The Belgian Congo.A bullet point of a case study

History of Belgium

Every event in history is better explained by a short description of the events that preceded the chosen topic; as is the case here.

I will give an introduction incorporating the choice of monarchy that eventually led to the atrocities committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

This is a brief outline of Kings Leopold I & II of Belgium and others involved in the initial ‘scramble for Africa’ around 1885 concentrating on the Congo.

Many books have been written on the subject with highly detailed information within (see reference list).

Ruling Belgium

Beginning in Belgium in 1815 the congress of Vienna appointed William 1st king of Holland as ruler of Belgium to sort out the northern Dutch (alien) and southern Belgium (French) unrest

Belgians riot after watching a play with catchy anti Dutch songs

Destroyed and looted Dutch buildings A brief battle between 12,000 Dutch troops

and the Belgians ensued Dutch retreat from the defiant Belgians The country was now weakened by civil unrest

Rue Royale, damaged buildings after the revolution of 1830. By Madou

WILLIAM I

North vs. south

A new King for the Belgians

Prussia’s mite was growing Belgium was under constant threat of takeover Prussia was continually offering Belgium to France A National Congress was set up as an interim

government for Belgium A head monarch was needed to stabilise the

country Louis Philippe (France) was suggested; as was

Leopold (British suggestion) Leopold was the most favoured by the Belgian

people He was sworn in on 21st July 1831

DUKE LOUIS PHILIPPE of FRANCE

LEOPOLD I vs.

Sworn in on 21 July, 1831

Impotency

He (Leopold I) soon realised that the mentality of his people was impotent and inward thinking

Belgium was surrounded by major powers – France & Germany

Felt exploited; steel, coal, textiles, lost the Belgium name, after passing through several markets.

Leopold realised the economic slump was due to; Loss of Dutch connections to world markets Dutch fleet for transport goods Industrial revolution, machines take jobs off commoners

and load pockets of rich 1 in 3 were now living off charity

LEOPOLD I

First king of the Belgians (1831–65), who helped strengthen the nation’s new parliamentary system and, as a leading figure in European diplomacy, scrupulously maintained Belgian neutrality..

The scent of colonisation

To cure poverty, Leopold suggests mass emigration as Belgium was one of the most populated countries in Europe Many emigrated to Wisconsin and Illinois (America) He wanted to change the impotent/ inward thinking mentality of Belgians Leopold recognised the Dutch economic success because of the colonies she had acquired Leopold’s reason for a colony was economic and he had political aspirations too (he turned down the throne of Greece hoping for the throne of England; years passed until he settled for the Belgium throne)

Surrounded by major powers

Felt exploited

Impotent

Poverty

Over-population

Belgium

The King is dead

Leopold I sets about what became a lifelong pursuit of a colony for Belgium This would broaden the minds of the people Open up new resources and potential markets Economy would improve and citizens could transfer to newly

colonised lands He tried the Faroe Islands

Sent 1000 men to Guatemala, they returned sunburnt and penniless

More than 51 attempts on file to acquire a colony his quest involved his son Leopold II; who had already

travelled so much that he was abroad more than home (Belgium)

Leopold I began to tire, became ill & eventually died in 1865

Leopold II

Leopold I

Philippe

Charlotte

Louis- Marie

Leopold II discovers the Congo

Leopold II was more than willing to continue the search for a colony (already obsessed)

He met Henry Morton Stanley who led a short “journalistic” expedition in Africa

Second in 1874, started from Zanzibar Third trip was to colonise Africa for Leopold

II and Belgium in 1879 with 356 men They “attacked 28 large towns and three or

four score villages” (his own words) with superior weapons

Stanley's grandiose ideas for colonisation found little support from Europe owing to the problems and scale of action required, except from Leopold II of Belgium.

Leon Rom continued and enhanced the brutality displayed by Stanley.

Deceit, murder & maniacs

He signed treaties along the 220 mile descent of the Congo river

Alongside this he built a road and railway to export ivory back to Belgium

Stanley returns to England 1884 Leopold sent in Leon Rom to use absolute terror

to rule the land and ship out wealth An Ireland veterinarian (Dunlop) invents the

inflatable bicycle tyre in 1890 Rubber becomes the new gold Leopold pushes for more of it A new era of terror begins

A “treaty” designed by Leopold II and administered by Stanley & Rom

In return for one piece of cloth per month to each of the undersigned

chiefs, besides present of cloth in hand, they promised to freely of their

own accord, for themselves and their heirs and successors forever...

Give up to the said association [set up by Leopold] the sovereignty and

all sovereign and governing rites to all their territories... And to assist by

labour or otherwise any works, improvements or expeditions... All roads

and waterways running through this country, the right of collecting tolls

of the same and all game fishing mining and forest rights, to be the

absolute property of the said Association.

The half million square kilometres of Katanga came into Leopold's possession and brought his African realm up to 2,300,000 square kilometres (890,000 sq mi), about 75 times larger than Belgium. The Congo Free State imposed such a terror regime on the colonised people, including mass killings with millions of victims, and slave labour, that Belgium, under pressure from the Congo Reform Association ended Leopold II's rule and annexed it in 1908 as a colony of Belgium, known as the Belgian Congo

Congo

A hard-hitting 1906 punch cartoon depicting King Leopold II of Belgium as a rubber vine entangling a Congolese man.

The peak & fall of genocide

Genocide reaches its peak under Leon Rom Failure to retrieve rubber led to workers wives

kidnapped or killed or amputation of a wife or siblings hand or foot

Many millions shot dead or bayoneted to save bullets

Morel (journalist) noticed rubber and ivory going out and only soldiers and guns going into Congo

An investigation began & Leopold was forced to leave the Congo in 1908 by European powers

Men, women, and children unable to bring in their required amountsof rubber sap had one of their hands severed.

Leopold I & II

The polarities of honour between father and son are extreme

Both ambitious & determined Leopold I was determined to build up his

countries prestige among the major powers of Europe

Leopold II was determined to build up his own personal wealth at the cost of millions of human lives

WHAT DID COLONISERS WANT?

A colony to expand, for emigration

Access to resources to enhance economy

Fulfil personal obsession for a colony

Expand the inward thinking mentality of Belgians

Greed

Power

Rubber

Ivory

Artefacts

Leopold II -King of Belgium

Leopold I – King of the Belgians

References;

Baffour, Ankomah. “The butcher of Congo” New African, Academic Research Library 378; (1999): pg. 14

Hochschild, Adam. “Leopold's Congo: A Holocaust we have yet to comprehend” The Chronicle of Higher Education; Academic Research Library 46, 36 (2000): pg. B4

Emerson, Barbara, 1979, “Leopold II of the Belgians: King of Colonialism”, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London.

Murdoch , Norman. “King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa” Journal of Third World Studies; Academic Research Library 19, 2 (2002): pg. 282

Doyle, A C, 1909, ‘Crime of the Congo’, Doubleday, Page & Company, New York