The Congo

At the end of the 19th Century, as Europe’s power scrambled for control of the continent’s riches, the rights of the indigenous people were no impediment for their plans for conquest. After theconference of Berlin in eighteen eighty five, Europeans embarked on a continent wide land craft and in less than twenty years, ninety percent of African territory will be placed under the European colonialrule. One of the main beneficiaries was king Leopold, the second of Belgium, aware of the vast fortune to be made, he persuaded Europe’s powers to recognize his sovereignty over one of Africa’slargest regions, the Congo.

Leopold the II became king of the Belgium in eighteen sixty-five at the age of thirty. He was enormously greedy, ambitious and with an absolutely brilliant sense of publicrelations. He hired the explorer Henry Morgan Stanley, the man who found Livingston, to go to the Congo and essentially stakeout this huge territory for him. Leopold got, first the United States andthen all major nations of Western Europe to ratify his seizure of the Congo, an enormous territory in the center of the Continent.

First, Leopold created a smoke screen claiming that he wished toeducate a “savage people”. The people in the Congo, were already fooled by Leopold because they believe on what he said but they did not realize what he was really after at all , which it was to makehimself rich by exploiting brown hands who were going to carry the wealth of Africa and loaded of ships for his own personal profit.

Extreme violence was employed to impose Leopold’s dominion. Theright hand of those who failed to meet the quotes were mutilated. Even young children were not spared. In eighteen ninety six a German newspaper reported that one thousand three hundred and eight hands,had been gathered in one day. Leopold created a ninety thousand strong-army to enforce his rule. One of his liutenants wrote “only the whip can civilized the black.” The army would seize the women...