1. Warmup 5/2 Review from yesterday:
What did the Berlin Conference decide?
What is the scramble for Africa?
How did Ethiopia defeat Italy?
What was life like in Leopold’s Congo?

2. Notes: The Congo Free State
The worst of all the colonies in Africa was in the Congo Free State
Today we will look at it as a case study into the treatment of Africans during imperialism.

3. Notes: The Congo Free State
During the Berlin conference, there were also more noble concerns than territory and wealth.
Two main objectives:
End the last remnants of the slave trade.
Help those living in poverty.
This was mostly advocated by missionaries

4. Notes: The Congo Free State
The Congo was given to a charitable organization.
Their mission was:
To develop the Congo
To spread Christianity
To end slavery
To bring peace and prosperity to Africa

5. Notes: The Congo Free State
King Leopold II of Belgium owned that charity.
Therefore, he owned the Congo as an independent citizen. It was not part of Belgium but his personal property.
To the world, he pretended to uphold the mission of his charity

7. Notes: Rubber
The Congo was one of the world’s only sources of natural rubber.
In the 1880s, the worldwide price of rubber skyrocketed.
To make money, Leopold basically turned the Congo into a rubber plantation.

8. Notes: Rubber
Every man in a rubber-producing region was given a quota of rubber they had to meet.
These quotas were unrealistic and few met their quotas.
The colonial administration made it punishable by death to fall below the quota.

9. Notes: Force Publique
To enforce their rule, the colonial administration created a standing army
This “Force Publique” was run by Belgian officers but mostly hired Congolese recruits.
They were forgiven from the rubber quota and paid a small salary.
They were tasked with enforcing the will of the colonial government

10. Assignment: Congo Free State
You will read about some of the atrocities committed by the colonial government.
You will walk around to 6 stations, filling out the questions on the front of your worksheet.
We will discuss one more slide before you finish the back.

11. Leopold’s Legacy
Leopold made enormous amounts of money from the Congo.
When the crimes were finally revealed, Belgium forced him to surrender the Congo to the Belgian government.
He was paid $95 million for all the land he surrendered.
He kept his throne.
Before he turned over the territory, he had all colonial records destroyed.