King Leopold Imperialism

Europeans used the influence of Imperialism in the Congo during King Leopold’s reign to try to discover raw materials and enhance economic trade in his colonial empire. Since Africa during this time period was unexplored, Europeans thought there had to be resources just waiting to be found. This would have expanded profits by an enormous amount because resources such as rubber and jewels were in great demand. Unfortunately, King Leopold went to drastic measures to fulfill his purpose in central Africa. One of history’s massive genocides took place in the Congo.

The devious schemes of King Leopold made civilians of the Congo believe he would establish free trade and improve the lives of the natives. They were clueless as to what his intentions

In each village, a certain quota was requested and the consequences were uncanny. Leopold used his sidekick, Henry Morton Stanley, to do his work for him and make the chiefs of the tribes give up their lands. Stanley scanned the areas The traditions in Africa were replaced by british authority figures and police such as The Force Publique. They embarrassed victims in public executions or used the worst form of torture possible: homicide. An officer once said, “I made war against them. One example was enough: a hundred heads cut off, and there have been plenty of supplies ever since. My goal is ultimately humanitarian. I killed a hundred people... but that allowed five hundred others to live." (“Belgium's imperialist…”). Joseph Conrad, a british writer, witnessed the horrors that occurred there. In his book, “Heart of Darkness” he states, “The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.” The women of the Congo would be taken hostage and the men would be

Eventually, workers would not have time to harvest crops for themselves and their families. Without proper nutrition and rest, as a result, many of the congolese people suffered a painful death. In the book, King Leopold’s Ghost, Adam Hochschild brought awareness to the political corruption and the horrid crimes that happened during the exploitation of the Congo Free State. For instance, the Congo was left in great debt due to the economic disaster because people kept dying and could not produce enough materials. Vachel