Belgian Congo

of Katanga, which recently seceded from the Republic of the Congo which is located in South Africa. Congo was the third largest country on the continent of Africa. Then we are introduced to the origins of the Congo. The first citizens of the Congo were Portuguese settlers in 1483, but by 1879 King Leopold II of Belgium set up trading concessions and by 1908 The Belgian government officially took possession of the Congo. In the 1950s Congo became more advanced with river systems, railways, and…

the northeastern portion of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Virunga National Park is one of the most biodiverse and rich areas left in the world. It is a safe haven for many exotic and endangered animals, including mountain gorillas. However, because the Democratic Republic of Congo is centrally located in Africa, the country is in midst of turmoil and wars that erupted following post-colonization. Furthermore, the Democratic Republic of Congo itself has instability within its own country…

the legacy of colonization in Congo is pessimistic. If you don’t know much about the colonization of Congo, it is where Belgium claimed the land of the Congo Free State at the Berlin Conference and after they claimed it, they put the people of Congo into forced labor. It was negative, because their forests and farmlands were destroyed, which also demolished many of their resources and many of the Congolese people were killed by the missionaries. Colonialism in Congo was a major cause of…

King Leopold II of Belgium ruled the Congo for a long period of his life. The Christian King was able to acquire the land of the Congo through his opaque manipulation. He took advantage of this province and had a huge impact on millions of lives. People caught on to what he was doing and decided to take part in forcing him to sell the land. Léopold-Louis-Philippe-Marie-Victor was the King of The Belgians from 1865 and 1909. He was born into royalty and started to command Belgium when it was…

was an opportunity to gain wealth and power. Together, they devised a strategy to for Congo. Stanley would first set up base at the river’s mouth and then build a single road around the rapids as a guide for a railway. Over this road, porters would carry steamboats in pieces up to the rapids, which Stanley would later construct and use to travel upstream, building a chain of trading stations along the entire Congo River. Stanley’s motives were clear to the public, while Leopold reached “new…

peace within your loving arms” (Shawl 63). Everyone yearns for a home where they belong, a place where they can be free from persecution and oppression. This is the ideal society. This is Everfair, a small, bold nation tucked inside of the Belgian ruled Congo, a safe haven for people of any background. Nisi Shawl’s novel of the same name explores the diverse cast of characters that make up Everfair’s population, its founders, and the people who are fighting to keep it alive. Amongst these are…

hundreds of Congo Natives are being assaulted, raped, maimed and persecuted all for the benefit of one person, King Leopold II of Belgium. As a nation and a body of empathetic people, it is our duty to intervene. To many innocent people are being denied basic human rights and are being slaughtered like animals. Children and grown men are getting their hands amputated by force. Women being flogged and raped. Entire villages are being burned down, all to suppress the natives of the Congo and…

While most of the Belgian government policy had been changed Kayibana kept the system of ethnic identity cards. The Tutsi people who had fled the country began launching attacks into Rwanda, Hutu military troops responded and thousands were killed in these bloody guerilla…

washington williams, and many others. King Leopold’s Ghost explores topics such as social class, manipulation, slavery, religion, and wealth in order to enrich your knowledge of what really happened in the Belgian Congo. For a poor man living in Europe, the Belgian Congo was a place of hope. The Congo was a place of adventure and a place to acquire power and…

“reign” of the Congo, the reign that Belgium had to forcibly end after 23 years of empowerment. He was a tyrant who committed a mass genocide even larger than Adolf Hitler’s control of Germany in 1934,enslaving an entire country and hiding it by stating that the transactions he was making were “scientific”. He wanted to increase his personal wealth, and he’d do anything to do it. His greed was tremendous and was only cut off when his life was threatened after killing 10 million Congo citizens. …