Preview

King Leopold's Influence On West Africa

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
99 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
King Leopold's Influence On West Africa
The Congo had an unusual affluence that made it the aspiration of various European countries. It’s flourishing natural resources, which include gold, diamond, rubber and copper made it the main attraction. Granted the Congo at the Berlin Conference, King Leopold put into plan an economic system, which separated the areas given to European corporations. This gave Leopold 50 percent of the fortune. “In setting up this structure, Leopold was like the manager of a venture capital syndicate today. He had essentially found a way to attract other people’s capital to his investment schemes while he retained half the

Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American Pageant Chapter 1 Notes
    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The American Pageant Chapter 1 Notes

    In 1876, King Leopold II of Belgium began plans for international benevolent committees for the people of the Congo region. Though originally accepted as multi-national, scientific, and humanitarian propositions, they have of late become anything but. Soon after their conception, Leopold used these organizations to establish a sphere of influence and eventually Belgian sovereignty in the Congo Basin. The region is rich in ivory and rubber, and Leopold made use of those resources and others in expanding trade. Now, rubber is the colony's most profitable industry. However, the Congolese people benefit little from this.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did King Leopold II Contribute To The Rise Of American Imperialism
    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages

    How Did King Leopold II Contribute To The Rise Of American Imperialism

    “A little more than a quarter of a century ago, a great genius for evil, having achieved in rapid succession a series of diplomatic master strokes, stretched out to reach the scepter which was to give him power over life and death of over 20 million human beings.” This great genius for evil, King Leopold II, was commonly known for the atrocities he committed in the Congo Free State. Leopold’s ability to gain control over the lives of the Congolese was due to the deceit and use of persuasion over head powers for a lucrative business. Specifically, in the Congo Free State, King Leopold II’s approach to governing, in an effort to gain the most profit, lead to violent atrocities and the deaths of many natives.…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The West and the World; Review Sheet
    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The West and the World; Review Sheet

    colony of Belgium; trading stations established in 1879, and Leopold II was given control of the Congo; the Belgian rulers savagely treated the indigenous peoples in their quest for rubber and ivory; Leopold's incursion into Congo basin raised the question of the political fate of black Africa (south of the Sahara); as did Britain's conquest of Egypt…

    • 1304 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    European Imperialism Dbq Analysis
    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages

    European Imperialism Dbq Analysis

    Once in the early 1880’s, King Leopold of Belgium was the first to colonize, or own, a private country in central Africa known as the Congo Free State, kicking off European imperialism. However, the way he managed and took over that region was controversial among European leaders such as Otto von Bismarck, who as a result of King Leopold’s actions, proposed for a conference to be held regarding the standards for claiming land. This conference was known as the Berlin Conference of 1884. From this event, multiple standards and regulations were created, one of those including the rule of occupation which stated that a nation or country had to have treaty agreements, buildings, soldiers, and administrators on the ground to support its’ claim. Additive…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Colonialism In King Leopold's Ghost
    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Colonialism In King Leopold's Ghost

    The “strong humanitarian veneer” (Hochschild 42) that Leopold used as the false justification for the harsh methods employed to control the Congo. This veneer contained a myriad of reasons that gave Leopold, and other Europeans the ability to move freely throughout the undeveloped world, destroying the land and its people along their way with limited resistance.…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between Indochina And The Congo
    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Similarities Between Indochina And The Congo

    Imperialism in Indochina and the Congo Throughout the 1890’s – 1910’s the imperialists ideas remained similar around the globe. Many European countries such as the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the United States proposed similar ideals regarding the importance of imperialism through acquiring of raw materials and territory. Specifically, regarding the conquests of and King Leopold II of Belgium, and Napoleon III it is evident that the root cause of European imperialists was to discover foreign territory in hopes to find raw materials that could potentially reap economic benefits. After taking the throne in 1865, King Leopold’s motives were centered around annexing Congolese territory to profit from the ivory enterprise.…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Was King Leopold Able To Colonize Congo
    • 1193 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Why Was King Leopold Able To Colonize Congo

    Journalists play an important role in our history because they give us a view of our world and help us make connections to everyone. They would have to go extreme measures if needed to find more information because they want their story to be the highly accurate and the best one out there. In order for the people to understand what was going on in daily news, they would read what the journalists wrote. King Leopold II was able to colonize Congo with the help of the journalists and writers keeping quiet about what was really happening in Congo. King Leopold II was an ambitious man who only cared about the money and power.…

    • 1193 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Compare and Contrast of the effects of imperialism of the west on Africa and India
    • 1262 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Compare and Contrast of the effects of imperialism of the west on Africa and India

    From 1870 to 1890 a very important event occurred known as the "Scramble for Africa". European powers attempted to acquire as much African territory as they could get there hands on. Men such as King Leopold the Second of Belgium singed treaties with local chiefs that granted them personal control over the land. He exploited the Africans living in the Congo River valley for there labor. He forced them to collect sap from rubber plants as well as other back breaking work. The people were over taxed and abused. This operation benefited the Belgium economy greatly but added nothing but poverty to the African economy. In 1884 the German Chancellor Bismarck organized the Berlin Conference in order to divide up Africa in a civilized matter between Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, and Italy. Some of the positive effects of this western imperialism were the new technologies such as medicine and nutrition that were brought to Africa. This increased life-span and resulted in a population expansion. Transportation and communication techniques…

    • 1262 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    South America Colonized Thesis
    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages

    South America Colonized Thesis

    Supporting Evidence #1: “However, he licensed companies that brutally exploited Africans by forcing them to collect sap from rubber plants. At least 10 million Congolese died due to the abuses inflicted during Leopold's rule.”World history: Patterns of interactions. (2009). p#774…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Holocaust Book Report
    • 1860 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Holocaust Book Report

    The reign of King Leopold II over the Congo began in 1876. He held a Geographical Conference in Brussels and disguised his lust for land and lucrative resources as a humanitarian effort to civilize the African people, which gained his conquest approval from other European leaders. The king then convinced famed African explorer Henry Morton Stanley to lead his mission in the Congo and begin buying land from African leaders, forming a large colony, which he named the Congo Free State. During the late 1800s, King Leopold took control of the Congo and raided it for ivory and rubber. He and his agents in Africa used the Congolese for all of the labor-intense jobs associated with these resources; though he called them volunteers, the natives were essentially slaves, kidnapped, chained, and forced to work with the threat of severe punishment looming over them. Those that did not die by whip or bullet fell to starvation, disease, and exhaustion, and the few that survived lived in terrible conditions. For years, King Leopold II hid this brutality from the rest of the world under a meticulously-crafted façade of humanitarianism. Eventually, however, visitors to his colony noticed the cruelties and wrote of them. A young British shipping agent, Edmund Morel, lead the revolt against Leopold’s Congo, and African-Americans…

    • 1860 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Congo Free State Imperialism
    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Congo Free State Imperialism

    The Congo Free State, later named the Democratic Republic of Congo, drastically changed in 1876 when it was first colonized by King Leopold of Belgium. The colony of the Congo Free State was ruled solely by King Leopold, who used it for his own personal advancement. He took advantage of the country's well-known sources such as rubber. King Leopold of Belgium took all profits made off of the resources for himself and left the native people with nothing. In addition, King Leopold enslaved these natives and treated them poorly. They were forced to do hard and dangerous labor and if they did not meet the King’s standards, they could be killed. While the inhabitants of the Congo Free State could not do much to retaliate against the King, other countries…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Sub-Saharan African American Imperialism
    • 1768 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Sub-Saharan African American Imperialism

    Belgium saw them as an easy target with big profits and imperialized. Belgium, as a western nation, also agreed to the ideas of Social Darwinism, the belief that the white European was better than the rest of the people in the world, chiefly based on their physical features. Simply put, they were racist. Most Europeans fell into this belief, but the Belgian people took this to an extreme. They enslaved the native people of Congo in their own country and forced work upon them. Quotas and taxes were created to ensure certain amounts of raw materials were gathered and harsh punishments were put into action for those who didn’t complete or meet their requirements. According to Mark Twain, “The amount of rubber needed to meet the tax requires the men to work for up 25 days each month harvesting the wild rubber vines in the Congo forest” [3]. According to this that would leave only 5 days a month for “regular” life for the Congolese people. They did not have the time or resources to educate themselves, make money, or to develop. In 1908 the Belgian government gave the natives better treatment, by taking away the direct ownership of the nation from Leopold and they made it an official colony of the Belgian government [4]. This decision came through by putting humanitarian pressure put on King Leopold. Conditions improved, schools, hospitals, and roads were built, but the cruelty and racism was still their because of the history they had of it. Also, the punishment, crimes, and cruelty was all that the people understood because they were forced to live in it their entire lives, and it was a hard to shift back. Even in today’s world, this industrialization and these policies have left a scar on the Congos. In both the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic Of Congo there is still political unrest and constant violence. On December 17, there were 22…

    • 1768 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Heart Of Darkness Imperialism Analysis
    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Heart Of Darkness Imperialism Analysis

    Imperialism is the ideology that drives the Europeans in the “Heart of Darkness” towards the Congo for its ivory. In the Congo, the only things worth paying attention towards are those that provide monetary benefits, and this can be seen when Conrad states “Some, I heard, got drowned in the surf; but whether they did or not, nobody seemed particularly to care.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    African American Imperialism Analysis
    • 1705 Words
    • 7 Pages

    African American Imperialism Analysis

    Whether it was for tires or waterproofing clothes, all Leopold knew was that there was a demand, and Leopold could provide it. Unlike other African and Asian countries that were attempting to catch up with the rubber boom, the Congo already had matured rubber trees, so Leopold wanted to stay ahead of the game while he still could (Hochschild 159). While in the past workers could be chained together and whipped to make them obey, rubber trees were scattered across the forest and vines were located in spots that required careful scaling of trees, so a new strategy had to be used (Hochschild 160). Making rubber was a difficult, painful process involving travelling deep into the forest in a desperate search for vines, cutting them open and waiting for the vines to tap, and then spreading the rubber syrup across one’s body to make the rubber dry; and the Congolese eventually realized this long, difficult process really wasn’t worth their effort. Europeans disagreed, knowing the potential profit, and established a forced labor system in the Congo (Hochschild 161). European soldiers would arrive in a village and then take the wives and children of the villages as hostage, refusing to give them back until the men met a rubber quota. Once enough rubber was collected to satisfy them, the soldiers would sell the women back for a few goats or other small…

    • 1705 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    European Imperialism In Africa
    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    European Imperialism In Africa

    Before European imperialism reached Africa, the African people lived in villages and had agricultural economies. When the Europeans spread into inland Africa and started colonize the land, the life of natives drastically changed. The Europeans came into Africa, took over the land and began to dictate and deceive the Africans for European gain. The Europeans brought an active and more worldly economy to Africa, but they did not let the natives constructively participate or benefit from this new system. European imperialism was harmful to Africa in several ways, as when the Europeans came over, so came a significant loss of life to natives and famine, and a division of culture that brought conflict into tribes, and a loss of land and resources,…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More