Belgian Congo

history, the region now called the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been plagued with political upheaval and human rights violations. The nation possesses immense natural recourses, the cultivation of which attracts domestic and foreign influence to the country. 2. The history of Western involvement in the Congo region consists primarily of a timeline of perpetual violence, political coups, and civil unrest. The region became a Belgian colony in 1885 under the rule of King Leopold…

The atrocities committed in the Congo were some of the most horrendous that the world has ever seen, yet many of us have never even heard of King Leopold II. Leopold was the king of Belgium from 1865-1909. In Belgium, his reign was seen as one that brought great riches to his country, and one filled with good deeds to the Congolese people. However the exact opposite is true. King Leopold II did bring mass amounts of money to Belgium, but at one of the greatest human costs the world has ever seen…

Leopold’s feelings of neglect growing up led him to a life of dominance. As the book says “A person starved for love as a child and now filled with an obsessive desire for an emotional substitute.”( 38) This emotional substitute was to be filled with the desire to be powerful and in control . As king Leopold manipulated situations with his” foxlike ways” he began to plot with Stanley where he needed to further explore in order to claim the lands of Africa. It is hard to understand how and why a…

King Leopold’s Greedy Fall As King Leopold came to power of the Belgian throne, he had much more in mind than ruling only Belgium. Even though Belgium was already under his restricting rule, he was nowhere near reaching his point of satisfaction. Leopold needed another country to gain personal wealth and power from and intended extracting valuable resources form the Congo Free State. This only begins to explain Leopold’s greed and terror and how he would have to be forcefully removed from power…

Rwanda is geographically located in Africa. It is directly North of Burundi and East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda has a Republican government. In Rwanda, the people speak Kinyarwanda, French, English, and Swahili. The life expectancy in Rwanda is 59. Most Rwandans are apart of the Hutu, Tutsi or Twa groups. Rwanda is made up of grassy uplands and hills. In 2013, the population of Rwanda was 11.78 million. Rwanda was made up of two main ethnic groups, the Hutu and the Tutsi.…

in response to noble ideals.” -Ralph Bunche This quotation could be applied to the Congo and Tanzania after independence; and specifically to Patrice Lumumba and Julius Nyerere, who both had noble ideals and goals and stood up for them. Despite their intentions; it did not work exactly as they wanted, and the Congo was used as a pawn in the Cold War while African Socialism in Tanzania deteriorated. When the Congo gained independence in 1960, the MNC (Mouvement National Congolais) won the most…

novels in English literature. The story begins when Marlow, who works for a Belgian company, went on a journey to the heart of Africa as a steamship captain. Through his journey, he heard the name of Kurtz for the first time. Then the name repeated many times which made Marlow, who is our narrator in addition to another unknown narrator, interested to know about Kurtz. Kurtz works for the company as an ivory trader in the Congo which was at that time one of Belgium's colonies. According to…

black Americans, George Washington Williams and William Sheppard, risked much to bring evidence of the Congo atrocities to the outside world. Sailing into the middle of the story was a young Congo River steamboat officer named Joseph Conrad. And looming above them all, the duplicitous billionaire King Leopold II. With great power and compassion, King Leopold's Ghost will brand the tragedy of the Congo--too long forgotten--onto the conscience of the West. Early in the imperial colonial period…

document the cruelty of the tyranny, some who did went unnoticed due to Leopold's worldwide stance as a famous philanthropist. But, some of the savagery can be explored by reading Joseph Conrad's Heart of Brutality, as it was inspired by the brutality in Congo by the force Publique. It was only when the publicist, Edward Dene Morel realized that Leopold was enforcing slave labor in Africa, did the brutality of Leopold came under the light. Morel, like Leopold was smart enough to manipulate…

1890, the post era of “King of the Jungle,” roughly ten years after Tarzan left the Congo. Tarzan has been re-assimilated into 19th Century England under the new name, John Clayton. He is a more civilized version of the swinging hero most know and love as he has adapted to life in London along with his wife Jane. As a celebrity, legend and Earl of Greystoke, John Clayton is invited by King Leopold II from Belgian to come to Africa for political reasons. John refuses his invitation, but…