ipl-logo

Leopold II Congo Free State Essay

472 Words2 Pages

Leopold II, Congo Free State 1885-1908. Was the second King of the Belgians, remembered for the founding and exploration of the Congo Free State as a private venture. The Scramble for Africa, was the invasion, occupation, colonization and annexation of African territory by European powers during the period of New Imperialism. Which Belgian also took place when they weren’t a country. What makes up a historical hero their actions are selfless, they care for the safe of others and put their needs above their own, and their actions are always for the greater good. A historical villain’s actions are selfish, they only help themselves and it ends up hurting others, they do whatever they want to get what they need. It’s proven that King Leopold is …show more content…

It has nothing to hind and no secrets and is not beholden to anyone except its founder.” What he says is untrue because he made secrets in the Congo, he forced indigenous people to make rubber, while he sold them to become wealthier. As time went on a man named Edmund Morale looked into the shipping manifest, and discovered that while a great deal of rubber and ivory was coming from the Congo practically nothing was going back. This came to Morale investigating King Leopold’s corrupt regime, from the Congo he would get documents leaked to him by people. Because of this Leopold took drastic measures, he would bribe journalists, to drive US Senators. He would invite people to the Congo and made sure that they got the nicest respect at their stay. This is how far Leopold would go to keep his secret, going against laws, bribery, even the deaths of many lives. Leopold never thought of the slaves as individuals or a real importance to society, only to be put to work and never to be one of them. This is what made King Leopold a historical villain, his actions were selfish all that he wanted was power and wealth, he amputation people for not working or if they got ill he shot them. Leopold destroyed anyone that tried to stop him, everything he did was only for his benefit, making slaves do his work making rubber, bribing journalists to stop Morale from building others against

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of King Leopold's Ghost

    969 Words  | 4 Pages

    Summary of the text: Adam Hochschild’s King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa is a historical fiction published in 1998 (Hochschild, 1998). It comprises a myriad of evidence to testify the Belgian King Leopold II’s atrocities in Congo between 1885 and 1908 for the sake of capturing the attention of various readers towards the Belgian imperialist delinquencies through a detailed narration of a number of main characters’, including George Washington Williams and William Henry Sheppard, experiences in Belgian Congo (Hochschild, 1998). In this excerpt, it illustrates William’s peaceful exploration in Congo as the first American-Black missionary. During his journey, not only did he explore the Congolese culture,

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast George Washington Williams

    655 Words  | 3 Pages

    George Washington Williams, an African American legislator, and Kande Kamara, an African colonial subject, both experienced some of the most brutal products of European Imperialism. Williams, in the late nineteenth century, toured the Belgian controlled Congo and witnessed the harsh measures King Leopold implemented to maintain absolute control and bleed the country of its resources. Kamara, on the other hand, bore witness to the end result of overzealous imperial ambitions when he was forced to fight for the allies in the trenches of WWI. These two men’s experiences, although considerably different, both shed light on Europe’s colonial philosophy of racism and ethnic superiority and its position of immense power during this period.

    Read More

  • King Leopold And Escaping Slavery In The Congo

    223 Words  | 1 Pages

    King Leopold convinced explorers, politicians, and newspapers alike that he

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Hypocrisy Of King Leopold

    155 Words  | 1 Pages

    The quotes is an interpretation of the late 1800’s King Leopold enforced ivory raids through military force of trade, capture, and/or killing to expand his colony. King Leopold exploitative traits of African men, women, and children as porters calling them “volunteers” were harsh and cruel amongst the land. Volunteers were treated as slaves, who were once natives of the capital of Leopold’s Congo in Boma. Many of the mercenaries in Leopold’s army that were black were known as “liberated men” set to serve under the Force Publique.

    Read More

  • Imperialism In Uganda

    1156 Words  | 5 Pages

    Uganda is a country with a rich history filled with turmoil, failure, and success. The country and its people suffered for many years to gain independence from the country that controlled it, Great Britain. Finally, in 1962, Uganda gained independence and became a free country. All was looking up for Uganda and its people until they were thrown into a world of dictators and civil wars. Through their colonization, fight for independence, and the aftermath, they persevered to become the country they are today.

    Read More

  • Haitian Revolution Compare And Contrast Essay

    1231 Words  | 5 Pages

    In our history there have been many wars, revolutions, and consequences to all of these things, such as lives lost or land being destroyed but it was all worth it when they succeeded and got what they wanted, freedom. Many countries go through revolutions because they might have been under rule from another person and or country and wanted their independence. A revolution is when people overthrow a social order or even a government and are in favor of a new system or government. The American Revolution and Haitian Revolution had some similarities and some differences and this is what my argument will be about, comparing and contrasting both revolutions.

    Read More

  • Haitian Declaration Of Independence Analysis

    756 Words  | 4 Pages

    This quote taken from the Haitian Declaration of Independence can be broken down into sections showing how Jean-Jacques Dessalines was able to rally his Country together to fight for their right to become a sovereign State. To begin, the declaration uses the phrase “Native Citizens” to bring a sense of nationalism to all citizens who are reading at the time. This sense of nationalism to start off the quote is attempting to rally the people of Haiti together, which is an idea that will continued to be brought up. The declaration follows this by telling all people to cast their gaze on their island. To understand what the next part of the quote one must know that the Haitian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on January 1st,1804, an era in which gender equality didn’t exist and the man was thought of as the only liable worker and soldier.

    Read More

  • How Did Imperialism Affect The Congolese Culture

    913 Words  | 4 Pages

    When 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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Greed In Hamlet

    470 Words  | 2 Pages

    Claudius is a perfect example of greed. He killed the king in order to obtain the throne. As it said in the book ¨murder most foul, as in the best it is, but this most foul, strange, and unnatural.¨ Claudius was greedy and wanted what his brother had. Instead of

    Read More

  • Kwame Nkrumah Towards Colonial Freedom Summary

    873 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kwame Nkrumah is known as a Ghanaian revolutionary. He was a politician, author, leader, and the first prime minister and president of Ghana, leading it to independence from Britain in 1957. He had a vision of how Africa could be united and work against imperialism while achieving a common goal of colonial freedom. In Towards Colonial Freedom, he delves straight into the topic of colonialism and how it affected Africa and his perception of African unity.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Clarence Darrow's 'A Plea For Mercy'

    733 Words  | 3 Pages

    I protest against the crimes and mistakes of society being visited upon them. All of us have a share in it.” He uses the effect of war on Leopold and

    Read More

  • Thesis Critique Of King Leopold's Ghost

    1164 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hochschild'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

    Read More

  • Summary Of Basil Davidson's The Legacy

    784 Words  | 4 Pages

    Davidson makes reference to Idi Amin of Uganda as well as Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic, who both are examples of leaders who mirrored the actions of their colonial predecessors. Their rule was similar to that of European colonizers in that they thrived off of the inequality of Africans and took part in lavish celebrations while the majority of their country remained poor. While some believe this corruption is due to some innate greed possessed solely by Africans, a look into history tells you that modern day African rulers have simply just inherited and embraced the lifestyle of the European rules before them, which unfortunately included the massive hoarding of wealth. This hoarding of wealth did not come without any opposition however, which brings about the next theme of dictatorship and how rulers such as Bokassa and Amin maintained their positions of power through the crushing of dissent. The suppression of protests was done through the torture and murder of anyone who criticized, which is exactly how the European colonizers ruled out any opposition and another example of the brutal legacies of

    Read More

  • Examples Of Corruption In Hamlet

    672 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moreover, corruption is further developed through manipulation. As a result, corruption manifests itself as tragic revenge. Not only corruption can lead to greed, selfishness, and having thirst for power in today’s world it can also be found in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Greed and selfishness are the leaders of corruption. In Hamlet, Claudius’ thirst for power leads him to murder his brother and takes the throne.

    Read More

  • King Leopold Ghost Summary

    847 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his work the author brings out various themes in the first half of the book. Hochschild brings out King Leopold’s greed by detailing how he cheats

    Read More

More about Leopold II Congo Free State Essay

Open Document