Human Geography B Legacy of Colonialism

King Leopold II was the king of Belgium from At that point, Belgium was a small country not much older than the king itself. It was also a constitutional monarchy in which Leopold did not have a lot of power. He wanted to compete with larger countries AND to make himself more powerful.

Henry Morton Stanley was born as John Rowland in Wales and grew up in a workhouse. In 1859, he moved to the United States and changed his name to Henry Morton Stanley Henry Morton Stanley went on a quest to find Dr. Livingston, the man who had discovered Victoria Falls (the headwaters of the Nile River). His quest was successful, catching the attention of King Leopold. Dr. Livingston, I presume?

King Leopold commissioned Stanley to travel down the Congo river and buy land from Congo chiefs. Because of the language gap, many were tricked into signing deals that left them with virtually no power. King Leopold created the colony for himself – not for Belgium. He told many in Europe that his main goal was to “civilize” the people and stop the Arab slave trade in the region.

King Leopold saw that he could make a lot of money out of the Congo from ivory and rubber. Although Leopold condemned the “Arab slave trade” he himself enslaved many Congolese during his rule.

With the invention of inflatable rubber tires and the growing auto industry, rubber became very valuable. Collecting rubber was a hard and dangerous task. If workers did not make their quota, they or family members were shot. In order to keep track of bullets used, soldiers were asked to collect the hands of those they killed. Sometimes they cut of the hands of live victims in order to have enough hands for the bullets they used.

Most of the outside world did not know what was going on in the Congo. After noticing that many military supplies being shipped to the Congo, some began investigating. Soon there were photographs and other evidence coming back to Europe.

Leopold was forced to sell his colony to Belgium in 1908 in response to the many reports of atrocities. He died soon after. The Congo did not gain its independence until 1960.