The Belgian Congo
King Leopold II and Henry Stanley
Henry Stanley became famous for his success in finding Dr Livingstone.
1878 - King Leopold sends Henry Stanley to “explore” land in Africa. (That they can colonise)
"I'm sure if I quite openly charged Stanley with the task of taking possession in my name of some part of Africa, the English will stop me... So I think I'll just give Stanley some job of exploration which would offend no one, and will give us the bases and headquarters which we can take over later on."
Do now: Why do you think King Leopold hired Stanley under the guise of “exploration” rather than openly saying it was for research on areas to colonise?
What resources were found by Stanley in the Congo?
Do now: Why would rubber be such a valuable resources to have control over in 1884?
Hint: What is happening in Europe at this time?
Berlin Conference
1884 - Belgium officially takes the whole of the Congo.
Leopold promises:
Do now:
The Exploitation of the Congo
Belgium imposes a monopoly on ivory and rubber trade - all profit goes to Belgium.
Labour taxes to be paid in rubber quotas.
Failure to meet rubber quotas - severe consequences.
Exploitation
Under Leopold II there were virtually no laws or restrictions protecting the native Congolese and their lands.
Because there was little oversight and no form of organized government control, Europeans were free to adopt brutal policies of kidnapping, mutilation, robbery, and murder to extract desired labor and resources from the local population.
Rebellion
Harsh treatment inspired some Congolese people to rebel.
Rebellions were put down by killing everyone who refused to work. - Bodies were put on display as a warning.
"What happened in the Congo was indeed mass murder on a vast scale, but the sad truth is that the men who carried it out for Leopold were no more murderous than many Europeans then at work or at war elsewhere in Africa.”
Do now:
What does this source suggest about colonisation in general?
How does it end?
By 1908 King Leopold was forced by pressure from other world powers to change his brutal policies in Congo.
These powers: Britain, The Netherlands, USA also had large rubber factory colonies or industries.
Do now: Why would this make them ask King Leopold to change his brutal policies
Independence and Statistics
By 1971 the Congo gained full independence.
An estimated 10 million Congolese people were killed under Belgian rule - in reality no one can say the true number and it might be well over 10 million.
Congo today - The DRC
The Congo has, since independence, gone through massive trauma.
In the 1990s the Great African War saw another 6 million Congolese killed.
The democratic government was overthrown in 1997 and a dictatorship put in place.
Foreign countries still own virtually all of Congo’s natural resources, and they guard their extraction rights with UN peacekeepers and hired paramilitaries. Virtually everybody in the country lives in desperate poverty, despite living in what is (per square mile) the most resource-rich country on Earth.
Source A
Henry Morton Stanley was a reporter for a US newspaper. He travelled a lot through central Africa and was later employed by King Leopold as a colonial administrator in the Congo. In 1898 Stanley wrote the following passage:
“Who can doubt that G-d chose King Leopold as His instrument to save this vast slave park? King Leopold found the Congo cursed by cannibalism, savagery and despair; and he has been trying very patiently to relieve it of its horrors, rescue it from its oppressors, and save it from destruction.”
Using your new knowledge about the Belgian Congo, explain why Stanley’s message is so ironic? (2x2) (4)
Highlight at least 2 parts to discuss!
Who/what does this man represent?
What is the significance of the title?
Who does the snake represent?
What does that say about this person?
What is the snake doing to “the man”