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Picture: vietnambusiness.asia
Info Source: ("Congo- the Brutal," n.d.).
Belgian Congo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcF9fmTzqkg
Treatment Of Indigenous People
8-10 million people died as
a result of Leopold’s
policies.
They were enslaved
Families were kidnapped
to force people to produce
rubber.
Cut off peoples hands if
they did not produce
enough rubber.
Info Source: ("Congo- the Brutal," n.d.).
Picture: en.wikipedia.org
Belgian Congo Money
Picture: coins.ha.com
The Congo Free State
Map
Picture: gutenberg.org
Belgian Congo Map
Picture: Culturegrams.com
The Democratic Republic
of Congo
Picture: lonelyplanet.com
Indigenous perspective
• King Leopold II and his army
took over power in Congo.
• King Leopold II and the Force
Publique terrorized the
Congolese by kidnapping the
families of the workers and
cutting off hands if they didn’t
produce enough rubber
• In 1908 Congo was taken from
Leopold and turned into a Conley
ruled but the Belgians
• The worst abuses were eliminated
because the Belgians still wanted
the copper, oil, diamonds and
other minerals
(Congo). http://weallbe.blogspot.com/2010/07/passing-of-patrice-
lumumba.html
Benefits and modernization
http://www.britannica.com/EBcheck
ed/topic/59224/Belgian-Congo
Cultural imperialism
The Belgians forced
many different Congo
tribes to live together
The Belgians set up
Belgian style schools
The Congolese lost
their native language
and way of religion
The Belgians brought a
new system of law
• Yellow for
prosperity
http://flagspot.net/flags/cd.html
Consequences on the Imperial Power
• Belgium gained wealth from
the rubber in ivory they
exported.
• King Leopold was criticized
for exploiting and enslaving
the Africans.
• Edward Morrel wrote about
the horrible situation in the
Belgian Congo.
• Belgium’s treatment of the
African people is an
example of European Social
Darwinism
(Congo Free State, 2011)
en.wikipedia.org
Consequences on the Occupied
Region
• When the Belgians left the
country was unstable
• The Congo lost a lot of its
resources
• Most people live in poverty
• Government corruption has
caused civil wars
picture:mydailyclarity.com
(Democratic Republic of the Congo, n.d.).
Modern Status
Congo Belgium
• GDP-$37,900 per year
• GDP-$300 per year
• Literacy rate-99%
• Literacy rate-67.2%
• HDI-.867 (rank 18)
• HDI-.239 (rank 168)
blackhistoryheroes.blogspot.com
Mobutu
took control of Congo in 1965
-made all political parties illegal
because they were causing problems in
the country
1967 he made one political party
mandatory it was called the (MPR)
Popular Movement of the Revolution.
Made Congo a policy of Africanisation
country, he made a new flag, new
national anthem, and changed the •Nationalized foreign owned business and
name of the country to Zaire. made Western investors leave (Zaire).
•1990 had to unban the rule against political
Mobutu also changed the capital name
parties and then in 1997 he was over powered
from Leopoldville to Kinshasa.
and fled the
The people of Congo even had to get country with his family.
African names, if they didn’t have one. •Congo was in debt billions of dollars by the
He bribed any of his rivals with money 1980’s because of him but he didn’t care because
to keep them happy. he was billions of dollars wealthier
( Mobutu of Zaire, 2005-2011)
fxcuisine.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Congo Free State. (2011). Retrieved February 14, 2011, from In Encyclopædia
Britannica website: http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9025854
• Democratic Republic of the Congo. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from
http://school.eb.com/eb/article-
9443169?query=democratic%20republic%20of%20congo&ct=
• International Human Development Indicators. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2011,
from UN website: http:’’hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/ profiles/Bel.html
• Lumumba Apology: Congo’s mixed feelings . (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2011,
from BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1805546.stm
• The World Factbook. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2011, from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html
• Congo. (n.d.). Retrieved 2011, from Encyclopædia Britannica database.
• Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). Belgian Congo . Retrieved from
http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9015197
• everything culture. (n.d.). Democratic Republic of the Congo . Retrieved 2011,
from http://www.everyculture.com