what kind of treatment does leopold do the the congo

What was the impact of King Leopold's Congo?

What was the main commodity of King Leopold?

What was the Congo genocide?

How did the rubber boom affect the Congo?

How many troops were involved in the Leopold mutiny?

What was the greatest conquest of Africa?

What is King Leopold's Ghost about?

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How did Belgium treat Congo?

Belgium then administered the Congo as a colony until independence in 1960. Unlike other early twentieth-century colonial powers in Africa, Belgium did not directly oversee the education of the Congo's indigenous population. Rather, it turned the responsibility for education over to missionaries.

What did Leopold use the Congo for?

At the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, the colonial nations of Europe authorised his claim and committed the Congo Free State to him. Leopold ran the Congo by using the mercenary Force Publique for his personal gain....Leopold II of Belgium.Leopold IIReligionRoman Catholicism19 more rows

How did King Leopold exploit Congo?

He provided for no education or vocational training, which would stunt future Congolese leaders from making sound economic and political policies. Leopold also exploited the Congo with the help of concession companies, both of which used forced labor to extract valuable resources.

What atrocities were committed by Leopold and his control of the Congo?

Approximately 10 million Congolese people died. Leopold II established his own private army of mercenaries— Force Publique. He used his army to coerce natives of Congo into forced labor. Armed with modern weapons army of mercenaries routinely tortured hostages, slaughtered entire families, and raped Congolese people.

What was King Leopold known for?

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.

Why were hands cut off in the Congo?

In the Congo Free State, Congolese hands were sys- tematically amputated when enslaved Africans failed to meet quotas for extract- ing rubber. Belgian colonists collected and smoked these severed hands to preserve them for later counting and recording.

How many died in Congo genocide?

The first war in 1996 began as a direct result of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The second began in 1998 and involved the armed forces of at least seven countries and multiple militias. According to the International Rescue Committee, from 1998–2007 an estimated 5.4 million people died due to conflict in the DRC.

Who exposed the Belgian Congo?

journalist Edmund Dene MorelHe 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. But rumours of abuse began to circulate and missionaries and British journalist Edmund Dene Morel exposed the regime.

What happened after 1908 when Leopold was stripped of his control of the Congo?

By 1908, public pressure and diplomatic manoeuvres led to the end of Leopold II's absolutist rule and to the Belgian Parliament enacting an act to annex the Congo Free State as a colony of Belgium. It became known thereafter as the Belgian Congo.

What atrocities happened in the Belgian Congo?

AtrocitiesRed Rubber system and forced labour.Mutilation and brutality.Prisons and hostage taking.Wars and rebellions.Famine.Child colonies.Labour of non-Congolese.

Does Belgium sell chocolate hands?

Black hand chocolates are still very popular in Belgium today. It is also still believed that they signify the victory of good over evil, symbolized by Silvius Brabo's victory over the Druon Antigoon monster.

Why did the Congo genocide happen?

While its actions were originally sparked by the security threat posed by the Zairian-based génocidaires, Kigali was pursuing multiple goals during its invasion of Zaire. The first and foremost of these was the suppression of génocidaires who had been launching attacks against the new Rwandan state from Zaire.

King Leopold II's Colonization Of The Congo | ipl.org

King Leopold the II’s colonisation of the Congo resulted in labour forced upon the natives, blackmail, abuse and eradication of tradition. Leopold’s rule lead to the genocide of the Congolese, and restriction of the Congo’s development.

Leopold II and the Belgian Congo: A Brief History

the Congo with cameras. Leopold could not deny this evidence (though he certainly tried to!). The world was thus forced to recognize that all was not well in Leopold’s Congo.

Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity: King Leopold II and the Congo

The Rubber Boom In the early 1890s, however, a larger source of wealth suddenly loomed. The invention of the inflatable bicycle tire, followed soon by that of the automobile tire, triggered an enormous boom in rubber.

What Did King Leopold II Do with the Congo Free State?

But the worst he’s done was at the time he acquired the Congo Free State.

What was Leopold II known for?

He was best known for his acquisition of the Congo Free State and the commission of several buildings and urban projects in Belgium. (Source: Monarchie)

How many children did Leopold II have?

Leopold II fathered six children in total, four with his wife the Arch-Duchess of Austria and two with a Blanche Zélia Joséphine Delacroix, a prostitute. His youngest daughter with Marie-Henriette, Clémentine Albertine Marie Léopoldine, soon married Prince Napoléon Victor Jérôme Frédéric Bonaparte, known as Bonaparte V.

Why was Leopold II so unpopular?

Leopold II was quite unpopular with the citizens of Belgium, but not because he acquired the Congo Free State, but because of his character. Leopold II could not speak Dutch properly. He was known to spend long, luxurious winter vacations, were estranged from two of her daughters, and liked teenage girls.

Why did Leopold II have a great fortune?

In his private colony, Leopold II was able to acquire a great fortune. This was due to his exploitation of ivory, which was popular back then.

When did Leopold II die?

On December 17, 1909, Leopold II passed away three days after signing the law on compulsory military service. (Source: New World Encyclopedia)

Where was King Leopold born?

Léopold-Louis-Philippe-Marie-Victor, better known as King Leopold II, was born on April 9, 1835, in Brussels, Belgium, to Leopold I and Louise-Marie. By the age of 18, Leopold II entered the senate as a member by right, and in the same year, he married the Arch-Duchess of Austria, Marie-Henriette of Habsburg-Lorraine.

How did Leopold II gain control of the Congo?

He did this in hopes of building Belgium’s global empire of colonies alongside the other European powers, which were also racing to capture territory in Africa. Henry Morton Stanley explored the central regions of Africa while in search of the origin of the Nile River. His expeditions eventually took him to the Congo River Basin, which led to Leopold II laying claim to the region. The second event that led to Leopold II gaining control of the Congo was the Berlin Conference of 1884. German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, called the Berlin Conference in order to help divide the continent of Africa for the European powers. The goal of the Berlin Conference was to help Europe avoid a war over disagreements in Africa. As part of this agreement, Leopold II of Belgium gained personal control over the Congo region. In fact, Leopold II officially formed the Congo Free State in 1885 and ruled over it as his own private possession. He used his control over the region to as a way of amassing a fortune for himself. The Congo area had valuable resources, such as: rubber, ivory, copper and other raw materials. Rubber was an incredibly valuable resource at the time, as the newly invented rubber tire was being used in bicycles and early automobiles. It is important to note that he ruled over the Congo as a personal possession. As such, this means that he was responsible for it and not the country of Belgium. In fact, the other European nations granted him control over the Congo on the basis that he would help the Congolese people and carry out humanitarian work in the area. In reality, he ruled over the Congo Free State in a brutal fashion and his actions terrorized the people of the region.​

Who was the king of Belgium in 1865?

King Leopold II was born on April 9th, 1835 in Brussels, Belgium. At the time, his father, Leopold I, was the King of Belgium. Leopold II became the next King of Belgium in 1865 and reigned until his death on December 17th, 1909. Leopold II ’s reign as King of Belgium coincided with the time period of the Scramble for Africa, during which the European powers of the day raced for control of different regions of Africa.​

What did Leopold II want to do?

This way, he could have complete control, and have direct access to the profits. He knew that if he was honest about his greedy intentions, none of the other major powers would agree to let him colonize an entire country all for himself. So, he told everyone that it was his mission to spread Christianity in The Congo. He wanted to convert and civilize those poor, Godless souls.

What was Leopold II's idea for Africa?

He pitched his idea for colonizing the Congo, and claimed that he wanted to spend his own fortune to bring missionaries to Africa out of the goodness of his own heart. He also promised that the rest of Europe could freely explore and trade from his country as they pleased. The Congo was known for being incredibly dangerous, and difficult to colonize. The rainforest and savannah are filled with gorillas, lions, leopards, and wolves. The Congo River has man-eating crocodiles and hippopotamus, and insects carry deadly diseases. In general, it was a very wild place, and not many Europeans wanted to live there. If Leopold II really wanted to take on the challenge, the other world powers didn’t see anything wrong with it.

Why did King Leopold II want more soldiers?

Word got around that King Leopold II needed more soldiers to help with his “Christian mission” to colonize The Congo. Hundreds of young men from Belgium, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark all signed up to join The Force Publique. They were taught that these black natives were animals, and not fully human like them, so they shouldn’t feel guilty about killing them when necessary. After a while, these men became desensitized to the killing. Some of the soldiers would gut people and pull out their entrails, or slice off a group of men’s genitalia only to hang them in a row. Some of the governor generals wrote letters to King Leopold II about these scenes, because they were actually proud of the brutality. They believed that the worse they treated the Congolese people, the harder they worked. Over time, King Leopold’s men managed to enslave the entire population of the Congo.

Why did the Congo Free State set a village on fire?

Usually, they set a village on fire, so that there was nowhere for anyone to hide. They would shoot and capture the women of the village, and tell the men that if they did not each bring back 15kg of rubber by the end of the day, they would kill their wives and daughters. The Congo Free State was anything but free.

Why did the governor generals write letters to King Leopold II?

Some of the governor generals wrote letters to King Leopold II about these scenes, because they were actually proud of the brutality. They believed that the worse they treated the Congolese people, the harder they worked. Over time, King Leopold’s men managed to enslave the entire population of the Congo.

What animals live in the Congo River?

The rainforest and savannah are filled with gorillas, lions, leopards, and wolves. The Congo River has man-eating crocodiles and hippopotamus, and insects carry deadly diseases. In general, it was a very wild place, and not many Europeans wanted to live there.

How many pages did the International Commission report on the Congo?

When the International Commission returned to Belgium, they published a 50-page report on all of the human rights abuses they had found in The Congo, and submitted it to King Leopold II.

What was the goal of the King of Congo?

The king’s stated goal was to bring civilization to the people of the Congo, an enormous region in Central Africa. (Believing one people is more civilized than another is wrong.) Leopold’s reign over the Congo Free State, however, has become infamous for its brutality. The people of the Congo were forced to labor for valued resources, including rubber and ivory, to personally enrich Leopold.

How did the Congolese people die?

Estimates vary, but about half the Congolese population died from punishment and malnutrition. Many more suffered from disease and torture. Among those who weren't killed, many were punished by having a hand and/or foot amputated.

What happened to the Congo Free State?

As the realities and suffering within the Congo Free State became more widely known, many European people spoke out against these abuses. Demonstrations and protests demanded that Leopold end human rights abuses in the Congo Free State. In 1908, international pressure forced the king to turn the Congo Free State over to the country of Belgium. The newly named “Belgian Congo” remained a colony until the Democratic Republic of Congo gained its independence in 1960.

Who established the Congo Free State?

On February 5, 1885, Belgian King Leopold II established the Congo Free State by brutally seizing the African landmass as his personal possession. Rather than control the Congo as a colony, as other European powers did throughout Africa, Leopold privately owned the region. (Colonizing other peoples, regardless of the justification, is wrong. The people being colonized are robbed of their land, resources, and freedom.) Leopold financed development projects with money loaned to him from the Belgian government.

What is King Leopold's legacy?

King Leopold's legacy: The lingering chaos in DR Congo. 60 years after independence, traces of the system of exploitation and violence that Leopold II and colonial-era Belgium created still remain in DR Congo. The propensity for violence is inherited, experts say. The mighty Congo River winds its way through more than 4,000 kilometers ...

What was the spiral of violence in the Congo Crisis?

Spiral of Violence. Like the Congo Crisis of the 1960s, the change of power in the 1990s went hand in hand with war and chaos — Mobutu's successors also used violence and oppression to maintain their power. The conflict in eastern Congo continues to smolder today and frequently erupts, with mass rape and killings running like a red thread ...

How long did Mobutu hold power?

Mobutu took advantage of this power vacuum and clung on to power for over 30 years. Two men hold the severed hands of their countrymen who were murdered by rubber sentries in 1904. The men standing on either side are missionaries who documented many such atrocities in DR Congo during the colonial era.

What is the Congo River?

The mighty Congo River winds its way through more than 4,000 kilometers of rainforest in central Africa. The lifeline of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is symbolic of the lush wealth of nature that ought to determine the fortunes of this gigantic country. Gold, uranium, copper and diamonds are buried deep within the earth.

What was the name of the country that Leopold renamed in 1971?

The eccentric ruler, who renamed the country Zaire in 1971, enriched himself and his minions on a grand scale — on the backs of the population.

When did the Congo Free State begin?

More than a century of looting and terror began in 1885 when King Leopold II and Belgium were granted then then-barely developed Congo Basin at the Berlin Conference. The "Congo Free State" served solely to enrich the monarch. Congolese labor oiled this machine. Anyone who resisted or stood in their way was brutally punished — photographs and reports of hands chopped off bear testimony to the stories.

When did Congo get independence?

This is how it largely remained, until Congo was given independence on 30 June 1960. Yet, even 60 years later —with the exception of a small elite —many children are still born into bitter poverty. King Leopold II of Belgium left behind a dark legacy in DR Congo which is still keenly felt today.

What was King Leopold II's purpose in the Congo?

To hide his activities, King Leopold II created a philanthropic society he called the International African Society, The society’s official purpose was to help the black people of the Congo. This move made Leopold’s private invasion of the Congo appear benign.

What did Leopold II learn?

Most of his time went into learning horse riding and shooting. No one could’ve thought a childhood so typical could yield a monster like Leopold II. At the age of nine, he was appointed a sub-lieutenant in the Belgian Army under Duke of Brabant’s title.

Why did Leopold II inherit the throne?

Leopold inherited the throne because his older brother Louis Philippe died earlier. Leopold had always had a keen interest in the advancement of Belgium and its trade.

Why is King Leopold II still remembered?

After all the brutalities, he is still remembered as a great King primarily because of the wealth he brought into the country. One reason Belgians loved Leopold II was all the building products he financed with his wealth.

How many progeny did Leopold II have?

At the age of 18, he married Marie Henriette of Austria. The Princess of Austria bore Leopold II four progeny. Out of which, only one was a boy who also passed away at a young age from pneumonia. Leopold had a collection of mistresses.

How long did the furnace burn in the Congo?

It is alleged that the furnaces near the King’s palace burned for approximately eight days. He burned down all records of his work, leaving no proof. In his own words, “I will give them ‘my’ Congo, but they have no right to know what I did there.”

When did the Congo become a free state?

In 1885, the Congress of Berlin officially recognized Congo as the “Congo Free State.”

How did Leopold promote the Congo?

In an attempt to preserve the Congo's labour force and stifle British criticism, Leopold promoted attempts to combat disease to give the impression that he cared about the welfare of the Congolese and invited experts from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to assist. Free State officials also defended themselves against allegations that exploitative policies were causing severe population decline in the Congo by attributing the losses to smallpox and sleeping sickness. Campaigning groups such as the Congo Reform Association did not oppose colonialism and instead sought to end the excesses of the Free State by encouraging Belgium to annex the colony officially. This would avoid damaging the delicate balance of power between France and Britain on the continent. While supporters of the Free State regime attempted to argue against claims of atrocities, a Commission of Enquiry, appointed by the regime in 1904, confirmed the stories of atrocities and pressure on the Belgian government increased.

Who led the Congo campaign?

In the United Kingdom, the campaign was led by the activist and pamphleteer E. D. Morel after 1900, whose book Red Rubber (1906) reached a mass audience. Notable members of the campaign included the novelists Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad and Arthur Conan Doyle as well as Belgian socialists such as Emile Vandervelde. In May 1903 a debate in the British House of Commons led to the passing of a resolution in condemnation of the Congo Free State. A few days later the British consul in the town of Boma, Roger Casement, began touring the Congo to investigate the true extent of the abuses. He delivered his report in December, and a revised version was forwarded to the Free State authorities in February 1904.

What was King Leopold's ghost about?

In 1999 Hochschild published King Leopold's Ghost, a book detailing the atrocities committed during the Free State existence. The book became a bestseller in Belgium, but aroused criticism from former Belgian colonialists and some academics as exaggerating the extent of the atrocities and population decline.

How did the Red Rubber System work?

With the majority of the Free State's revenues derived from the export of rubber, a labour policy—known by critics as the "Red Rubber system"—was created to maximise its extraction. Labour was demanded by the administration as taxation. This created a "slave society" as companies became increasingly dependent on forcibly mobilising Congolese labour for their collection of rubber. The state recruited a number of black officials, known as capitas, to organise local labour. However, the desire to maximise rubber collection, and hence the state's profits, meant that the centrally enforced demands were often set arbitrarily without considering the numbers or the welfare of workers. In the concessionary territories, the private companies which had purchased a concession from the Free State administration were able to use virtually any measures they wished to increase production and profits without state interference. The lack of a developed bureaucracy to oversee any commercial methods produced an atmosphere of "informality" throughout the state in regards to the operation of enterprises, which in turn facilitated abuses. Treatment of labourers (especially the duration of service) was not regulated by law and instead was left to the discretion of officials on the ground. ABIR and the Anversoise were particularly noted for the harshness with which officials treated Congolese workers. The historian Jean Stengers described regions controlled by these two companies as "veritable hells-on-earth". Rubber harvesters were usually compensated for their labour with cheap items, such as a cloth, beads, a portion of salt, or a knife. On one occasion, a customary chief who ordered his subjects to gather rubber was rewarded with slaves.

What were the causes of the decline in the population of the Congo?

Despite these atrocities, the main cause of the population decline was disease, which was exacerbated by the social disruption caused by the Free State. A number of epidemics, notably African sleeping sickness, smallpox, swine influenza and amoebic dysentery, ravaged indigenous populations. In 1901 alone it was estimated that 500,000 Congolese had died from sleeping sickness. Disease, famine and violence combined to reduce the birth-rate while excess deaths rose.

How did Leopold sanction the creation of child colonies?

Leopold sanctioned the creation of "child colonies" in which orphaned Congolese would be kidnapped and sent to schools operated by Catholic Missionaries in which they would learn to work or be soldiers; these were the only schools funded by the state. More than 50% of the children sent to the schools died of disease, and thousands more died in the forced marches into the colonies. In one such march 108 boys were sent over to a mission school and only 62 survived, eight of whom died a week later.

What happened in the 1890s in Congo?

The boom in demand for natural rubber, which was abundant in the territory, created a radical shift in the 1890s—to facilitate the extraction and export of rubber, all "uninhabited" land in the Congo was nationalised, with the majority distributed to private companies as concessions. Some was kept by the state.

What was the impact of King Leopold's Congo?

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). The movement, in fact, eventually forced Leopold to relinquish his private ownership of the Congo to the Belgian state in 1908. By that point he had made a huge profit from the territory, conservatively estimated as the equivalent of more than $1.1 billion in early twenty-first century terms.

What was the main commodity of King Leopold?

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. In the early years the main commodity Leopold sought was ivory. 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.

What was the Congo genocide?

Between the time that Leopold started to assume control of the Congo (around 1880) and when the forced labor system became less severe (after 1920), what happened could not, by strict definition, be called genocide, for there was no deliberate attempt to wipe out all members of one particular ethnic group. But the slashing of the territory's population—through a combination of disease, famine, slave labor, suppression of rebellions, and diminished birthrate—indisputably occurred on a genocidal scale.

How did the rubber boom affect the Congo?

First, the system of exploitation established there became a model for colonial rule in other parts of central Africa. Many of the surrounding colonies also had rain forests rich in wild rubber—Portuguese-controlled northern Angola, the Cameroons under the Germans, and the French Congo, part of French Equatorial Africa, across the Congo River. Seeing what profits Leopold was reaping from forced labor, officials in these colonies soon adopted exactly the same system—including women hostages, forced male labor, and the chicotte—with equally fatal consequences.

How many troops were involved in the Leopold mutiny?

The largest mutiny involved three thousand troops and an equal number of auxiliaries and porters, and continued for three years. "The rebels displayed a courage worthy of a better cause," (Flament et al., 1952, p. 417) acknowledged the army's official history—which, remarkably, devoted fully one-quarter of its pages to the various campaigns against mutineers within the army's own ranks.

What was the greatest conquest of Africa?

The European colonization of Africa was one of the greatest and swiftest conquests in human history. In 1870 roughly 80 percent of Africa south of the Sahara Desert was governed by indigenous kings, chiefs, and other rulers. By 1910 nearly this entire huge expanse had become European colonies or land, like South Africa, controlled by white settlers. The bloodiest single episode in Africa's colonization took place in the center of the continent in the large territory, known as the Congo.

What is King Leopold's Ghost about?

Hochschild, Adam (1998). King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Early and Personal Life

Building His Fortune

Colonization and Exploitation

• Leopold II truly was paying for all of the startup expenses to colonize The Congo out of his own pocket. He appointed governor generals to manage the various territories of the country. Leopold’s men eventually discovered that the rainforest had a plentiful supply of rubber trees. This was like stumbling across a gold mine. At the time, there was a...

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