The Results of Greed and Power
In a time when industrialization was sweeping across the western world, Africa had yet experienced the same development. Reports of missionaries who had visited Africa sparked many Europeans’ understanding that this country needed to be civilized. While the idea of colonizing Africa seemed to be mutually beneficial for both Africans and Belgians, King Leopold II’s motives were not. Leopold decided to take it upon himself to civilize Congo, an unclaimed part of Africa. Although it was said to be done in the name of philanthropy, Leopold, with the help of others, managed to become a ruler, kidnapper, thief, and murderer through his lies and deceit. Congo was already experiencing disease and poverty, but Leopold managed to only make life worse for the poor Congolese, while also completely violating their human rights.
King Leopold II of Belgium was a German prince as a young man, but was not content with just being that. With his power-hungry nature, he sought out to obtain a colony in order to have even more prestige along with a steady income. The unclaimed country of Congo in Africa, rich in natural resources, seemed to be the perfect place to colonize in order to gain more power and wealth. The metaphor of the title of Hochschild’s second chapter, “The Fox Crosses the Stream,” becomes relevant as Leopold is compared to a fox, strategically and secretly planning his attack to illegally obtain property from Africa (Hochschild 33.) In other words, the colonization of Congo was not a sudden idea, but rather a life-long dream come true for Leopold. This could have only happened by Leopold’s philanthropic and humanitarian façade that he put on, which gave the impression that he was solely becoming the ruler of Congo in order to develop schools, homes, and improve the quality of life. The results, though, were quite the opposite, but Leopold did not do this all by himself. Much help came from journalist and African explorer, Sir Henry Morton Stanley.
Sir Henry Morton Stanley was once a low-class, illegitimate child, born with the name John Rowlands, who was raised in a workhouse. He fought in both sides of the American Civil War and also covered American Indian Wars as a journalist. In 1868, at just twenty-seven years old, he experienced his first taste of fame as he wrote about “the expedition British government was organizing against the Emperor of Abyssinia” (Hochschild 26). Stanley greatly increased his fame as he was sponsored by New York Herald publisher James Gordon Bennett to find David Livingstone, an explorer who had been lost in Africa since the 1860s. When Stanley found him in 1872, he gained more fame through his reports. With much admiration, Leopold met with the well-known journalist and explorer in 1878 and decided to fund a five year expedition for Stanley in which he explored Congo, found the source of the Congo River, constructed roads and trading stations, and more. With Sir Henry Morton Stanley’s help and exploration, Leopold proceeded with his plan to develop and colonize Congo.
Under Leopold’s ruling, the people of Congo did not see the development that they were promised. In fact, the quality of life for the Congolese only declined. Congo was already a country struck with famine and diseases, such as smallpox and sleeping sickness, but conditions only worsened. Not only were people of Congo robbed of their health and well-being, but they were also forced to sign documents releasing their property and natural resources, losing what little they had as a people. Millions of Congolese were treated like animals, or even worse. Genocide was not the intent of Leopold and his men, but their intention of labor nonetheless resulted in the death of millions. In fact, if the use of Congolese labor meant “millions of people died, that to them was incidental” (Hochschild 226.) The Congolese laborers were used as a part of Leopold’s
The leadership of King Leopold II of Belgium over Belgium Congo was dissatisfying towards the Congolese during his reign. The Congolese were brutalized during the colonization; it was the worst out of all of Africa’s colonization. He didn’t directly look into how the local officers were treating his colonists. He had his colony in a forced labor regime. Leopold also exploited Belgium Congo’s futile resources of rubber trees for Belgium’s own selfish profit. He destroyed the economic system in the…
King Leopold II and the Congo Free State King Leopold II retained the interesting position of being the king of two independent countries at the same time – Belgium and the Congo Free State. His conflicting set of goals and values were as separate as his double title. He adopted the interests of a dedicated philanthropist, yet his actions in Africa labeled him as a greedy dictator. As sovereign over the Congo Free State, he was responsible for the death of somewhere between five to fifteen…
Rutendo Matingo Mr. Williamson Empires March 4th, 2013 Stanley and King Leopold compared King Leopold, the ruthless ruler of Belgium is remembered for the exploitation of the Congo Free State, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. With the terms and conditions of the Berlin Conference in hand, Leopold disregarded them and decided to use a violent approach in his colonization of the Congo. Henry Morton Stanley, a man who loved to explore the African continent, helped in the discovery…
Zachary Johnson History 102 Katrin Paehler 24 March, 2015 King Leopold’s Ghost King Leopold’s Ghost starts off with the discovery of the Congo River by the Portuguese’s a couple hundred years earlier. King Leopold will end up buying the Congo from the now weak Portuguese’s in secret. After he buys the central African land he finds out that there are many resources there and a lot of money to be made. King Leopold has Stanly explore the region and eventually has him build up there infrastructure,…
King Leopold's Ghost Summary For my third quarter book project, I read the book "King Leopold's Ghost" written by Adam Hochschild. This book was about King Leopold II and his affects on the Congo, it also included some stories on the resistance of Leopold and the humanitarian society dedicated to stop Leopold's terror in the Congo. The book delves into how Leopold was able to complete his terror in the Congo, and how the people of the world tried to stop him. Leopold like all people was a very complex…
How Should King Leopold II Be Remembered ? You ask the question how should King Leopold II be remembered, look no further, your answer lies here on this white canvas of black stripes in the midst of my words. King Leopold denies charges cast upon him over and over all throughout an article, "King Leopold Denies Charges Against Him" , published on Dec. 11, 1906. He states he doesn’t care about a profit and his only motive was the wellbeing of the Congo. He goes on to say that he never intentionally…
occupation articulated in Article 35 of the Final Act. The European colonization of Africa was one of the greatest and swiftest conquests in human history. In 1870 roughly 80 percent of Africa south of the Sahara Desert was governed by indigenous kings, chiefs, and other rulers. By 1910 nearly this entire huge expanse had become European colonies or land, like South Africa, controlled by white settlers. The bloodiest single episode in Africa's colonization took place in the center of the continent…
die Geschichte des Heinz Leopold des 3. Leopold extracted a fortune from the Congo, initially by the collection of ivory, and after a rise in the price of rubber in the 1890s, by forcing the population to collect sap from rubber plants. Villages were required to meet quotas on rubber collections, and individuals' hands were cut off if they did not meet the requirements. His regime was responsible for the death of an estimated 2 to 15 million Congolese. This became one of the most infamous international…
country unrightfully and barbarically exploited during this scramble was the Congo, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As I learned from reading Joan Ferrante and Jerry Kloby's books, the Congo was literally stripped of all control by King Leopold of Belgium's selfish and inconsiderate greed. It all began in 1885 after Sir Henry Morton Stanley found the Congo River and Belgium's military successfully took over the natives and defeated the Anglo-Portuguese, who also were looking to colonize…
Individual Rights. It was on June 15, 1215 in a field at Runnymede, that King John affixed his seal to the Magna Carta. He was confronted by 40 rebellious Barons; he consented to their demands in order to avoid civil war. Now if we back up a few years to how this all came about. It was in 1164 the Constitution of Clarendon limited the church’s appeals to Rome and placed the cloth under the jurisdiction of civil courts. King Henry II had the influence of who he wanted as bishops. This made the Clergy…