The Congo War

This new country fresh from being colonized had an army but very few Congolese officers just mainly army regulars. The country kept many foreign officers as the military trained local soldiers for leadership positions. Many soldiers saw no chance for advancement and it seemed to be the same conditions as they experienced before independence. An atmosphere of discontent grew rampant for foreigners still in positions of power. On July 05, 1960 the army had a revolt against these white officers near Leopoldville. They also attacked many Europeans targets in the area. Large groups of mutineers paraded over the area attacking any foreign interest they could find. There was wide spread looting and pillaging. The white population was targeted primarily. With the area in total chaos and no one to police the unrest, the local white population had to flee. The majority of the white refugees had to go to Brazzaville and Stanleyville to escape certain death. The unstable government and the clear inability to control the military and the people created concern locally and internationally.

In July of 1956, Lumumba was sentenced to two years imprisonment for embezzling $2,520 from the post office for the Association des Evolués. After the Association returned the money, Lumumba’s sentence was reduced to 12 months, which began his career as a prisoner, leaving and re-entering the prison system for the next five years. During his 1956-1957 imprisonment, Lumumba wrote Congo, My Congo, 200 pages to “make a contribution towards the search for a solution for the present and future problems of the Congo” (Lumumba 7). Because this book was not published until after Lumumba’s death, it did not have an impact on the independence movement, but the views Lumumba wrote about certainly did.

Throughout The Poisonwood Bible, the concept of governmental control is illustrated throughout the Congolese peoples struggles for independence. While the idea of independence appears to be a solution that will bring a positive change to the Congo and Congolese people, it only leads to the oppression of the country’s people. The Congo is granted independence from Belgium, however Belgium still remained a sole influence on the Congolese society. Orleanna Price explains this as she says, “They [government] take turns leaning forward to point out their moves with shrewd congeniality , playing it like a chess match, the kind of game that allows civilized men to play make believe murder” (Kingsolver, 317). Orleanna Price presents the comparison between the fate of the Congo, to a mere chess game in the eyes of the foreign government. This further exemplifies the class oppression of the Congolese with the idea

1909, over one hundred years ago, was the death of King Leopold of Belgium the sole owner of the Congo. Even years after he has left this earth and is no longer in the reign, the long-lasting effects he has had on the people and the land has forever changed the Congo. The memories left behind from the atrocities that occurred and the diminished resources due to extreme exploitation has prompted the author Adam Hochschild to write the novel, King Leopold’s Ghost. Using an Afrocentric point of view Hochschild describes how the events that took place under Leopold’s orders were acts of true terror and inhumanity.

Splattered across the history of the Congo, the blood of millions of Congolese drips down upon the pages of Adam Hochschild’s book, King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, sorrowfully telling their tales of misery and slavery. Adam Hochschild manages to paint an elaborate picture of the horrors of the Free State of Congo, King Leopold II personal colony, accurately detailing every minute facet of the Congo—from its exploratory birth, grizzly childhood, and uncertain present. However, Hochschild does fail to paint completely balanced picture. Yes, the story of the Congo is brutal, but the hard-earned resources extracted from there did some good across other parts of the world. The story of the Congo all starts with King Leopold II of Belgium—the king who desperately wanted to put Belgium, and himself, on the map of wealth and prestige.

“King Leopold’s Ghost- a story of greer, terror and heroism in colonial africa” written by Adam Hochschild, reveals the hidden horror in the Congo. Hochschild conveys the exploitation of the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium from 1885 to 1908, as well as the revolting brutality during that period. Hochschild discloses how King Leopold II’s unpleasant and atrocious capacity of maliciousness is shown through mass killings and colonization of Congolese land. The Ghost of King Leopold II still plagues the world while he is celebrated as a great humanitarian. (use own words).

Many Africans were put into the work force, leading up to a wage labour force in the Congo twice as large as any other African colony. On June 30th, 1960, the Congo achieved independence, becoming the Republic of Congo- Léopoldville. Patrice Lumumba was voted as president. The country was very unstable; regional tribal leaders held far more power than the central government and democracy began to break down. Lumumba asked the USSR for assistance. The United States viewed their presence as an attempt to take advantage of the situation and gain proxy state in the area. The US looked to replace Lumumba, and on September 14th, 1960, the government was overthrown and Lumumba was arrested. “Lumumba was taken to Thysville prison, then flown to Katanga Province, and finally beaten so savagely they couldn’t return the body to his widow without international embarrassment” (Kingsolver 323). However, poor relations with the groups in the Congo, the involvement of Belgium in the Congo affairs, and intervention of parties of the Cold War led to five years of political crisis and war from 1960-1965, ending with power seized by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu. “I rad the page they’d folded back: Soviet Plan Moves Forward in Congo.” It said Khrushchev wanted to take over the Belgian Congo and deprive the innocent savages of becoming a free society, as part of his plan for world domination” (Kingsolver 161). In the 1970’s, the warring tribes of Angola had agreed to a peace plan, putting

In 1959, Congolese nationalism evidently appeared due to the revolts against Belgian colonial rule. Weeks after Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960, there was a prominent struggle for power regarding a constitutional and bureaucratic crisis where Congo became an instrument in the Cold War due to the intervention of the superpowers, United States and Soviet Union. Prior to the independence, president Joseph Kasavubu and prime minister, Patrice Lumumba were elected, the country had little to no governance and was in a crisis of authentic legitimacy. Laws were essentially thrust upon the people with the hopes of restoring the Congolese state.

Congo free state was first established in 1884. The colonial nations of Europe gave Leopold II of Belgium the authority to go and claim the Congo. They said that it would improve the lives of the natives that inhabited the land but that was evidently not the case. As soon as Leopold got over to the Congo, he had forgotten all about these promises. At first the drive for ivory was very prominent but eventually the want for rubber became a lot bigger. The machinery wasn't developed enough to do this so Leopold used what forces he had, manpower. The natives were forced into harvesting and processing rubber. This was a very physically demanding job because they had to climb up the trees to make big slashes into them and then go home and stir the liquid until it was in the right consistency to make the rubber. Each month, if someone didn’t meet the quota that was set out, they would get their hands or feet cut off. There was so many unthinkable things that occurred during this such as forced labour, beating, widespread killing and frequent mutilation. The estimated death toll was between 1 million to 15 million. Just looking at these few examples, the destructiveness of the Congolese people is quite clear. Today, the Congo is still a struggling country. It is very poor, unstable and corrupted because of the various wars and conflicts that happened in the history of the Congo. Because of the

“After his coup in 1965, Mobutu remained on the CIA’s payroll for some time and received regular briefings from Larry Devlin, the CIA station chief in Leopoldville. On successive visits to Washington, he was accorded star status, promised support and constantly flattered” (“The Great Plunderer” 294). The United States treated Mobutu as a friend of the nation even though he was a corrupt, oppressive dictator. The change Lumumba wanted to create was traded for a “stable” but corrupt government that left Mobutu extremely wealthy and the people of Zaire extremely poor. The corrupt government only added chaos to an already anarchic

This editorial tells the reader that the worldwide public opinion on African imperialism in 1960 was negative. The United Nations represented the global opinion and they stated they thought of this interaction as bad. Before Congo was granted their independence, the Belgians treated the Natives brutally. They would enslave the women and children of the tribes and force the men to work collecting rubber all day. If the job was not completed satisfactorily, the worker would have their hands chopped off. The tribes women were subjected to rape, violence, and the tribe itself experienced much torture. It is therefore understandable that the people of the Congo were not hospitable to any Belgian they came across after being forced to abide to their

In conclusion, Congo is still not where it should be in regards to the modern world. With control passing from leader to leader on the political side, along with power belonging to the strongest in the communities, etc., Congo is crippled. It is difficult to build and maintain a successful country with civil wars, terrorists and corrupt government officials. Getting and maintaining an honest leader that the people can trust and believe in will be a vital step to a successful

Patrice Lumumba, the first legally elected prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was assassinated (...) on 17 January, 1961. This heinous crime was a culmination of two inter-related assassination plots by American and Belgian governments, which used Congolese accomplices

Congo gained its independence from Belgium in 1960; however, it still remained turbulent and dangerous. On the one hand, Patrice Lumumba, the leader of the independence movement and anti-imperialist tried to restore order and resisted foreign intervene into Congo’s natural resource, but was mistakenly portrayed as a communist and assassinated in 1961. On the other hand, a coup led by Joseph Mobutu, which was supported by the United States quickly grasp the control over the country and renamed it Zaire. A large amount of money loans were given to Mobutu and his government for aid from the United States and the International Monetary Fund, but the corruption in his government lead to tremendous loss of the money that is supposed to put into constructing

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.