I. Document B. Document B contains quotes from Freidrich Fabri’s “Does Germany Need Colonies?” and John Ruskin’s talk at Oxford University both propose that national competition provides partial fuel into African imperialism. A. In John Ruskin’s talk, he states, “This is what England must either do or perish: she must found colonies as fast and as far as possible.”
Thousands killed in the Leopold outbreak. King Leopold should be condemned for his brutal actions, and for making the population more then half in population, like in Lukolela “The population in the villages of Lukolela in January 1891 must have been not less than 6,000 people, but when I counted the whole population in Lukolela at the end of December 1896. I found it to be only 719… but judge of my heartache when on counting them all again on Friday and Saturday last, to find only a population of 352 people.” (Document 5) In 1800-1900’s, King Leopold wanted to and planned to take control of the Congo people.
Africa had an abundance of resources that made it invaluable to have as a colony. While each country had its own resources, establishing colonies was a great way to get more resources for cheaper prices. The new resources also produced new products for industrial and economic uses (Doc D). Industries like Portugal, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and Germany benefitted a lot from the African resources (Doc D). The
According to the overview, “between 1500 and 1800, European nations traded for slaves, gold, and ivory along the west coast of Africa, but they did not go deeply into the continent.” In 1884, fourteen countries met in Berlin to discuss the division of Africa to prevent war from breaking out.. This meeting would come to be known as the Berlin Conference led by Ottoman Bismarck. Up until 1885, they stated that if a leader wanted to control a certain part of Africa, then they must prove that they have control over that area and that was it. This was the beginning of European imperialism in Africa.
Uganda is a country with a rich history filled with turmoil, failure, and success. The country and its people suffered for many years to gain independence from the country that controlled it, Great Britain. Finally, in 1962, Uganda gained independence and became a free country. All was looking up for Uganda and its people until they were thrown into a world of dictators and civil wars. Through their colonization, fight for independence, and the aftermath, they persevered to become the country they are today.
Villages turned on each other for the Belgians amusement. The Belgians deemed the Congolese to be less superior and hurt those who did not follow their
Also Wood describes, “This Aladdin’s cave of treasure is Congo’s great fortune, but is also her greatest blight” (49). Many country want part of all this treasured but taking of advantage of its undeveloped stage. Many countries come to Congo to obtain its valuable resource but not only take its resource but influence the country government. In 1960 after the Belgian regime Patrice Lumumba wanted to be president. This man had different ideas that many did not like as the Americans.
Before the Germans (and later the Belgians) colonized Rwanda, there was no reported violence between the Hutu and Tutsi people. However, European rule in the country changed the relations between the two groups, and laid the groundwork for genocide to occur a century later. 1897 marked the first year that German colonists entered the country. These Germans, convinced that the Tutsi had migrated to Rwanda from Ethiopia, believed that the Tutsi were more Caucasian then the Hutus, and were therefore racially superior and better suited to carry out colonial administrative tasks. This was part of the Hamitic Hypothesis—the Tutsis were taller than the Hutus, had more slender features, and looked more similar to the Europeans.
In the early 1880s, King Leopold of Belgium secured about 900,000 square miles of African land (Background Essay). Leopold’s industries were successful producing tires, electrical insulation, soap, handles, and more (Document D), while his managers killed nearly 10 million Africans through forced labor, mistreatment, and diseases. This was the beginning of European imperialism.
It is exceedingly clear that the Congolese were abusive, and gorifyinly injured by the Belgians. All in all the consequences of the Congo was admirable. Although deaths extends over the tens of millions the world became aware of this crisis and changes were demanded. As a result the Congo resulted to gain back their freedom and create a colony of there own eighty times the size of the
Imperialism at Its Finest In just a few short decades, Imperialism induced a worldwide culture shift that will remain effective forever. Imperialism is complete political, social, and economic control of another country. The craze for such power took place in the late 19th century when a rush for economic power and cultural superiority drove nations to taking control over other countries, often with no shortage of blood on their hands. Specific examples of Imperialism can be seen in Ireland under Britain’s rule and the African Congo under Belgium’s rule. One example of Imperialism is when the British completely overtook Ireland during The Potato Blight in the 1840-50s.
In South of Africa, Great Britain was known to take gold and diamonds and turns into Jewelry, metal, wiring, fuel, coins etc. While the materials were existing. The Europeans were educating the Africans and also using them as cattle the Europeans have overworked the Africans for so many years until slavery was
When King Leopold established the Congo Free State, he destroyed the link between the Congolese people and their homeland (Kenneth). King Leopold made one single country between Belgium and Congo. He combined the ethnicities of both of these cultures, taking away the Congolese people’s heritage and culture. In addition to this, the Roman Catholic Church forced their religion and values on the Congolese people, taking away their beliefs, and using violence if necessary. The Belgians forced their values upon the Congolese people in order to assimilate their religion and gain more power.
From King Leopold’s Public Letter, he says “The task which Belgian agents have to accomplish in the Congo is noble. It is incumbent upon them to carry on the work of civilization in Africa. The aim is to regenerate races whose degradation and misfortune is hard to realize.” Through those words, King Leopold, the king of Belgium, was trying to show the other countries that he was a
and the Congolese had established centralized expansive empires rich with resources. The Aztec a former hunter/forager population began to farm the land, mine natural resources including gold and engaged in trade with others. (von Sivers et al., 2012) In Kongo there existed a large palace population and a royal domain where slaves farmed. Soon, their biggest export would be human cargo.
