Central Africa, 1885. The Congo is the personal property of King Leopold II. After the invention of inflatable bike tires, rubber becomes a commodity. The Belgian Congo has the potential to produce millions of tons of rubber a year, and no special cultivation techniques or tools are needed to harvest rubber -only human labor is required. This leads to a multitude of backdoor dealings and atrocities committed in the pursuit of profit and industry. European intervention and Imperialism had a negative and lasting effect on Central Africa’s political and social infrastructure as a direct result of the Belgian government’s avarice, King Leopold II’s cruel actions as monarch, and the Congolese Genocide. To begin, the Belgian government’s avarice
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In 1876, he organized what appeared to be an international philanthropic association...“The International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of the Congo”...It did not turn out to be for the betterment of the natives...He sought to reap the land of all it’s resources, and used the profits to improve his own country rather than help the Congolese natives. …show more content…
Meanwhile, african men, women, and were being held hostage, killed, and tortured for not meeting impossibly high rubber quotas. King Leopold’s devious and underhanded ruling methods lead to one of the darkest events in human history- the Congolese genocide. Above all, the mass murder of many thousands of native africans deeply scarred both the Congo land and people. Aggressive use of the Force Publique, a group of african militants hired by the Belgian government in a format reminiscent of a military-police organization, quickly devolved into extreme violence and multiple atrocities. King Leopold’s Ghost details the actions of particularly cruel Belgian officers-
The station chief at M'Bima used his revolver to shoot holes in Africans' ear lobes... When villagers, in a desperate attempt to meet the weight quota, turned in rubber mixed with dirt or pebbles to the agent Albéric Detiége, he made them eat it. When two porters failed to use a designated latrine, a district commissioner...ordered them paraded in front of troops, their faces rubbed with excrement. (Hochschild,
In 1876, he organized what appeared to be an international philanthropic association...“The International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of the Congo”...It did not turn out to be for the betterment of the natives...He sought to reap the land of all it’s resources, and used the profits to improve his own country rather than help the Congolese natives. …show more content…
Meanwhile, african men, women, and were being held hostage, killed, and tortured for not meeting impossibly high rubber quotas. King Leopold’s devious and underhanded ruling methods lead to one of the darkest events in human history- the Congolese genocide. Above all, the mass murder of many thousands of native africans deeply scarred both the Congo land and people. Aggressive use of the Force Publique, a group of african militants hired by the Belgian government in a format reminiscent of a military-police organization, quickly devolved into extreme violence and multiple atrocities. King Leopold’s Ghost details the actions of particularly cruel Belgian officers-
The station chief at M'Bima used his revolver to shoot holes in Africans' ear lobes... When villagers, in a desperate attempt to meet the weight quota, turned in rubber mixed with dirt or pebbles to the agent Albéric Detiége, he made them eat it. When two porters failed to use a designated latrine, a district commissioner...ordered them paraded in front of troops, their faces rubbed with excrement. (Hochschild,