He had no power to decide policy. But rumours of abuse began to circulate and missionaries and British journalist Edmund Dene Morel exposed the regime. The horrific consequences of rubber's toxic past - BBC News Therefore, King Leopold should be condemned as a criminal for his Read More Thesis Critique Of King Leopold's Ghost Morel's History of the Congo Reform Movement. Throughout the world's tropics people rushed to establish rubber plantations. A hundred lashes of the chicotte, a not infrequent punishment, could be fatal. His most important legacy, however, remains the human catastrophe that the rubber forced-labour system brought to the Congoa heritage that continued to echo in that region more than a century after Leopolds death. The events in King Leopold's Congo also rippled beyond its borders in a more positive way: They gave birth to the twentieth century's first great international human rights movement (see sidebar). Angela Thompsell, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of British and African History at SUNY Brockport. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. They also sometimes eradicatedwhole villages that failed to meet the quotas as a warning to others. Colonization of the Congo Basin - Wikipedia After leaving Livingstone, Stanley sailed for 1,000 miles (1,600km) down the Lualaba (Upper Congo) to the large lake he named Stanley Pool (now called Pool Malebo). Now, Stanley discovered, Tippu Tip's men had reached still further west in search of fresh populations to enslave. Many classrooms still have Herg's famous cartoon book Tintin in the Congo, with its depictions of black people now commonly accepted as extremely racist. Congo Free State - Wikipedia On Monday the University of Mons removed a bust of the late king, following the circulation of a student-led petition saying it represented the "rape, mutilation and genocide of millions of Congolese". When the Belgian King Leopold II acquired the Congo Free State during the Scramble for Africa in 1885, he claimed he was establishing the colony for humanitarian and scientific purposes, but in reality, its sole aim was profit, as much as possible, as fast as possible. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. "Everyone is waking up from a sleep, it's a reckoning with the past," explains Debora Kayembe, a Congolese human rights lawyer who has lived in Belgium. Why did the Belgian Congo happen? - Sage-Answer Leopold spoke of bringing civilization to the Africans and sent a small but heavily armed Belgian force into the Congo. When Leopold II died in 1909, he was buried to the sound of Belgians booing. The couple's first son, Louis Philippe, died in infancy prior to Leopold II's birth. "King Leopold II and the Congo However, the date of retrieval is often important. Morel soon quit his job and in short order turned himself into the greatest British investigative journalist of his time. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. The largest mutiny involved three thousand troops and an equal number of auxiliaries and porters, and continued for three years. It is clearly understood that in this project there is no question of granting the slightest political power to the negros. In the period from 1885 to 1908, many atrocities were perpetrated in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which, at the time, was a state under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of the Belgians.These atrocities were particularly associated with the labour policies used to collect natural rubber for export. https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/king-leopold-ii-and-congo, "King Leopold II and the Congo Last week thousands in the country of 11 million joined solidarity protests about the killing of US black man George Floyd in police custody. The effects were devastating. In his novella Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad, who spent six months in the Congo in 1890 as a steamboat officer, gives a searing picture of the brutal and voracious European quest for Congo ivory. In May 1885, Leopold took possession of his colony and named it the Congo Free State. Alice Harris, a British Baptist, took photographs of the atrocities she witnessed. BBC World Service: 50 Things That Made the Modern . King Leopold II's Colonization Of The Congo | ipl.org He made further progress toward realizing his objective at a diplomatic conference in Berlin in 1884 and 1885 that the major European powers attended. The treaties, some of which appear to have been subsequently doctored to Leopolds liking, were then put to use by the Belgian monarch. If the government of Belgium would not take a colony, then he would simply do it himself, acting in his private capacity as an ordinary citizen. For some years ivory was a principal source of the great wealth that Leopold and his associates drew from the new colony. Brill. Nzansu, a chief in the region near the great Congo River rapids, led rebels who killed a hated colonial official and pillaged several state posts, although they carefully spared the homes of nearby Swedish missionaries. Within three years, his capacity for hard work, his skill at playing one social group off against another, his ruthless use of modern weaponry to kill opponents, and above all his relentless determination opened the route to the Upper Congo. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. wives' release, the men would have to disperse into the rain forest to collect the sap of wild rubber vines. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. King Leopold II and the Congo | Encyclopedia.com On February 5, 1885, Belgian King Leopold II established the Congo Free State as his personal possession. The Scramble for Africa: The White Man's Conquest of the Dark Continent from 1876 to 1912. Humankind will never know even the approximate toll with any certainty, but beyond any doubt what happened in the Congo was one of the great catastrophes of modern times. The King Incorporated: Leopold II in the Age of Trusts. In Peter Forbath's words, Leopold was: A tall, imposing man enjoying a reputation for hedonistic sensuality, cunning intelligence (his father once described him as subtle and sly as a fox), overweening ambition, and personal ruthlessness. 2023 . Imperialism in Africa Assignment and Quiz Flashcards | Quizlet Votin, Herero Hundreds of thousands of Africans were put to work as porters to carry the white men's goods, as cutters of the wood needed to fire steamboat boilers, and as laborers of all kinds. Thompsell, Angela. Presenting himself as a philanthropist eager to bring the benefits of Christianity, Western civilization, and commerce to African nativesa guise that he perpetuated for many yearsLeopold hosted an international conference of explorers and geographers at the royal palace in Brussels in 1876. He promised a humanitarian and philanthropic mission that would improve the lives of Africans. King Leopold's legacy of DR Congo violence. The results of this rule were very uneven. No one will ever know the precise figures, but, from all these causes, demographers estimate that between 1880 and 1920 the population of the Congo may have been slashed by up to 50 percent, from perhaps 20 million people at the beginning of that period to an estimated 10 million at the end. Borgloon, Belgium: Editions Paula Bellings. National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Colonization of the Congo Basin refers to the European colonization of the Congo Basin of tropical Africa. Amidst all of this, some of the best of people was also seen, in the bravery and resilience of ordinary Congolese men and women who resisted in small and large ways, and the passionate efforts of several American and European missionaries and activists to bring about reform. Brussels: Institut Royal Colonial Belge. Early and Personal Life. The royal coffers would become a central focus of Leopolds life, and he once grumbled to German Emperor William II while watching a parade in Berlin, There is really nothing left for us kings except money! Leopold soon decided that the best way to acquire wealth would be by establishing an African colony, at a time when the great European Scramble for Africa was under way. The current protests are not the first time Belgium's ugly history in Congo has been contested in the streets. Exhausted, Stanley returned to Europe, only to be sent straight back by Leopold, who promised him an outstanding assistant: Charles 'Chinese' Gordon (who did not in fact take up Leopold's offer but chose instead to go to meet his fate at Khartoum). Leopold then used the treaties to convince other Western colonial powers that he had legal right to the Congo River basin, an area more than fifty times the size of Belgium. Rather than control the Congo as a colony, as other European powers did throughout Africa, Leopold privately owned the region. Yet, in the most astonishing and improbable way imaginable, he managed virtually single-handedly to upset the balance of power in Africa and usher in the terrible age of European colonialism on the black continent. When Stanley returned to Europe in 1878, he had not only found Dr. Livingstone (an event remembered to this day), resolved the last great mystery of African exploration, and ruined his health: he had also opened the heart of tropical Africa up to the outside world. In Britain he founded the Congo Reform Association, and affiliated groups sprang up in the United States and other countries. Eventually, the strain forced him to relinquish his control of the territory, and in 1908 it became the Belgian Congo. Although Leopold II established Belgium as a colonial power in Africa, he is best known for the widespread atrocities that were carried out under his rule, as a result of which as many as 10 million people died in the Congo Free State. A renewed global focus on racism is highlighting a violent colonial history that generated riches for Belgians but death and misery for Congolese. Name Ahmed Kamel Date 2/17/22 Topic 6.2 Reading Check 1. More than one thousand mass meetings to protest slave labor in the Congo were held, mostly in Britain and the United States, but also in Europe and as far away as Australia and New Zealand. 657, 660, 662). Then, rather than perish in the impenetrable country of the cascades, Stanley took a wide detour overland to come within striking distance of the European trading station at Boma on the Congo estuary. Why did King Leopold want the Congo ? - Brainly.com At a Glance In 1870 roughly 80 percent of Africa south of the Sahara Desert was governed by indigenous kings, chiefs, and other rulers. Published in many American and European newspapers, it was the first comprehensive, detailed indictment of the regime and its slave labor system. Livingstone had not been heard from in several years and was, in fact, exploring the upper reaches of a great navigable inland river called the Lualaba, which Livingstone hoped was connected to the Nile, but which turned out to be the upper Congo. Male rubber gatherers often died from exhaustion. Leopold II, Williams declared, was guilty of "crimes against humanity." Benedetto, Robert, ed. )1978 Most made no protest, but some were outraged at the brutal forced labor system. Marchal, Jules (1996). Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon Press. Encyclopedia.com. But other scholars use even higher numbers. However, disease of any kind always takes a far greater toll on a traumatized, half-starving population, with many people already in flight as refugees. Dec 14, 2022. They belonged to his five-year-old daughter, who was later killed when her village did not produce sufficient rubber. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Belgian King Establishes Congo Free State - National Geographic Society He wrote articles, appeared at public meetings, lobbied the rich and powerful tirelessly; and always his theme was the boundless opportunity for commercial exploitation of the lands he had discovered or, in his own words, to "pour the civilisation of Europe into the barbarism of Africa". Former President of Kenya Civil rights leader "Congo Free State Rubber Regime Atrocities." Manchester, U.K.: National Labour Press. After Morel orchestrated a protest resolution by the British Parliament, the government, in response, asked its representative in the Congo to investigate his charges. Belgium's Heart of Darkness | History Today Leopolds reign over the Congo Free State, however, has become infamous for its brutality. These were an incentive for ruthless, devastating plunder. At various times, he launched unsuccessful schemes to buy an Argentine province, to buy Borneo from the Dutch, rent the Philippines from Spain, or establish colonies in China, Vietnam, Japan, or the Pacific islands. Aware that Belgian neutrality, maintained during the Franco-German War (187071), was imperilled by the increasing strength of France and Germany, he persuaded parliament in 1887 to finance the fortification of Lige and Namur. Read about our approach to external linking. (1996). Furthermore, huge, uncounted numbers of Congolese fled the forced labor regime, but the only refuge to which they could escape was the depths of the rain forest, where there was little food and no shelter; travelers would discover their bones years later. The army become known for its brutality, with the officers and soldiers being accused ofdestroying villages, taking hostages, raping, torturing, and extorting the people. On Friday the younger brother of Belgium's King Philippe, Prince Laurent, defended his ancestor saying Leopold II was not responsible for atrocities in the colony "because he never went to Congo". Instead, he found what he called "the Siberia of the African Continent." Throughout the tropics, people rushed to sow rubber trees, but those plants could take many years to reach maturity, and in the meantime there was money to be made wherever rubber grew wild. The Congo and the Founding of Its Free State: A Story of Work and Exploration. DR Congo: King Leopold's legacy - DW - 06/29/2020 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Setting out from Zanzibar, Henry Morton Stanley, a British-born American journalist and explorer aimed to find the famous Dr. Livingstone. Estimates vary, but about half the Congolese population died from punishment and malnutrition. Demonstrations and protests demanded that Leopold end human rights abuses in the Congo Free State. During that window of time those who profited were the people It was the world's only major colony owned by one man. The Atrocities of the Congo Free State Rubber Regime - ThoughtCo On 29 May 1885, after the closure of the Berlin Conference, the king announced that he planned to name his possessions "the Congo Free State", an appellation which was not yet used at the Berlin Conference and which officially replaced "International Association of the Congo" on 1 August 1885. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Combining gift-giving with a show of military force, he persuaded hundreds of illiterate African chiefs, most of whom had little idea of the terms of the agreement to which they were ostensibly acceding, to sign away their land to the king. He was interested in the Congo river basin because there were many natural resources such as rubber, minerals, ivory, diamonds, and gold. Army officers and colonial officials earned bonuses based on the amount of rubber collected in areas under their control. The conference was a sham: at its close, Leopold proposed that they set up an international benevolent committee to carry on, and modestly agreed to accept the chairman's role. Nzansu's men fought on sporadically for five years more, and no record of his fate exists. By the end of the 19th century, the Basin had been carved up by European colonial powers, into the Congo Free State, the French Congo and the Portuguese Congo (modern Cabinda . In actuality, Leopold wanted to get his hands on Congo's natural resources. ADAM HOCHSCHILD. Updates? [12] At the end of his physical resources, Stanley returned home, to be replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Francis de Winton, formerly a British Army officer. All rights reserved. OF DECOLONIZATION (Colonizing other peoples, regardless of the justification, is wrong. This was to be his most enduring legacy. 2 volumes. In 2019, the cities of Kortrijk and Dendermonde renamed their Leopold II streets, with Kortrijk council describing the king as a "mass murderer". ." It quickly became a brutal, exploitative regime that relied on forced labour to cultivate and trade rubber, ivory and minerals. He wrongly justified his actions by saying that the people of the Congo were inferior, and deserved the treatment they received. Leopold II and the Congo Free State - HISTORY CRUNCH Joseph Conrad, who spent six months in the Congo in 1890, draws a memorable portrait of this rapacious trade in his novel Heart of Darkness. Vangroenweghe, Daniel (1986). When did George Washington Williams visit the Congo? Almost the only early visitor to interview Africans about their experience of the regime, he took extensive notes, and, a thousand miles up the Congo River, wrote one of the greatest documents in human rights literature, an open letter to King Leopold that is one of the important landmarks in human rights literature. The relentless pursuit of profits in the Congo by King Leopold II resulted in one of the worst levels of moral decadence for mankind. Europe was less than keen on the idea: the great European scramble for Africa had not yet begun. It was the last part of the continent to be colonized. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Starting in the early 1920s, however, the system became considerably less draconian, mainly because colonial officials realized that otherwise they would soon have no labor force left. King Leopold II's rule over the Congo met fierce resistance. "It is indispensable", instructed Leopold, "that you should purchase for the Comit d'tudes[fr] (i.e., Leopold himself) as much land as you can obtain". King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild Plot Summary | LitCharts Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. William Roger Louis and Jean Stengers. After all, destroying the iconography of Adolf Hitler did not mean the history of Nazi Germany was forgotten, she points out. And in 2018, Brussels named a public square in honour of Patrice Lumumba, a hero of African independence movements and the first prime minister of Congo, since renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo. The king's colonial officials quickly set up a brutal but effective system for harvesting wild rubber. (1952). He built the Africa Museum in the grounds of his palace at Tervuren, with a "human zoo" in the grounds featuring 267 Congolese people as exhibits. "It's a good thing that everyone is waking up, looking around and thinking 'is this right?'" This army was composed of White officers and African soldiers. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Brussels: Goemaere. Corrections? The king of Belgium wanted the Congo for the vast amounts of wild rubber it held, and to establish a colony as he thought kings were supposed to do. says Ms Kayembe. Forbath, P. The River Congo: The Discovery, Exploration, and Exploitation of the World's Most Dramatic River, 1991 (Paperback). Shocked by recent local census statistics that showed less than one child per woman, the official Commission Institue pour la Protection des Indignes made a similar reckoning in 1919. Marchal, Jules (1996). He created a baffling series of subsidiary shell organisations, culminating in the cunningly named International African Association (French: Association internationale africaine), which had a single shareholder: Leopold himself. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. 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