The Belgian Congo, as Zaire and now the Democratic...

The Belgian Congo, as Zaire and now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were formerly called was the creation of King Leopold of Belgium who desperately wanted a colony. By the late 19th century there was little land left for the taking except in Africa and it had become obvious that taking over independent lands was neither wise nor practical. King Leopold II, King of the Belgians, was a man of enormous appetites both for land and food—he once ate two whole pheasants at a restaurant in Paris, and it was not unusual for him to order several entrees. His colony was 75 times larger than Belgium. Stanley’s explorations in Africa were becoming well known and sensational, and Leopold carefully wooed him into striking a bargain--Stanley†¦show more content†¦Any resistance to the country’s plunder was met with strong measures. Failing to meet quotas was a capital offense. Hands of dead Congolese were cut off and kept in storage to account for expended ammunition, although often the natives were killed just for sport. It has been estimated that 50% of the population died between the 1870’s and 1919, approximately 10 million people were killed most often from sickness and starvation. Leopold was a genius at public relations and he knew how to accumulate supporters in other countries through flattery and marketing. Civilization and suppression of the slave trade were words often used to describe his motives He insisted he wanted to create a free state similar to Liberia, an idea that appealed to American white racists who were still looking for places to export America’s blacks. John Tyler Morgan, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Henry Shelton Sanford, wealthy Florida orange planter and strong supporter of President Chester A. Arthur, were easily Manipulated by the King into gaining American support for his efforts. Reading this book reinforced my view that, as a society, our values and standards are far superior to those of the nineteenth century. The discovery of rubber and its immense number of uses for an increasingly industrial society made it a valuable commodity that would make Leopold immensely rich. He did so on the backs of the black population of the Congo.Show MoreRelatedNotes18856 Words   |  76 Pagessince the advent of independence has been blamed on the legacies of colonialism. Is that fair? Virtually all colonial powers had â€Å"colonial missions.† What were these missions and why were they apparently such a disaster? Did any good come out of the African â€Å"colonial experience†? Introduction Colonization of Africa by European countries was a monumental milestone in  ­ the development of Africa. The Africans consider the impact of colonization  ­ on them to be perhaps the most important factorRead MoreRwanda s Divided History : Rwanda2233 Words   |  9 PagesApartheid in South Africa, the genocide in Rwanda was not a random event. It was instead the result of generations of discrimination and abuse based on ethnic groups. In the early 19th century during Rwanda’s colonial period, there already existed a divide between the elite Tutsi cattle herders and the majority of the population who were peasant farmers, known as Hutu.[i] In 1918, Rwanda came under Belgian control, â€Å"during which the ruling Belgians favored the minority Tutsis over the Hutus, exacerbatingRead MoreBlood Diamond Research7747 Words   |  31 Pages elegance, love, and power. Centuries ago, they were also a symbol of courage, invincibility and strength. What is less commonly known is that these stones are also a symbol of terror and death. Conflicts arise from the mining of these gems; many people have died and many are perhaps still dying beca use of the mining of these precious stones. The Discovery of Diamonds Although the exact date in unclear, the first diamond discovery in Africa was sometime between late 1866 and early 1867. The discovery