History: The Democratic Republic Of The Congo

The amount of destruction that occurred in the Congo was outrageous. Eight to ten million lives were taken during the worldwide movement against slave labor that took place in the Congo. (Hochschild, 3) Between 1880 and 1920 the Congo population was slashed in half. There was around ten million victims that were affected by murder, starvation, exhaustion, exposure, disease, and the plummeting birth rate. During this time the United States and Europe were unaware of this extreme carnage. Why is this? During this time era the United States there were many immigrants that were entering the US as slaves. I feel that during this time people were looked at in a different way. The slaves were not treated in a way that people are treated today. Looking

Nowadays, European countries such as England, France, Germany, Belgium, and many other countries possess a colossal clout throughout the world. It is an impeccable fact that such countries, indeed, have served as a rudiment pivot and step for the world to be advanced to the point where we are since the Industrial Revolution. Such countries, because of it, without a doubt, have a crucial status globally and become the superpower and commercial hub on our planet. On the back side of their gleaming growth, however, there is an invisible part left behind their luminous development: the Imperialism. The term “Imperialism” refers to a policy of extending a country’s authority and political clout by using its military forces and diplomacy. As Frantz Facon once stated that “imperialism leaves behind germs of rot which we must clinically detect and remove from our land by from our minds as well”, one can assert without much exertion that such European powers, in the course of Imperialism, indeed, brought about an array of irreversible impairments such as ethnic tensions, slavery, increased local warfare, and many others. Rwanda, for instance, is a country that is rife with the presence of such an irretrievable deficiency. Rwanda, indeed, has shown a startling economic growth and become an emergent leader country in Central Africa. The World Bank has recently eulogized Rwanda’s recent remarkable development success, which it

In 1908 Belgium took control of the Congo and gained more power which alarmed the French. In response to the conquest of the Congo, France then began to start claiming land in Africa which lead multiple other countries to do the same. This scramble to colonize Africa is called the Scramble for Africa.The Scramble for Africa is a title for the time when Belgium and industrialization created aspiration in European nations to imperialize Africa. They looked to Africa as a new source of resources for their industries as well. To avoid war amongst themselves, they met at the Berlin Conference to address how Africa would be divided. However, in the Congo, this created even more linguistic and tribal issues as some rival tribes were placed in the same territories while others were split. From the very beginning, the Congo was unable to resist Belgium colonization since some rival tribes were already fighting amongst themselves. However, the Berlin Conference increased their resentment for each other by forcing them to live together, which eliminated any option of unity and revolting. Thus, because of their constant fighting and inability to unite, the Congo peoples remained in a position where they had to accept their fate. Additionally, since they were unable to resist European colonization, Africans were forced to collect sap from rubber plants and were mutilated were they not to harvest rubber. Because of this abuse, millions of Congolese died. Therefore, the Congo managed poorly in reaction to European colonization since they were unable to fight back at all, which also lead to the mutilation and death of millions. However, the Congo was not the only place that inadequately fared in

Years of conflict between two of Rwanda’s main ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis, resulted in The Rwandan Genocide, claiming 800,000 lives. This conflict stemmed from Rwanda’s early colonial and postcolonial history.

Oh what progress we have made in the Congo so far! Words cannot begin to describe all the advantages we gain from this expedition since we first landed in 1885! We are so thankful to have this opportunity! Even so, we must recognize our superiority in industrialization and race as these perks greatly affect our boundaries for imperialism. These perks are so critical in particular, as it provided our Nation with the necessary motives and justifications to colonize the lesser race.

In History of Africa, Shillington focuses on many aspects of African culture and factors that made Africa to be the continent that it is today. Chapter 5 primarily focuses on the Northern region of Africa and how empires took over and spread their ideology technology, and culture all through out the region. Even today some remnants of the Roman and Greek empire live on to this day (Shillington, 69.) Despite many people getting the impression that Northern Africa is only influenced by Arabic and Islam, these empires and their conquests are best understood through topics like intricate trading routes, farming, and the spread of religion. Shillington provides an in depth analysis of how many of these conquests affected Northern Africa centuries ago and today.

The definition of imperialism is an action by a strong nation to take control of another country.

The societies of West Africa, Europe, and North America exhibited similarities and differences in their religious beliefs, values, and government systems. These contrasts and similarities were further made apparent during European expansion across the Atlantic and the subsequent new cross cultural interactions that were created.

In conclusion, the Congo was an Empire of ivory, built on exploitation. They utilized get rich quick schemes and their actions against black natives was absolutely senile. In comparison to the Americas, they used forced labor, came to colonize for new opportunities, and had various successful slave revolts. I thought this source was very important to read because it taught me various things previous history classes would have never. Mostly because only the winners write the

Africa, a country that throughout history is recognized through poverty and hunger. Africa has had its ups and downs throughout history. In this essay we are going to dig deep within Africa’s history to the 1500s. Seeing how and what Africa has had to endure as a country.This includes external conflicts as well as internal conflicts.

In 1878, King Leopold II of Belgium, after failed attempts of creating colonies in Africa, hired the explorer Henry Stanley to explore the Congo. Then, with the Congo being brought to the attention of Europe, Leopold established

The Portuguese began colonizing Angola in 1575 and the people of Angola were unable to regain their independence for four centuries. During this time, Angola’s lifestyle and political structure was changed dramatically. Even after the Portuguese left Angola, the Portugueses impact continued to shape Angola. Due to the political chaos that ensued after the Portuguese left and gave up their claim on Angola, the nation was convulsed by a violent civil war. The fight to determine Angola’s political future soon became a proxy war, meaning the war involved many countries (US, South Africa, Cuba, and the USSR), and thrusted Angola onto the global stage as a major front

Stanley is an explorer who was famous for his exploration of central Africa and the Nile, he was associated with King Leopold II of Belgium. Stanley mapped the great Congo River and this was crucial because it was the gateway for central Africa to open up to foreign trade. King Leopold viewed the Congo as one of the vital transportation networks for the Europeans. Stanley had finally conquered the Congo River in the nineteenth century, He was financially supported by King Leopold, who secretly purchased the Congo and developed its infrastructure before anyone was aware of his intentions.

family’s missionary trip from America to the Congo as well as a description of Congolese

Europeans used the influence of Imperialism in the Congo during King Leopold’s reign to try to discover raw materials and enhance economic trade in his colonial empire. Since Africa during this time period was unexplored, Europeans thought there had to be resources just waiting to be found. This would have expanded profits by an enormous amount because resources such as rubber and jewels were in great demand. Unfortunately, King Leopold went to drastic measures to fulfill his purpose in central Africa. One of history’s massive genocides took place in the Congo.