of the atrocities of the Belgian colonization of the Congo and its aftermath. Using a variety of writing techniques, Hochschild creates an engrossing narrative which not only unveils a dark chapter in our global history, but also fosters an empathy in the reader to the victims of the barbarity of the time.

The Congolese Enslaved State The Congo Free State was established by King Leopold II in 1885 after he was given the colony during the Berlin Conference (Hochschild). He appointed Stanley and other agents to rule the land for him on his orders. His men were motivated by wealth, as was Leopold, to the extent that the brutal torture of the Congolese was commonplace and accepted by the men in charge. The people fought back to no avail, and Leopold’s men ruled the Congo, pulling in mass amounts of wealth with ivory and rubber. This led to high production and a large death toll.

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

The book, Congo: The Epic History of a People by David Van Reybrouck, bring this idea of colonialization, which mean forcing ideas on people, reorganized of the world, a fantasy that has to be inforce, conquering territories and changing the culture and life of the people. It is very clear in the book that author focus more into the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo through the Belgian colonialism and the decolonization process.

The legacy of colonization in the African country of Congo has been, to say the least, devastating. Both the people and the economy had been dealt a low blow by King Leopold of Belgium’s invidious, violent regime (1885-1908). Congolese were subject to horrors by Leopold’s soldiers so barbaric that Europeans did not believe the reports of savagery at first. so After that, the Belgian government “reluctantly” took over Congo, finally granting independence to it in the early 1960s. These distressing times caused multiple fractures in the government, social hierarchy, agriculture, and economy. In the short term, women all over Africa, including Congo, lost much of their power - both economic and social. However, a lasting effect of Leopold’s rule

Women played an important role in the campaign for public support for reform of King Leopold II’s Congo Free State and the forced labor that took place there. Both in the Congo and in Europe women influenced the perception and reaction to the État Indépendant du Congo and the Congolese people. The treatment of Congolese women by the Force Publique and white colonial officials such as Léon Rom inspired both sympathy from European missionaries and rebellion from the Congolese. While in Europe and America reformers like Englishwomen Alice Harris and Mary Morel campaigned for reform in the Congo Free State. Through newspaper articles, organizations and photographs they swayed many influential members of English and American society — church and government officials, businessmen, and authors — to their side. The Congo Reform Association(CRA) also had two women on its executive council. Through their treatment at the hands of the regime, involvement in public campaigns against Leopold, and a sex scandal, women in the both the Congo and in Europe encouraged opposition to King Leopold II’s draconian rule of the État Indépendant du Congo.

Colonial rule in the Congo started in 1908 when King Leopold II of Belgium had the government support colonial expansion, known as Imperialism, in the unexplored Congo Basin. King Leopold II colonized Congo himself, with support from many other Western Countries, making the Congo Free State. The Congo Free State is recognition for a personal colony, in this case Belgium colonizing the Congo in 1885. However, violence from free state officials on native cologonese peoples put a large amount of diplomatic pressure on Belgium to take control of the country. This was done by King Leopold also in 1908 when he created the Belgian Congo officially and lawfully. Rule by Belgians in the Congo was based on the “colonial trinity” of state, missionary

In the year 1885, King Leopold II of Belgium imperialized the Independent State of the Congo. Leopold set the area up under his own personal rule. His rule was an extremely negative and very unwanted thing that plunged the area into an era of damnation.

Aldo Leopold was born in 1887 and grew up in Burlington, Iowa. From a young age, Aldo began to appreciate nature's beauty and what it had to offer. As a young boy, Aldo spent countless hours in nature observing, journaling, and sketching nature. Aldo loved nature so much he wanted to pursue a career where he could spend his time in nature.