Imperialism Case Study: Belgian Congo

Do Now: Read the short background information provided in the reading on King Leopold and record Five Facts you discovered about him or his colonization of the Congo

King Leopold II Gained power in 1865, after succeeding his father Leopold had a strong interest in philanthropy (helping others) and expansion His treatment of the people in the Congo Free State contradicted his personal reputation as an Enlightened ruler.

King Leopold II of Belgium

Henry Morton Stanley

Nationalism King Leopold measured the success of the Belgian Empire by how many colonies it controlled. When the people of Belgium did not express a desire to colonize, he decides to acquire a colony of his own In 1876, he creates a private holding colony, which he operated under the cover of an International Scientific and Humanitarian association

Leopold colonizes the Congo Three years after forming his first independent colony, King Leopold hires English-American journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley to form a colony in the Congo Stanley set up several outposts, which was the first step needed when planning to claim the land Stanley also got to work on a means of transportation in the colony. With funding provided by King Leopold, a small armada of steam boats was sent to the Congo to navigate the river.

Berlin Conference At the Berlin Conference in 1884-1885, King Leopold secured the Congo Free State as his own personal preserve This gave him a territory 76 times larger than Belgium and larger than all of Europe.

Maintaining order To keep order, King Leopold established an army called the Force Publique This army was made up of Congolese and Non- Congolese soldiers, and commanded by Belgian officers Cannibals were also recruited in order to terrorize the population into obedience

Force Publique

Demand for rubber King Leopold gained a monopoly on the rubber and ivory trade in the Congo Free State. He issued a decree that required the Congolese to supply him with these products without compensation or payment. Anyone who refused his orders, or failed to meet their quotas (amount required to be collected) would have their hands cut off.

Tapping rubber vines

Brutality in the Congo Free State Entire villages were burned, and women and children were killed regularly as punishment or to incite fear in the people Millions of Congolese people died due to the horrible working conditions, punishments from their oppressors, or from disease

Belgian Prosperity King Leopold made so much money from his brutal tactics, that he had to falsify documents to conceal his huge profits. He used this money to purchase more proprieties, build new monuments, and reconstruct palaces The Belgian subjects living under King Leopold were prospering, but at the expense of whom? Do you think the Belgians were aware of what was going on in the Congo Free State?

The Congo free state receives world attention Because of authors like E.D Morel (Black Man’s Burden) and Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness), world attention was brought to the horrors occurring in the Congo Free State A protest campaign led by religious leaders in the early 1900s forces the Belgian parliament to take action. In 1908, Leopold was forced to relinquish (give up) his property to the Belgian government Until its independence in 1960, the Congo Free State was renamed the Belgian Congo