1. Imperialism in Congo

2. Case Study: The Congo

3. Case Study: The Congo Before Imperialism  Rain forest, plateau  Resources: Iron, copper, Ivory  Spoke Bantu  Congo was ruled by several African tribes -> used to be at war with one another

4. Motives for Imperialism  Why did Belgium colonize the Congo? 1) Economically: Needed  Rubber for shoes and gloves, but especially automobile tires  Ivory, iron, copper 2) Ideologically  Claimed they wanted to “end the slave trade”  Believed they were racially and religiously superior and had to “civilize” the Congolese. (White Man’s Burden)

5. What allowed Belgium to colonize Congo? 1) Belgium had technological advantages (railroads, steamboats, etc. 2) Belgians had vaccines that protected them against Malaria 3) Belgians had weapons (due to industrialization) 4) Congolese tribes had internal fights (that weakened them) 5) Belgians got support from the US and other countries

6. Case Study: The Congo Methods of Imperialism  Belgian King Leopold II  Enslaved native Africans  Ordered the “Force Publique” to beat, mutilate and kill to meet quotas for rubber and ivory  Millions were killed

7. Methods for imperialism  King Leopold enslaved people to work for him  He set quotas (numbers) on how much rubber they needed to produce. If they didn’t meet the quota  he would torture the people/ chop off their hands  The following slides are images of the effects

12. Case Study: The Congo After Imperialism Time Period (Years)What Happened The African Congo Free State (1877–1908)Period of King Leopold II’s exploitation Belgian Congo (1908-1960)Direct rule by Belgium’s parliament The Congo Crisis (1960 – 1971)Independence leads to civil war Zaire (1971-1997)Corruption and dictatorship Democratic Republic of Congo (1997 – ???)Civil wars in neighboring Uganda and Rwanda have spilled into the country

13. Case Study: The Congo After Imperialism  Today  Civil war continues  5 million killed  45,000 killed per month  Attacks on civilians  Millions of refugees  Child soldiers  Rape used as a method of warfare (200,000 reported)  One of the poorest countries in the world

14. Closing Considering what happened in the Congo, people should unite against a common threat because…