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He wanted his own colony, and wished for economic control (especially in the rubber businesses).
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Who owned the Belgian Congo after the conference of Berlin?
King Leopold II. this was just a way for the Europeans to take control of most of Africa
What was the Congo free state?
A large part of Africa personally controlled by King Leopold II of Belgium. Work in the Congo began in the mid 1870's as King Leopold was able to slowly take control of the area while hiding behind various humanitarian and philanthropic organizations (in other words, Leopold was basically able to take over the Congo by pretending to fund and coordinate organizations to help improve the conditions in the uncivilized Congo). Through doing this, Leopold was able to gain the trust of Europe that what he was doing in the Congo was for the good. Finally, in 1885 Leopold took complete control over the Congo while still maintaining that what he was doing in the Congo was for the good of the natives. He renamed the land the Congo Free State, and it was literally his personal colony. It soon became obvious, however, that Leopold was a harsh and brutal ruler. He quickly abandoned the work of modernizing and educating the Congo and turned to plundering the land (something that would not be possible in the Government-controlled European colonies, but was very easy for Leopold to do in his personal colony). He basically enslaved millions of the Congolese and if they didn't meet their quotas they would be brutally punished (villages may be burnt, people may have their limbs or even heads cut off). Body parts became a morbid sort of currency as they could be traded for services or used to pay debts. By 1901 the outside world became aware of the terror in the Congo Free State, and pressure quickly mounted on Leopold to stop. He was not ready to do so, but several international committees were able to explore the deplorable conditions in the Congo and prove that what he was doing was not in any way acceptable. In 1908 the matter was taken out of Leopold's hands when the enraged Belgian government annexed the Congo Free State from their king. It was quickly turned into a Belgian colony (the Belgian Congo), and the atrocities quickly ceased as the conditions improved.
When was Democratic Republic of Congo invaded by the Belgians?
King Leopald II didn't have any colonies, and decided he'd take over the Congo.Yeah new person-Well not only did he not own any colonies but back in the 1800's the Congo was very resourceful. They had rubber, ivory, tin, cooper and many natural resources. King Leopold took over around 1882 when a treaty was signed that gave the right for him to take over.
Who established a Congo free state?
King Leopold II of Belgium, after he was able to take control of the area while pretending to coordinate humanitarian efforts to help the Congolese (he was not looking to improve the conditions of the Congo, and within twenty five years international outcry led the Belgian government to annex the Congo from him).
Where does the story the heart of darkness take place?
Since it was first serialized in Blackwood's Magazine in 1899, it clearly had to take place before then. Eight and a half years before writing the book, Conrad had gone to serve as the captain of a Congo steamer. On arriving in the Congo, he found his steamer damaged and under repair. He became sick and returned to Europe before serving as captain. The setting for the book is an area under the nominal control of Belgium during the period of Belgian colonization and seems to be based on Conrad's personal experiences..As a background, Belgium itself had gained independence in 1831 when it broke away from the Netherlands and became a new nation. The second king of Belgium, Leopold II, was a very ambitious man who wanted to personally enrich himself and enhance his country's prestige by annexing and colonizing lands in Africa. In 1865 he succeeded his father, Leopold I, to the Belgian throne. In 1876 he commissioned Sir Henry Morton Stanley's expedition to explore the Congo region. This exploration led initially to the establishment of the Congo Free State which belonged to Leopold II as a personal possession. He proclaimed himself king-sovereign of Congo Free State at a time when France, Britain, Portugal, and Germany also had colonies in the area. In 1885 Leopold II secured U.S. recognition of his personal sovereignty over the Congo Free State.Leopold II was absolute ruler of Congo. His rule was brutal and millions of Congolese died as a result. By 1895 the British press started to expose Leopold II's atrocities in Congo. In 1897 a Swedish missionary told a London meeting how Leopold's soldiers were rewarded by the number of Congolese hands they amputated as punishment to native workers for failure to work hard enough. By 1899 the British vice consul confirmed and further reported the brutality of Leopold's misrule in Congo. Finally in 1908, Leopold was forced to hand over the Congo Free State, his personal fiefdom, to the Belgian state.Comparisons between the book and Leopold's administration suggest that it is a direct parallel so, combined with the period when Conrad was in the area, the time period can be assumed to be between about 1885 and 1895.
What was the Red Rubber Scandal of the Belgian Congo?
Basically, King Leopold II of Belgium personally owned the Congo (so at this point it wasn't actually the "Belgian Congo", it was called, ironically, the "Belgian Free State"). This was in the late 1800s when bicycles were becoming very popular. The Congo was very rich in rubber trees (they grew there naturally), so Leopold sent out his troops to villages throughout the Congo and would take people hostage and say to the rest of the village "go out and collect X amount of rubber (an impossibly high amount) or this guy gets both his hands chopped off". Even within the context of colonialism, which was practiced by almost every European power at this point, this was seen as especially brutal and inhumane. King Leopold lost his rights to the Congo - it was not given to the Congolese but to Belgium. The Belgium were by no means humanitarian saints, but at least they didn't go around taking hostages and cutting their hands off to get as much rubber as possible.
Which African countries did Belgium colonize?
The mastermind of the Belgian colonies in Africa was King Leopold II of Belgium. He wished to acquire overseas territories to compete against other empires and to bring riches to himself. In 1876 King Leopold hosted a conference in Belgium that brought nearly forty well-educated philanthropists and experts together to form a organization for humanitarian efforts in Africa: The International African Association. The original premise of the "IAA" was to help develop and modernize the impoverished and nearly untouched region of Africa now known as the Congo. Soon, though, Leopold was able to take over the Association while promising that he was only doing it for humanitarian efforts (a lie that fooled many). The idea of a humanitarian association helping Africans modernize soon collapsed as Leopold took over the society and basically booted out the people wishing to do good. Leopold founded the Congo Free State in 1885, his own personal colony. Conditions in the Free State were harsh and brutal, as he used the populace to exploit the riches of the land. Whole villages were forced to work for Leopold, and if they didn't meet their quotas they were tortured, mutilated and even killed. A grim society emerged in the Congo as body parts were used as a morbid sort of currency and status symbol (something that never happened in other nation's colonies). Death was rampant and poverty was widespread as Leopold became more and more powerful. As millions died and the whole nation became enslaved, international knowledge of the crimes being committed in the Congo grew. Europeans and Americans founded the Congo Reform Association in 1904 to spread knowledge of the Congo and fight Leopold's tyrannical reign. In 1908, due to pressure from the Belgian public and other nations, as well as diplomatic maneuvers, Leopold was forced to hand his colony over to the Belgian Government (who previously had no control over the Congo). Even as conditions improved in the new Belgian Congo, Leopold's tyrannical and bloody reign scarred the area and gave a bad name to European Empires and colonies in general. Conditions in the Congo improved after the Belgian government's takeover, and by time World War one started in 1914, much of the Congolese populace was loyal to the government. Congolese forces helped fight the neighboring German colonies during the war, and soon after the war ended in 1918 the Belgians came under control of a new African possession: Ruanda-Urundi. Ruanda-Urundi had formerly been part of German East Africa, but Belgian forces occupied the territory during the war and were rewarded with control over the land. Ruanda-Urundi was a mandate of Belgium, which meant it wasn't a colony; it was a territory governed by Belgium for the advancement of freedom and modernity. When World War II started in 1939 the Belgian African possessions once again remained loyal to their mother country. Even when the government was exiled to England after the German occupation of Belgium in 1940 the still-free African colonies remained loyal to the allies and aided them throughout the war. Congolese soldiers aided the allies in the East African campaign against the Axis Italian colonies, as well as in the Burma campaign against the Japanese. The Congo produced much needed materials such as gold and uranium for the allies, as well. During this time, however, the formations of a Congolese independence movement became somewhat obvious. The Congolese independence movement gained steam throughout the 1950's, and in 1958 rioting against the Belgian authorities in the Congo led the government to announce they would work towards Congolese independence. The Belgian Congo became independent as the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 30, 1960. Preparations for the independence of Ruanda-Urundi continued, and on July 1, 1962 Belgium's last little African territory became independent as two new nations: Rwanda and Burundi.
What impact did the Berlin Conference have on Africa?
The Berlin Conference regulated how European colonization and trade could take place in Africa. Known also as the Congo Conference, this conference brought about the brutal power of King Leopold II.
When did the french take over Congo?
It is important to note that French Congo is Congo-Brazzaville (Republic of Congo). Belgian Congo is Congo-Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), which is significantly larger. The French conquered Congo-Brazzaville in 1880 as a result of Pierre de Brazza's treaty with Makoko of the Bateke.
Who was Leopold 111?
# Leopold II or Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor (Dutch) (April 9, 1835December 17, 1909) was King of the Belgians. Born the second (but eldest surviving) son of Leopold I, he succeeded his father to the throne in 1865 and remained king until his death. He was the brother of Empress Carlota of Mexico and first cousin to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Outside Belgium, he is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken by the King. The extraction of rubber and ivory in the Congo relied on forced labour and resulted in the deaths of millions of Congolese. # The regime of the Congo Free State became one of the more infamous international scandals of the turn of the century. The famous 1904 report by the British Consul Roger Casement led to the arrest and punishment of white officials who had been responsible for cold-blooded killings during a rubber-collecting expedition in 1903 (including one Belgian national for causing the shooting of at least 122 Congolese people). # Estimates of the total death toll vary considerably. As the first census did not take place until 1924, it is difficult to quantify the population loss of the period. Casement's report set it at three million, ascribing the depopulation to four main causes: indiscriminate war, starvation, reduction of births, and tropical diseases. Of those deaths, 40% are believed to have occurred after 1900.
How do you take over England?
kill the king and queen
Where did the Congo War take place?
In the Congo, which is now an independent African country, but at that time it was a colony of Belgium.
