Colonialism in Congo:A Human Tragedy

(or “How did Imperialism Effect the Congo”?)

Slide 1 of 38

The region of central Africa now known as the Congo is one of the richest and most densely forested

places on earth.

Drained by one of the largest rivers in the world , the Congo river basin is home to many tribes and ethnic

groups.

During the early stages of European colonialism, this part of

Central Africa was exploited by the Portuguese mainly for slaves, but the Europeans kept to the coast

and did not venture into the interior.

At a time when Africa was being explored from top to bottom by Europeans, the interior of the Congo remained a “blank spot” to them due to its harsh environment, disease, and hostile tribes.

Yet a few explorers brave enough to enter the 1300 mile long river

system found the area to be full of natural resources such as ivory and

rubber.

Moo

Explorers like Henry M. Stanley battled hostile natives, disease, and natural obstacles to

“open up” the Congo for trade and exploitation.

“Dr. Livingston I presume?”

Stanley’s explorations helped Europeans get their mind around the enormity of the territory.

Before Stanley’s expeditions

(1850s)

After Stanley’s expeditions

(1870s)

With the investment of European and American capitalists, Stanley helped build a railroad that bypassed the cataracts at the mouth of the Congo and allowed river trade to flow to the sea – greatly increasing the ability of outsiders to make money in the Congo. The rich world sat up and took notice.

Cataracts (Waterfalls)

Yet with the “opening” of the Congo, a pressing question appeared:

Which European empire was going to gain control of Congo?

Congo

Slide 10 of 38

None of the Great Powers of Europe were willing to let any others have such a rich and

important colony. Wars had been fought for far less.

In a rare moment of sanity, the Great Powers decided to meet and peacefully resolve their competing

claims to various parts of the world.

Congress of Berlin, 1878

They divided Africa, Asia, and the America’s into “spheres of influence” and agreed not to

steal each other’s territory…

…they also agreed to give the Congo to a small, powerless European nation so

insignificant that it could not threaten the power

of the others.

That country was Belgium, a French-speaking nation no larger than the state of South Carolina.

The king of that nation, Leopold II, made sweet-sounding promises.

“Through my efforts I hope to bring about…civilization to the peoples of the Congo region by means of scientific exploration, legal trade and war against Arabic slave traders…to pierce the darkness which hangs over entire peoples…”

But Leopold II was no humanitarian. His desire to own colonies led him to try to buy colonies in the Philippines,

Formosa, Fiji, and Argentina. He failed.

It was only after cynically courting the explorers and humanitarians of England, France, and Germany that he

became known as a friend of Africa.

His apparent goodwill toward Africa – and his ability to play the Great Powers against one another at the Berlin

Conference resulted in him achieving his lifelong ambition – to earn Belgium one of the richest colonies on the

planet…

Once Congo was safely under Belgium’s control, Leopold began to set up a colonial

government designed to plunder the region of its wealth...and go directly to a corporation that

he controlled. It became his own private empire.

Using tactics perfected by other colonial powers, The “Congo Free State” was turned into a Belgian

slave empire.

Slide 20 of 38

For twenty years the Belgians plundered the Congo for ivory and rubber without

the knowledge of the outside world. Until a British man named Edward Morel

noticed something strange…

As manager of a British shipping company with dealings in Congo, Morel noticed that

ships were landing at Antwerp (Belgium) full of ivory and rubber…yet they were returning to Congo only with soldiers and weapons.

There was no trade occurring.

“Nothing was going into the Congo to pay for what was coming out. How was this rubber and ivory being acquired?” (Through slavery.)

After investigating, Morel realized that the Belgians had fooled the

world into thinking they were civilizing Congo. He launched a

campaign to publicize the horrors of the colonial regime.

Joined by other people of conscience, Morel’s cause caught

the world’s attention.

G.W. Williams went to Congo and risked death

to report the atrocities

G.W. Williams – an American “back to Africa” activist and wounded Civil War veteran, was

initially excited about Leopold’s acquisition. Like others, he was fooled by the image of Leopold as

a humanitarian. Upon visiting Congo in 1890, and using his black skin as a disguise to enable him to

interview Africans, he changed his mind.

For example…when shaking hands with chiefs they used batteries and wires to convince them that they

had super strength...

Other times Stanley’s men would use magnifying glasses to light their cigars and thereby fool chiefs into thinking that they commanded the power of

the Sun and could ask it set fire to villages.

Yet other times white men would visibly load a gun but slip the bullet into his pocket. Then he would ask the chief to shoot him and, when the shot did

not appear to harm him, would produce the bullet at his feet and claim to be immune.

[Williams discovered that] in order to acquire the goodwill of the Congolese Stanley’s men used a variety of tricks, such as fooling Africans into thinking they had supernatural powers to get Congo chiefs to sign their land over to Leopold.

G.W. Williams30 of 34

“Leopold’s military bases…caused a wave of death and destruction, becaue the African soldiers who manned them were expected to feed themselves. These piratical [soldiers] compel natives to supply them with [food] and whenever the natives refuse…white officers come with an expeditionary force and burn away the homes of the natives.”

Pamphlets and newspaper articles exposed how Leopold maintained control over the territory.

Belgian methods of Control

bribery

threats

Military force

assassination & murder

divide and conquer

misinformation and propaganda

hostage taking

Perhaps the most damning portrait came from Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” – a novel based on his true experiences as a riverboat captain in Congo. The novel’s

“Mr. Kurtz” was a murderous Belgian officer, driven to insanity by his lust for power and

ivory.

Leopold’s good name was dragged through the mud.

Historians estimate that during Leopold’s reign, the Congo lost between 4 to 8 million

people due to violence and neglect. This makes it one of the worst genocides in world

history. It is also largely forgotten.

Leopold died in 1909, never having laid eyes on his beloved colony. After his death, the Belgian

government took control. The situation improved greatly, but it wasn’t until Congolese nationalists began to actively revolt in the mid 20th century that

Belgium finally granted Congo independence. But the tragedy did not end.

Patrice Lumumba, Prime Minister

Despite having gained its independence, Congo had been leftwithout lasting infrastructure or stable political structure,resulting in many more decades of brutality and war at the hands of dictators, warlords, and corporations. Today it remainsin the grip of a civil war that has killed more people than anyconflict since WWII.

What factors led to the man-made tragedy in the Belgian Congo?

Who are the heroes and villains of this story?

(Make a list.)

This presentation was created by M. Richardson at Oakland Mills High School solely for use by a

high school class under academic fair use provisions of copyright law. It is not intended for public use and

is based largely on the following book:

Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold’s Ghost. Mariner Books. 1999.