Leopold II of Belgium

Some factors that motivated European exploration in Africa were the explorers. Most of them came to Africa for cultural and scientific curiosity. Others wanted to come to the country for profit. The impact these factors were is that it lead to many things in the country being discovered. Mungo Park, British explorer, was attacked by African warriors and escaped death by jumping into a river after trying to negotiate a deal over Niger. Other Europeans discovered things that could benefit the…

King Leopold, having colonized the DRC in the midst of the “rubber boom”, forced the natives in the DRC to work as slaves at the point of a gun (Spodek, 627). Daily quotas were instituted in order to maximize the daily work out of a laborer, and if the quotas weren’t met, they were subject to mutilation and the murder and rape of family members. Being recently released from colonialism, Belgium, needing to make economical advances in order to catch…

From the start of the 1800s, the continent of Africa was considered to be a gold mine for the European powers. Unknown of the riches beneath their feet, African people lived a very simplistic life and followed their traditions until european explorers David Livingstone and Henry Stanley published an account of their journey through the wilds of Africa. In a mad dash for these rich African lands, the European powers decided to have meeting that would latter be called the Berlin Conference. At…

The Scramble for Africa The general idea or definition most people associate imperialism with is the overtaking or influence a country has over another country in which the other country has relatively a weaker government and military system. This is supported in the book ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa” in which the writers states “Africa spring mainly from the fact that Africa lost power. Power is the ultimate determinant in human society, being basic to the relations within any group and…

The concept of colonization was not new to European history. During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon conquered and liberated countries along Europe, not only gaining resources but territories, and civilizing the cultures. Similarly, European leaders believed it was their duty to colonize. During the period of 1880 to 1914, European nations began to colonize the continent of Africa. Various leaders of the nations recognized the potential of Africa. They believed that it could benefit their country…

racism, economic exploitation, indirect rule, and modernization. Before the colonization of the Congo in 1877, the slave trade had weaken the country on for nearly four centuries. King Leopold II of Belgium took the Congo as his own property in 1876, and the mistreatment of the natives was even more terrifying. Leopold called a conference for every country in Europe to come to discuss the colonization of Africa in 1876. The Congo free state was King Leopold’s private possession. In a sense the…

Delivered on June 4, 1940, Winston Churchill’s speech “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” is one of the most recognized speeches during World War II. Churchill, who at the time was the prime minister of the United Kingdom did not actually broadcast this speech to the citizens of the United Kingdom, rather to the House of Commons. In fact, it was not until 1949 that people were able to listen to his own voice delivering the speech after Churchill was persuaded to record it for the benefit of younger…

writer of great luminosity, passion and complexity. The story Conrad depicts in ‘Heart of Darkness’ is based on the real backdrop that happened during the time of ‘Leopold II of Belgium’. The second king, Leopold II set an eye on Congo and colonized Africa. He brings out the sufferance of the people of Congo under the rule of Leopold II. People were enslaved, exploited, abused and their natural resources like Ivory were exploited. Where by the poem, The White Man’s Burden by Rudyard Kipling is…

Western nations stole the resources of weaker nations across the globe. During the late-19th century European nations carved up Africa and brutally murdered any opposition. The greatest injustice probably occurred in the Congo, where King Leopold II of Belgium forced the natives to harvest rubber, under unspeakably dreadful conditions. An estimated ten million Congolese were killed as a result!2 Millions of innocent people in other African countries were killed as well and most of the areas…

established series of long-term developmental plans that believed will bring benefits that will help improve its development. DRC’s current development level has many connections with its history. In 1885, Belgium carried out colonial rule by King Leopold II in DRC. During the colonial rule, Belgium government drained the resources in DRC away and killed millions of citizens in DRC. The…