Belgian Congo

wrote this book with the inspiration after he sailed up the Congo River, a journey that provided much of the material for his most notable and highly regarded work Heart of Darkness. One of Conrad’s main focus is on the issues surrounding imperialism in the novel yet there is also a larger underlying issue of race and equality, within the overall story. The story revolves mainly around Marlow, the main character and his journey through the Congo River to meet Kurtz, seeming to be a man of great…

Rwandan genocide occurred in 1944. The Belgians were the ones who initially created a strong divide between the Tutsi and the Hutu, the two African groups living in Rwanda. In the 1930s, Belgium, the current ruling power, defined specific physical characteristics to differentiate between the Tutsis and the Hutus. The Tutsis were perceived as the superior group in comparison to the Hutus, so the Belgians saw them as partners in enforcing Belgium law. In 1933, the Belgians mad identity cards that…

draws to a close with an optimistic outlook as Leah reflects on her future in the Congo. “It’s taken ten years and seems like a miracle, but the Americans are losing in Angola. Their land mines are still all over the country…but in my dreams I still have hope” (Kingsolver 607). Leah is emphasizing that Angola may be war-torn still, but it is making progress towards freedom. During years of oppression under Belgian rule, the Congolese proletariat were kept subservient and uneducated, and though…

their surroundings and often times in causes changes in their behaviors. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, is a novel about a pastor who takes his family to the Belgian Congo on a mission to spread his Christianity beliefs to the Congolese. The mother and the four daughters taken to the Congo were all effected by the Congo environment which in turn lead to changes in the psychological and moral traits of these characters. The character that is affected the most by the environment she…

The State of Affairs in Africa has always created stereo-types as a doomed continent with unavoidable tribal conflict and ethnic cleavages. It’s hard to understand why there were so many wars and instability in Africa in the late 90’s. Over the last four decades, nearly twenty African countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa area have experienced at least one form of war. The biggest and deadliest war was the Rwandan genocide. Most of the wars occurred because of influences Europeans had on African…

the Congo and in the article, evidence of old imperialism was found. BBC said, “Nearly half the population lives in poverty, according to the World Bank, even though the Republic of Congo is one of sub-Saharan Africa's main oil producers. Oil is the mainstay of the economy…” (Republic of Congo Country Profile). This shows that the Congo, and actually many countries in Africa, still haven’t recovered from its terrible treatment in the 1900s under the rule of King Leopold and Belgium. The Congo…

Another man that describes the European attitude is Wole Soyinka an African man. Soyinka was born towards the end of Imperialism in Nigeria by Great Britain. He describes the attitudes of Europeans toward Africans. Soyinka grew up under Imperialism with the influence of European cultures, such as; religion and education. Soyinka wanted to inform how Imperialism affected Africans. In an interview he states, “I listened to lots of conversations between my father and his intellectual circle, in the…

weapons. In return, the US threatened the Soviet Union. When the Security Council tried to protest and stop the invasion, Britain and France simply used their veto power. However, when the General Assembly met, they forced the removal of the British and French troops from the area. Lester Pearson of Canada came up with an idea that United Nations emergency force be sent into the Canal. The force would consist of troops from countries who were not involved in the conflict. The force was called…

With the European domination in the beginning of the 20th century, many countries in Africa and Latin America sought to restructure their empire and gain independence from the colonization where there was a change in economic growth but not necessarily a change in economic development. A continuity through these times of colonization is the lasting legacy these countries have left through their fight against it. Before the Cold War and the mass European domination post World War 2, these…

would have arrested Victor (the neighbor)? He told that someone who didn’t liked him must denounced him as a rebel spy. 5. What does the Rwandan journalist tell Jack (the American reporter) is the difference between the Hutus and Tutsis? That the Belgian colonists created the division between them. The Tutsis were taller and more elegant…