1. 1

2. 2 Location - The Congo Free State or The Belgian Congo

3. 3 The Congo Free State ► Very large in size – some 76 times the size of Belgium! ► The native inhabitants  Trading tribes ► Natural resources ► Wood, ivory, rubber ► Exploitation of the natural resources and the native inhabitants ► Leopold had to cede (give over) the Congo to Belgium in 1908 as a result of the international campaign exposing Leopold’s activities in the Congo.

4. 4 Who was King Leopold II 1835 -1909 ► Born in Brussels on April 9, 1835 ► Related to the various royal families in Europe. ► Nephew of Queen Victoria. ► Married Marie Henriette Anna von Hapsburg in 1853 ► Succeeded his father, Leopold I, to the Belgian throne in 1865 ► Died on December 19, 1909

5. 5 King Leopold and the Congo ► The Congo was the personal property of that country's king, Leopold II. Leopold then went on to use the Congo as a huge money-making resource, committing human rights violations in the process and then turning a blind eye as he built public works projects in Belgium with the money he made in the rubber trade. ► In 1876 he organized an international association as a front for his private plan to "develop" central Africa. ► At the Berlin Conference of 1884, the Congo, rich with natural resources, was recognised as the sovereign and personal property of King Leopold II of Belgium.

6. 6 The Explorer Stanley’s Role in the Congo ► H.M. Stanley, an British- born (later claimed to be an American) journalist who explored the Congo on an expedition financed by King Leopold of Belgium. Stanley greatly aided his backer in gaining a firm foothold in what was to become the Belgian Congo (later Zaire), now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

7. 7 Stanley’s Explorations in the Congo Region: From East to West

8. 8 “The White Man’s Burden” “”King Leopold found the Congo…cursed by cannibalism, savagery, and despair; and he has been trying with patience, which I can never sufficiently admire, to relieve it of its horrors, rescue it from its oppressors, and save it from perdition.” --H.M. Stanley

9. 9 Aspects of “The White Man’s Burden”?

10. 10 Belgian Congo ► Initially, no one saw King Leopold II as the scheming, ruthless dictator who only wanted to establish a private colony that he could exploit the people and the natural resources of the Congo for his own personal benefit in order to make him wealthy and own the largest piece of real estate in Africa!

11. 11 How Rubber was harvested Punishing “Lazy” workers

12. 12 Belgium’s Stranglehold on the Congo

13. 13 5-8 Million Victims! (50% of Population!.) “It is blood-curdling to see them (the soldiers) returning with the hands of the slain, and to find the hands of young children amongst the bigger ones evidencing their bravery...The rubber from this district has cost hundreds of lives, and the scenes I have witnessed, while unable to help the oppressed, have been almost enough to make me wish I were dead... This rubber traffic is steeped in blood, and if the natives were to rise and sweep every white person on the Upper Congo into eternity, there would still be left a fearful balance to their credit. “ -- Belgian Official

14. 14 Why Take the Hands? ► The Congo contained vast areas filled with wild rubber and a labor-force that King Leopold enslaved to do his bidding. ► Villages were given daily quotas of extracted rubber. ► If they did not cooperate and fill their quotas, they faced losing their families, a hand, an ear, a foot, or their life. These were the reprisals (punishments) for not meeting quotas!

15. 15 Opposition to Leopold’s control ► Edmund Morel was the most famous of those who campaigned against Leopold. He became an investigative journalist gathering accounts and proof of the atrocities in the Congo. ► In 1904, Roger Casement, British consul to the Congo, filed a report on the state of affairs there, having been an eyewitness to some of the excesses. ► Under mounting international Leopold finally capitulated (gave in), and in November, 1908 the Belgian government annexed the Congo Independent State which thereafter became the Belgian Congo. ► A gross debt of about 250 million francs transferred from Leopold to the Belgian government.The Belgians in turn ascribed this debt (moved it onto) the populace of the Congo.

16. 16 Belgian rule ► The Africans who were unfortunate enough of be subjects of King Leopold paid an enormous price and literally became slaves in their own country. Besides losing possessions, life and limb, most of all they lost the freedom to choose for themselves, they lost their liberty and basic human rights.

17. 17 Why King Leopold’s Ghost? ► Novel by Adam Hochschild written in 1998 ► Tells the horrific story of King Leopold’s colonial rule over a country and its native peoples. ► Based on the true story of the colonial activities. ► It is amazing to think that King Leopold II, never ‘set foot’ in the Congo, but managed to ruin a country… his “ghost” remains today in memories of the Congolese. ► Why little is known about this history well, for a start, Many documents were destroyed on Leopold’s orders also many documents were classified as secret and not accessible to the public or researchers.

18. 18 One of the World’s First Humanitarian Movements ► There is no doubt that Congo's history with its “White King, Red Rubber & Black Death” are tragedies. ► It was a regime that saw millions die and that brought misery to the inhabitants. ► However Leopold did leave, albeit unwittingly, one positive legacy - the birth of modern humanitarianism. ► Who led the campaign against Leopold?  E D Morel his campaign – from 1897-8  (Sir) Roger Casement (1904 Report) Some of the notable writers who spoke out against King Leopold II - Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington, Joseph Conrad,Arthur Conan Doyle

19. 19 Some Effects of Colonialism ► Western African societies are torn apart as they lose their healthiest, youngest, and ablest people ► Europeans raid Africa’s interior for natural resources ► Europeans compete for land rights, drawing up new political boundaries that continue to cause conflict between ethnic groups today