Throughout his reign as the King of the Belgians‚ Leopold II both followed and went against some of the ideas Niccolo Machiavelli lists in “The Prince”. One of the first things Leopold II did when he came into power in 1865 was pulling Belgium into neutrality in Europe due to recent shifts in the European balance of power. This goes against what Niccolo Machiavelli says in “The Prince” about what a prince must do to be esteemed. “A prince can also win prestige by declaring himself an ally of one
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Leopold II (1835-1909) The King of Belgium 1865-1909. The scramble for Africa began in the mid-1870’s with the purpose to colonize the "Dark Continent". Much of the exploration and European interests were in the southern‚ northern‚ and eastern part of the continent. It was still called the "Dark Continent" because of the large basin of rain forests surrounding the Congo River in the equatorial part of western Africa. This area was virtually unexplored because traveling up the river by boat was impossible
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continent was partitioned among several European powers into several colonies. One of those countries represented at the Berlin Conference was Belgium . The African territory which Belgium presided over was the Congo region. Unlike the other European nations that occupied African territory‚ Belgium did not immediately annex the Congo. Instead‚ the Belgian King Leopold II made the region his own personal plantation under the name the Congo Free State . During this period‚ between 1885 and 1908‚ he administered
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changed? How is this true of other individuals about whom Hochschild writes? In what way has this book affected your view of human nature? 3. The death toll in King Leopold’s Congo was on a scale comparable to the Holocaust and Stalin’s purges. Can Leopold II be viewed as a precursor to the masterminds behind the Nazi death camps and the Gulag? Did these three and other twentieth century mass killings arise from similar psychological‚ social‚ political‚ economic‚ and cultural sources? 4. Those who
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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
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King Leopold is an egotistical ruler who attempts to make Belgium a superior power then it was starting with taking control of Congo. All events were completed under an extravagant "humanitarian" public relations initiative by misleading numerous countries alongside with the United States. In reality‚ King Leopold was a cold‚ manipulative‚ selfish leader who wasn’t content with his small empire of Belgium putting his eyes on the Congo to expand his legacy. But he couldn’t do this on his own; he had
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to unfold he tells a story of King Leopold II of Belgium who managed to seize land next to the Congo River in Africa. King Leopold used political manipulation and lies to get what he wanted. King Leopold had everyone fooled that he was a humanitarian and he was in the Congo for the greater good‚ but that was not the case. He claimed that civilizing the Congo would keep out “Arab slave- traders” to gain support of people‚ but Leopold wanted something else. Leopold was very greedy‚ and his greed resulted
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King Leopold II was one man‚ one man who gained support for Belgium‚ one man who imperialized the Congo‚ one man who supported the brutal murders of the Congolese people‚ and one man who set precedents and laid the foundation for anti-semitic death camps‚ Communist purges‚ and Soviet work camps that would arise in the near future. King Leopold II of Belgium was a precursor to the malevolent leaders who created Nazi death camps‚ Soviet work camps‚ and purges. King Leopold can be viewed as a precursor
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Nicholas Defreitas Professor Herman WHO 1030 10/20/15 King Leopold and the Congo Takeover In the 1800’s‚ European countries all scrambled for African territory. The first to put his foot down in the territory however would be King Leopold ll. “I do not want to miss us getting a slice of this magnificent African cake” said Leopold to a London ambassador shortly before his invasion of Africa. He made his intentions sound charitable and generous; an attempt to help Africa and stop the slave trade
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territories had been taken over by other European Countries so the only other option was to head into the vastly unexplored continent of Africa. The man who would be come to be called King Leopold was the one who started that exploration that would forever change the economy of the Republic of Congo (page 10). Leopold was excited about the opportunity to
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