Question 1
Leopard II was the king of the Belgians who will be remembered in history for founding Congo Free State as well as the inhumane atrocities he committed to the Congolese. He was a brother to Empress Carlota of Mexico. Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom together with her husband Prince Albert as well as King Fernando II of Portugal were among his cousins (Hochschild 58).
He married Queen Marrie-Henriette and they together had four children; Louise Marie Amélie, Léopold Ferdinand Élie Victor Albert Marie, Stéphanie Clotilde Louise Herminie Marie Charlotte, and Clémentine Albertine Marie Léopoldine. The kingdom of Leopard II covered the whole Belgium and so he was the head of state and he lived in Royal Greenhouse of Laeken. Leopold II was so much interested in Congo especially extracting the fortunes of the land given that Congo is rich in valuables like gold.
Question 2
Africa consists of 62 political territories covering much of the Southward projections of the main part of the earth. It is separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea separates it from Asia. Two Democratic Republic of Congo commonly known as DR Congo separates Africa or DRC is one of the countries located in central Africa.
It is the largest country in Africa and 11 largest in the world. Congo borders other African countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, and Angola. Before joining to form one state, Democratic Republic of Congo was formally divided into Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo Léopoldville, Congo-Kinshasa and Zaire.
Question 3
The Europeans colonized Africa for political, economic, and cultural reasons. The first reason of European interest in Africa was to find the scientific knowledge of the unknown, the then called ‘the dark continent’. Secondly, Europeans wanted to benefit from the unexploited natural resources for instance gold as well as human resources that is the slaves. They also wanted to spread Christianity and enlighten the Africans who were viewed to be behind in terms of development (Hochschild 78).
The nations that colonized in Africa include France, Britain, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Portugal. Some of the European territories that changed their names in Africa include; Lesotho formally known as Basutoland was a Britain territory changed its name after attaining independence associating the name to attainment of freedom and self-governance. Zaire that was a French territory changed its name in 1997 to Democratic Republic of Congo after merging with other states to form one independent state. This according to them means it was now an independent state free from French governance and together as a unit advocates for democracy.
Question 4
The main resources that were available in Congo that time were ivory and rubber. Leopold surprised many by accumulating large personal fortunes by exploiting Congo’s natural resources. A conference was convened in Berlin to restrict foreign access to rubber when the price rose in 1980’s and natives were used as forced labor. The populations were forced to collect sap from the rubber plants.
They were also forced to meet the quota on rubber collection, failure to do so would attract very tough punishment of even chopping off their hands. It is estimated that almost two million people died because of this mistreatment. This book even cautions from estimating the number of people who died because of this tyrannical rule. Congo is a country full of animals such as elephants because much of its landmass is forested (Hochschild 44).
Ivory was therefore a readily available natural and because then there less restrictions on ivory trade, Leopold II utilized the opportunity to exploit this precious resource. The natives had no say because the French rule was over them and they could not resist. Some residents were even forced to pouch and collect the elephant tasks together with other forms of ivory which are thereafter exported or exchanged for other valuables.
Question 5
A quota was a specific proportion of rubber assigned to a group or each member of the Congolese community. King Leopold II, acquire much of the land for equatorial land forest full of rubber vines with almost half of the state of Congo. Therefore, they were fully aware of the required amount of rubber that each person or group must provide. Failure by citizens to meet the rubber collection quotas was punishable by death.
The team charge with the responsibility of enforcing the king’s degree were expected to provide a hand of their victims as a proof when they have shot and killed a person and so they were allowed to use munitions. The payment for rubber quotas was chopped-off hands (Hochschild 69).
The force publique or the public were charged with the responsibility of collecting the hands for those who do not fill their quotas. Sometimes one village may realize that they have filled their quota and so they attack another village, kill them, and chop off their hands. In this theory, provision of the right hand was a proof that one has killed and so soldiers would move around looking for those who did not comply.
Question 6
In Africa, South Africa is an example of the countries that went through the same experience as Congo. Discovery of gold in Kimberly attracted European colonialists into the interior land and by 19th century, the political and economic independence was no longer with the people. They imposed heavy racist laws that ensured that did the only ones own the minds.
The black South African men were forced to work in the mines and firms owned by the whites under very low pay could not support them or their families. Africans who were even qualified were being forced out of their jobs and they continued to face so much discrimination because regardless of whether they were educated. This gave the Europeans economic and political power to control almost all the industries. Other countries that went through such dark experiences include; Haiti that was colonized by Spanish (Hochschild 54).
Question 7
Leopold successfully procured the Congo Free State through convincing the international community during the Brussels Geographic conference that he was involved in philanthropic and humanitarian work in the mineral resource rich region. This attracted numerous humanitarian and scientific backing from the international community. This led to the formation of international African association during the Brussels conference.
Leopold enhanced his ruthless acts in the Congo region through a number of survival tactics. He developed an army consisting of the African youths which carried on the mass killings and many other crimes of inhuman nature.
After the intervention by the Congo reforms Association which caused uproar from the international community, led to the collapse of Leopold’s tyrannical rule. This led to take over of Congo by the Belgium forces. However, this did not contributed to any significant betterment of the Congo region. The Congo economy had been greatly crippled thus creating many instances of anarchy wars even after its independence (Hochschild 47).
Question 8
The book King Leopold’s Ghost, by Adam Hochschild, greatly reviews the major forms of injustices that many African nations were forced to endure in the hands of their colonial masters. It reveals the events of the scramble for Africa and its aftermath. E. D. More worked for a Liverpool shipping line that did practice monopoly in the transportation industry. His main role was to oversee the loading and unloading of the cargoes from his ships. Many are times he observed that nothing is being exchange back to Congo as a pay thus realizing that he was into slave labor. As a result to this he respondent through several protests and reached the president Theodore informing him that U.S.A bears a major responsibility in resolving the evils in Congo.
Mark Twain was among those who fought strongly for the end of slave labor in Congo. He particularly was involved in the worldwide movement that saw eight to ten million lives taken. Joseph Conrad was famously known for his book Heart of Darkness where he highlighted the atrocities committed to the Congo people (Hochschild54).
Washington William was a historian and an American journalist that played a recommendable role in igniting a movement. He used the advantage of being a journalist and went ahead to interview the African about the evil they were undergoing in the hands of the white conquerors. Rev. William H. Sheppard contributed in the movement against slave labor by recording a scene he in encountered in the Congo rain forest that was branded as an element or symbol signifying the colonial brutality (Hochschild 64).
Cecil Rhodes realized that if these the returns from the mining operations could be highly enhanced if only these miners were to consolidate there operations. Economies of scale would lower the costs of operations and even makes the rights of the miners more meaningful. However this led to privatization of almost every single mine thus major instances of monopoly.
Works Cited
Hochschild, Adam, and Geoffrey Howard. King Leopold's Ghost. Newport Beach, CA: Books on Tape, 2006. Print.
