Belgian Congo

In the early 1900s the Congo was being exploited by Belgium for its natural resources. The Belgians would do terrible things such as bringing the natives back to Europe for human zoos. The Congo halved in population while under Belgian rule. Being starved, Killed off from disease, and even having their body parts such as hands being chopped off all lead to this depopulation. Another legacy Europe left on the Congo was the language changes it caused. People in the Congo now spoke mainly European…

The government of Rwanda was haunted by the years of colonization by the Belgians. Through this time the Belgians named two groups which were known as Hutus and Tutsis. However, due to different treatment between each group the Hutus and the Tutsis would endure the worst wars that Africa could have ever encountered. Through revenge and a desire to kill, these conflicts would arise through personal racialized and ethnicized history that were taught to them. Through the grievance of history these…

religious leader to declare war, and tycoons to outsource jobs to countries that have virtually nonexistent human rights policies. In Joseph Conrad’s novel, The Heart of Darkness, Conrad cast a satirical depiction of the European view of the Belgian Congo and the events that actually occurred there, using the nature of oppression and cruelty, to bring to light the hypocrisy of Victorian Europe, and the idea that greed can destroy our humanity. Conrad’s formidable use of bleak imagery in the…

were more humane in the treatment of slaves, but none were as terrifyingly horrendous in brutality and inhumane practices as the Belgian-controlled Congo. The Belgians were only in the Scramble for one thing, and that was wealth, which they extracted from the harsh interior as no other country wanted it because of the location and use of valuable resources. Since the Congo is gargantuan in size and riddled with savages…

The government of Rwanda was haunted by the years of colonization by the Belgians. Through this time, the Belgians named two groups, which were known as Hutus and Tutsis. However, due to different treatment between each group, the Hutus and the Tutsis would endure the ghastliest war that Africa could have ever faced. As a result, of revenge and a longing to kill, these conflicts would arise through personal racialized and ethnicized history that was taught to them. Through the grievance of…

civilized the continent. Although Africa, specifically the Congo, was inhabited by native tribal civilizations, the Europeans did not see Africa as sophisticated. Therefore, countries like Britain, Germany, France, Portugal, and lastly Belgian, rushed to Africa to claim land. Although many countries exploited the African lands by taking raw materials—ivory, gold, rubber, and other minerals—historians have criticized King Leopold of Belgian…

Published in 1906, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is the story of one man’s journey into a landscape of physical and psychological darkness. Inspired by an actual trip the author made to the Belgian Congo in 1890, Charlie Marlow is the main character in this novella, and he embarks on a journey through the heart of the African jungle with the intention of enlightening the “savages” who live there, but later his quest darkens Marlow’s own heart much more than it enlightens the “savages” that…

In the novel, The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, Leah Price is exposed to many cases of justice and injustice during her stay in the Congo. Leah’s understanding of justice grew as she grew older, and her search for justice was successful sometimes, but not enough to greatly affect the world around her. Leah’s search was very significant for the work as a whole, and was essential in conveying the main idea of the novel. Leah Price was her fathers’ most fond apprentice. Leah would…

In the article, Afro-American Biography: The Case of George Washington Williams by John Hope Franklin, and the letter George Washington Williams's Open Letter to King Leopold on the Congo, 1890, both of the article and letter was a turning point for blacks throughout the world. The article revealed discrimination within the United States and how George Washington overcame this. The letter that he wrote to King Leopold, woke a society that didn’t want to wake up. A society that considered black…

between Leopold’s Congo and today” (Hochfield,309). He wrote his book in hopes to capture the attention of more people on Leopold’s atrocities. This book has been a great success and has shown millions of people around the world a lesson that they would not forget. His viewpoint in the book is quite obvious. He opposes the holocaust brought upon the Congo, as almost everybody who has heard of it in the present world has. His book is nonfiction. He describes in…