Congo Free State

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 Congo Free State was a former state in Africa which is now entitled The Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in the 1880s as the private holding of European investors. The Congo was led by Leopold II, who was the king of the Belgians. The members of the Congo Free State military intentionally maimed, murdered, tortured and raped millions of Congolese people. Leopold believed oversea colonies were the key to a country’s greatest, so he worked to obtain colonial territory for Belgium

Congolese and European women encouraged opposition to King Leopold II’s rule of the Congo Free State. In the Congo women endured and reported the violent actions of the colonial power. Their treatment prompted rebellions within the Congo and their powerful testimony brought european support to the Congo’s plight. In Europe Alice Harris and others took a prominent role in the campaign for Congo reform. Through her photographs and public speeches Harris herself brought much support to the movement

He had his own piece of “that magnificent African cake.” The newly named Congo Free State was handed over to Leopold essentially as his personal country. With such authority, he easily exploited the natives and their abundance of natural resources. The presence of ivory, rubber, copper, and diamonds in the Congo only whetted Leopold’s appetite for wealth. He sent Sir Stanley deeper and deeper into the unexplored jungles in search of

The violent and forced rule of the Congo is a horrific time in African history. The time period beginning with Henry Morton Stanley's first exploration to the Congo, and King Leopold's desire of this area, had been a nightmare for the people of the Congo. The civilizing mission to the Congo not only resulted in the killing of thousands of people but also the destruction of a culture. The two articles, 'Belgian Colonialism in the Congo', and the letter by George Washington Williams, are just two views

King Leopold gained so much world support for his Congo Free State project by leading people especially the European community to believe that he was helping to improve the Congo and its people by developing it. The Congo then became aligned with the kingdom of Belgium under him. While the world believed that King Leopold II was doing humanitarian work in the Congo the truth was he was severely mistreating the people by forcing them to extract Ivory, Rubber, and other minerals to sell on a world

rubber latex. Later they would scrape it off their skin – often taking flesh and hair with it. The work was labor-intensive and injurious to health; the only economical way to collect it was via the forced mobilization of Congolese society. The Congo Free State evolved from a vanity possession into a slave plantation. Villages were set quotas of rubber, “the normal quota assigned to each village was three to four kilos of dried

In 1904, Roger Casement exposed the atrocities occurring in the Congo to the entirety of the world. King Leopold II, who had gained control of the territory at the Brussels Conference, which was a meeting of the European powers in 1876 when he proposed a protectorate over the Congo, was at fault. Leopold had promised that he would abolish slavery in the Congo, bring prosperity and economy to its natives, and made it clear that he would not personally benefit from any of the successes. Casement

II ruled Congo, a region in central Africa, as his personal colony, exploiting the resources and inhabitants for his own gain. Leopold allowed and encouraged Europeans and other Westerners to enter Congo and set up companies whose primary purpose was to gather rubber, which was abundant but difficult to get to in the Congo, using the Congolese as the laborers for the Europeans. Rubber gathering in Congo brutally exploited the inhabitants of the Congo, while at the same time robbed Congo of wealth

who gained control over the Congo Free State. King Leopold was completely responsible for the negative effects of the Congo Free State on its region and its people that resulted in the deaths of million of natives because of the role he played in colonizing the area, his purpose for colonization and the way it affected the natives, and because of the cruel way he treated and punished the natives. King Leopold is fully responsible for the effects of the Congo Free State because of what he did to colonize