King Leopoldo Imperialism Analysis

During King Leopold’s rule of the Congo, many harsh and violent actions caused many Africans to suffer immensely. As a Belgium official once said, “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…”. As punishment, Belgium soldiers would cut of the hands and feet of Africans. The soldiers claimed they did this because they didn’t want to waste bullets on “game hunting.” The amputated body parts were usually kept as trophies, to show bravery in battle. Colonialism is generally defined as the occupation and control of one nation by another. Over the last few hundred years, various European nations have colonized many areas of the world. These

The authors of the treaty viewed the African people as actual humans, rather then lesser animals. The authors wanted to prevent further discrimination and slavery in Africa. This is because of the moral standards that many people were trying to develop, and they started to reject the idea that Africans were lesser. King Leopold disregarded these terms and kept his vile actions a secret from these other countries. The fact that King Leopold ignored the terms that were put into place during the Berlin Conference and continued taking advantage of the Congo’s people and resources shows that he deserves to be condemned as a

He came to the conclusion that the extreme decrease in population in the Congo was mostly because of the violent and malicious actions of the Belgium police. He explained how the soldiers were given free rein, which led to the murder of many innocent Africans. When King Leopold toke over the Congo, there were about twenty million people. When he was removed from power there was only about 10 million people. King Leopold should be held accountable for his actions in the Congo because he caused a genocide and massacred half of the population.

Some people say that Leopold II’s action in the Congo Free State cannot be viewed as crime, because they were typical of the Europeans’ actions in their colonies. But, the treaty that was made by the powerful countries during that time clearly stated that they believed Africans should be treated as people, and that they should be provided with food, shelter, education, etc. King Leopold ignored these terms and was using the Congo only to increase his wealth, rather then provide for the people of