dq3hist101

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Colorado State University, Fort Collins *

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101

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History

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Dec 6, 2023

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Evelyn Kliebenstein HIST 101-003 1. Unlike a film, which is designed to entertain, the goal of a documentary is to inform and educate. What does this documentary want you to learn about King Leopold II, his impact and the Congo, and the consequences of Colonialism? As a historian, how can you evaluate its Accuracy? This documentary intended to inform the viewer on how Colonialism affected the Congo and to describe how and why King Leopold gained control. Africa was one of the few places that had not yet been taken over, and Leopold saw it as an opportunity for monopoly. His profit was largely garnered from the mistreatment of the Congolese. He had a strict military rule that would target people who didn’t cooperate with his agenda, and would go as far as forcing indigenous peoples to sign over their land rights (often unknowingly). Upon turning nearly everything in the Congo into property of the King, he disguised his motives as charitable which is part of the reason he could do what he did for so long. The documentary highlights the questionable ethics of Leopold and the suffering he brought upon the Congo and its people. The accuracy of the documentary can be supported by the multitude of primary sources it uses. Documents published by Leopold himself, diary excerpts, and interviews with experts all contribute to the historical reliability of this film. Rather than choosing a side, the film abandons bias in favor of providing an explanation of King Leopold II's rise to power, methods of maintaining it, and subsequent downfall in an informative and accurate way. 2. According to the narrator, how does Leopold II hide his true intentions in the Congo behind a “charade of philanthropy?” What role does Henry Morton Stanley play in Leopold’s attempt to present his actions as “scientific exploration?”

Evelyn Kliebenstein HIST 101-003 King Leopold II misinformed the public about what was going on in the Congo in order to disguise his intentions. He claimed to be redeeming “a savage people” through the reinforcement of free trade in the Congo, the elimination of the African slave trade, and through his philanthropic efforts. Deceptive titles of his associations and lies throughout his campaign are what landed his government support. Henry Morton Stanley discovered the Congo before Leopold and played a large part in presenting the antics as “scientific exploration”. Stanley was in search of a philanthropist who would allow him to run a force for commerce with Central Africa, and Leopold agreed, signing a 5-year contract that would end up devastating to the Congo. In the name of “scientific exploration, societies were destroyed. A private army force, Force Publique, was implemented. Leopold and Stanley worked together in order to creatively disguise their destruction as exploration. 3. What natural resources was Leopold extracting from the Congo? How did the Industrial Revolution contribute to demand for these resources? Describe Leopold’s approach to securing these commodities, the various methods used to secure the necessary labor and the impact on the people of the Congo. Leopold was extracting mainly rubber and ivory. Especially interested in ivory, Leopold and Stanley would order the people of the Congo to kill elephants when they didn’t trade for the ivory or just steal it from them. As the Industrial Revolution ramped up, so did the demand for rubber. Nearly half of Leopold’s country was draped with rubber vines, and so he jumped at this economic opportunity. He forced the people to begin harvesting the rubber by threatening their livelihoods. A refusal to cooperate was followed by getting arrested, chained, and put out to collect rubber. Villages were required to collect specific amounts of rubber, and if they didn’t

Evelyn Kliebenstein HIST 101-003 meet their quota, extreme measures including hand amputation were taken. Overall, Leopold’s quest for commodities was successful, but hugely detrimental to the people of the Congo. 4. To what degree did Belgian attitudes about race inform their approach to the Congolese and influence their treatment of them? Consider the ideas presented it the lecture on the Enlightenment. How did their views of liberty, humanity, equality and race shape attitudes towards Colonialism and indigenous peoples? The Belgians were, point blank, racist. They believed that the Congolese were lazy and subhuman. By not viewing them as people, they didn’t have to prioritize their humanity, liberty, equality, or opportunity. They could instead see them for their potential to bring Belgium profit. People were condensed into only their potential to work or be worked. This built an overall negative attitude towards indigenous people and a positive attitude about Colonialism. 5. In spite of repeated attempts by eye witnesses to bring the atrocities committed in the Congo to the attention of the public, the international community refused to investigate or take action for decades. How can we explain their failure to act? What eventually shifts public opinion, forcing Leopold to relinquish control of the Congo? To what degree is the situation of the Congolese altered as a result of these changes? At least a fraction of the failure to act by the international community can be attributed to how well Leopold disguised what he was doing in the Congo. People were deceived on a large scale through statements and campaigns, and eyewitness accounts were quickly dismissed or rebutted by Leopold. Edmund Morel, along with a handful of other journalists, spent years documenting the horrors occurring in the Congo. These accounts, along with other eyewitness

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Evelyn Kliebenstein HIST 101-003 accounts and photographic evidence, the British Parliament decided they had enough evidence to open an investigation. In 1903, they condemned Belgium for their failure to follow through on Leopold’s promises. In 1904, the Congo Reformation Association was formed. Leopold was forced to transfer control of the Congo to Belgium after sending judges there to clear his name. They instead found the crazy mistreatment of natives, and the shell of their society, and Leopold had no choice but to relinquish his authority.

dq3hist101

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