The Struggle Of Independence In The Movie 'Lumumba'

Lumumba plays an important role in not only the Congo, but also within the Price family. As a part of the Congo, Lumumba symbolizes hope for the people under oppression, as one character points out, “Reverend, I do not think the people here are looking for your kind of salvation. I think they are looking for Patrice Lumumba, the new soul of Africa,” (122). This shows that people didn’t want CHristianity imposed on them but rather they were looking for a leader that had their best interests at heart. This also shows what an important role Lumumba played in the Congo and within the Congolese people.

Unlike the slave traders who came before him, King Leopold managed to take possession of and exploit the indigenous people of Congo, their land, and their resources on an unprecedented scale. He obtained a network of valuable raw materials and millions free laborers to extract them. At the hands of King Leopold II’s workers, the people of Congo suffered horrific travesties. Not only did they suffer the loss of their land, the people of Congo were the victims of a hostile militant take over, who’s main purpose was to become a profitable service to the King’s ever-growing greed. His beloved pet project would later prove to be an efficient murder machine. In order to gather resources and labor for the King’s projects, workers acted mercilessly. They swindled land from local Congo tribes, held women hostage, and forced children into work.(109)(111)”(119). George Washington Williams best penned King Leopold II’s cruelty in his detailed documentation. His account contrasted the lies that King Leopold fed the public while simultaneously addressing the barbaric methods employed such as chain gangs, capturing women, forced laborers, and shooting for sport. (Pages 110-111) The result of this barbaric approach to harvest raw materials was the loss of people estimating to be half of the total population of Congo(page 233 )

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

By providing an in-depth analysis of what really occurred with Leopold and his exploitative proprietorship of the Congo “Free” State, Hochschild cogently convinces readers that beneath all of Europe’s coaxing and flattery about their imperialism, there is an underlying nature of terror and an almost inescapable and pervasive essence of death and slavery. Hochschild perfectly depicts the drama arising from the deceitful manipulations, courageous resistances, and uncut greed into an enthralling piece of literature. Not only does Hochschild use the perspectives of Europeans, but he tells the untold truths of the natives in their abysmal states, having to face inevitable horrors and atrocities. The reader experiences the magnitude of effects that resulted in this imperialism, which may still last in modern-day Africa. Hochschild’s persuasion perfectly captures what it is that he wants the readers to take in the most: that Leopold’s imperialism of the Congo did not only affect Europe and himself. Separating from the common curriculum of history class, Hochschild doesn’t want to tell the readers that imperialism led to European nations gaining more markets, population, and raw materials: he wants the reader to understand that this all came at a cost. This imperialism led to the deaths of ten million natives in the Congo alone. This imperialism led to brutal torture of the

On a “Trip to Congo” Sir Richard F. Burton writes a story during his exploration to the Yellalla or Cataracts of the Congo leaving some detail insights of the customs and behavior of the African communities. He only gives his point of view from an imperialist position and sometimes denigrates and diminishes the people and their culture. Even though Burton had a translator throughout his trip the language barrier prohibits interaction with the communities and the ability to empathize with the natives. Interaction and understanding is the key to appreciate their behaviors, instead Burton

He sought to have “full control over Congo’s [natural] resources in order to utilize them to improve living conditions” in the Congo (Nzongola-Ntalaja, par. 5). It was for these reasons, Lumumba was elected as the first Prime Minister of Congo. Unfortunately, the inexperienced newly formed government of the Congo could not unify its people. Civil unrest followed along with the Congolese army revolting (Kuklick, 144). It was at the beginning of this unrest, the Underdowns, like many Belgians, fled the Congo. It was this same unrest that caused most missionaries, like the Prices, to be recalled

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.

The definition of Economic Liberalism is the idea of approaching the market with private property, limited government intervention and the encouragement that a free market will be driven by supply and demand fueled by citizens that desire to succeed…. This is the complete opposite approach Leopold took in the Congo. In a free market, there is the notion that it will succeed because the people want to work for their own success. In the Congo, Stanley, Leopold’s consultant doing the groundwork, refers to the locals as lazy and needing guidance while he promotes “the gospel of enterprise,” (68) known today as free enterprise. Almost as if going along with Modernization Theory, he continues to say that they are too idle and the issue is Africans themselves, they are barbaric and clothesless. In a treaty created between the Belgians and the locals through Stanley, they decide the payment for the forced

“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

Over the course of human history, many believe that the “Congo Free State”, which lasted from the 1880s to the early 1900s, was one of the worst colonial states in the age of Imperialism and was one of the worst humanitarian disasters over time. Brutal methods of collecting rubber, which led to the deaths of countless Africans along with Europeans, as well as a lack of concern from the Belgian government aside from the King, combined to create the most potent example of the evils of colonialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s. The Congo colonial experience, first as the Congo Free State then later as Belgian Congo, was harmful to that region of Africa both then and now because of the lack of Belgian and International

The story of Patrice Lumumba begins during the negotiate of the Congo’s Independence. Patrice Lumumba was an activist dedicated to ensuring the Congo received its proper rights, it’s people received proper treatment and the nation was able to unite under a peaceful government. The movie shows the effects of a man being born before his time. Although Lumumba knew the risk, he was still dedicated to ensuring the rights of the Congolese people. Similar to any great revolutionist in history, there were people who loved him, people who hated him and people who turned there backs on him. Lumumba started off as a postal worker from Stanleyville. When he arrived in the Congo he received a job selling beer, despite his criminal background. From there he slowly became for for his ability to speak well. From the very beginning Lumumba was seen as a threat. Still he was able to work himself up in the ranks and eventually was appointed Prime Minister of the Congo. Sadly, Lumumba’s story does not have a happy ending. In the end he is tortured, shot, and dismembered.

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

The Republic of Congo’s government will continue to weaken and will not be able to work successfully. To strengthen the economy you must first have balance in the political development and democracy, which in fact is organized by policies modeled by The World Bank (International Monetary Fund 6).

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).