King Leopold's Conquest Of The Congo
When Leopold II rose to the Belgian throne in 1865, he did so with the goal of building and ruling his own colony and financially profiting off it. Leopold’s acquisition and eventual conquest of the Congo was very meticulous and orchestrated and revealed his greed and willingness to exploit people and territory in order to acquire wealth. He created a guise by proclaiming his motivations toward colonization as being philanthropic and humanitarian. He did this by setting up the sham International African Association and by using pawns explorer Henry Morton Stanley and American ambassador to Belgium, Henry Sanford.
In 1876 King Leopold II formed the International African Association as a front organization to portray that he was a humanitarian by promoting his efforts to civilize and educate the indigenous peoples of the Congo. Creation of this myth was key in his eventual takeover of the Congo and mass extraction of its natural
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Leopold’s acquisition and eventual conquest of the Congo can be seen as a reign of terror during which millions were mutilated and repressed while he continued to profit tremendously. He continued to profit from his use of slave labor, while the Congolese continued to suffer during his reign. Leopold’s reign of terror is an example of European colonialism and one’s greed for wealth and power. He set out to acquire the Congo under the guise of philanthropy and humanitarianism, but rather looted the Congo for its natural resources for his personal gain and enslaved natives in the process to produce ivory and rubber. King Leopold II of Belgium was able to make himself rich by exploiting Africans for natural resources and millions of Congolese died as a result of his
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825 Words | 4 PagesWithout the colonization of Tanganyika, resources may have not been obtained as easily and may require more force. B. Congo Free State was a colony to Belgium, specifically King Leopold II. Leopold took control of the country and began leeching the resources from the lands, such as ivory, palm oil, and rubber. In return, handles, soap and candles, and waterproof clothes were made.
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1354 Words | 6 PagesThousands killed in the Leopold outbreak. King Leopold should be condemned for his brutal actions, and for making the population more then half in population, like in Lukolela “The population in the villages of Lukolela in January 1891 must have been not less than 6,000 people, but when I counted the whole population in Lukolela at the end of December 1896. I found it to be only 719… but judge of my heartache when on counting them all again on Friday and Saturday last, to find only a population of 352 people.” (Document 5) In 1800-1900’s, King Leopold wanted to and planned to take control of the Congo people.
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713 Words | 3 PagesAccording to Document H, Letter to Leopold II, people tried to trick many Africans into giving them land. In document H it says,” Mr. Henry Stanley and several Zanzibar soldiers used carefully rehearsed… sleight of hand tricks when making treaties with the native chiefs of the Independent State of the Congo… whole villages have been signed away to Your Majesty.” This shows how the colonizers were trying to gain land, maybe to gain wealth that came from the trade there, for their country. Document E, Letter to Sir George Grey, states,” … Sir George Napier, marked down my limits on a treaty he made with me.
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750 Words | 3 PagesFrom King Leopold’s Public Letter, he says “The task which Belgian agents have to accomplish in the Congo is noble. It is incumbent upon them to carry on the work of civilization in Africa. The aim is to regenerate races whose degradation and misfortune is hard to realize.” Through those words, King Leopold, the king of Belgium, was trying to show the other countries that he was a
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786 Words | 4 PagesBelgium was marginalizing the population of the Congo by giving them no say in anything, and profiting of the resources of the area. The people of Congo themselves did not make money off of the resources leaving them powerless and poor, but instead the government of Belgium was the one making all the money. As a result, exploitation of resources hurt the people of the Congo politically, economically and
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844 Words | 4 PagesThey faced great death and famine because of the sudden outbreaks of war. In 1960, the Congo becomes independent from Belgium and things get better (BBC News “Democratic Republic of Congo profile – Timeline”). In the time leading to the independence of the Congolese people elected a president, prime minister, a Senate, and an assembly (U.S. Department of State “MILESTONES: 1961–1968”). During this time, President Eisenhower and his entire administration hoped that the Republic of Congo would become a stable pro- Western central government (U.S. Department of State “MILESTONES: 1961–1968”) and be more like the United States of America.
How Did Imperialism Affect The Congolese Culture
913 Words | 4 PagesWhen Belgium colonized Congo, the Congolese people’s world quickly changed from the past, influencing their lives heavily. Ten to twenty-three million people died during Leopold’s rule from 1885 to 1908 (Kenneth). The Congolese people weren’t treated fairly and faced many hardships. Most Congolese people died because of King Leopold’s treatment, including war, starvation, forced labor and disease(Bland). This goes to show how poorly King Leopold treated the people and how he didn’t care about the Congolese people, only the reward.
Thesis Critique Of King Leopold's Ghost
1164 Words | 5 PagesHochschild's argument successfully claims that European imperialism in Africa (specifically that of King Leopold) led to devastating effects on the natives and their land. The nineteen-chapter, two part book starts off with a brief introduction. This introduction sets up the first part of the book, where the Hochschild describes the early life of Leopold and his main explorer: Henry Morton Stanley. From the first European-completed expedition of the Congo River and its basin to the Berlin Conference, Hochschild explains the story behind Leopold’s reception of the Congo - specifically how he gained power of the Congo with only the permission of
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