“This is a story of that movement, of the savage crime that was its target, of the long period of exploration and conquest that preceded it and the way the world has forgotten one of the great mass killings of recent history (2-3).
King Leopold II of Belgium began his reign of terror on Congo in the 1880s as Africa was being split up by the European Powers. Henry Morton Stanley, a renowned explorer, became the first who went through the unexplored area surrounding the Congo River, and through this King Leopold, seizing the opportunity, gained claim to the territory by moving through European Politics by claiming to be a humanitarian and philanthropist. He gained support by establishing the International African Association and continuing humanitarian efforts to curb slave trade, continue with the advancement of science and encourage moral uplift (42).
When he had control of the territory, he ravaged Congo of its wealth, particularly of rubber and ivory, not allowing any Africans to make any profit (118) and in doing so forced the black people into slavery to become porters and soldiers. They died by the thousands carrying heavy loads and being whipped to the point of death or unconsciousness. Various Congo tribes and villages started rebellions but eventually were defeated and then tortured by being burned or having their right hand and foot …show more content…
These acts only became known through the heroes who stood up for human rights, many of whom died courageously. Eventually the genocide of Congo was forgotten, through books on slavery being banned due to press censorship and helped along by Leopold burning incriminating papers saying “I will give them my Congo, but they have no right to know what I did there”
King Leopold II of Belgium began his reign of terror on Congo in the 1880s as Africa was being split up by the European Powers. Henry Morton Stanley, a renowned explorer, became the first who went through the unexplored area surrounding the Congo River, and through this King Leopold, seizing the opportunity, gained claim to the territory by moving through European Politics by claiming to be a humanitarian and philanthropist. He gained support by establishing the International African Association and continuing humanitarian efforts to curb slave trade, continue with the advancement of science and encourage moral uplift (42).
When he had control of the territory, he ravaged Congo of its wealth, particularly of rubber and ivory, not allowing any Africans to make any profit (118) and in doing so forced the black people into slavery to become porters and soldiers. They died by the thousands carrying heavy loads and being whipped to the point of death or unconsciousness. Various Congo tribes and villages started rebellions but eventually were defeated and then tortured by being burned or having their right hand and foot …show more content…
These acts only became known through the heroes who stood up for human rights, many of whom died courageously. Eventually the genocide of Congo was forgotten, through books on slavery being banned due to press censorship and helped along by Leopold burning incriminating papers saying “I will give them my Congo, but they have no right to know what I did there”