Leopold II as a King-Sovereign of the Congo Free State – a great diplomat‚ businessman or a man who caused a genocide? Mgr. Lucie Tamášová Index Index 1 The beginning of the Congo Free State 3 Desire for colonies 3 Founding of the International African Association 4 Leopold’s Beginnings in Congo with Morton Stanley 5 Stanley in Congo 7 International Association of the Congo and the Berlin Conference 9 Terror and profit in Colonial Congo 12
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The Congo was taken over in 1885 by King of Belgium‚ Leopold II . Leopold wanted to conquer the Congo due to him believing overseas colonies were the key to a country’s greatness. Leopold gained control of the Congo by sending explorer Henry Stanley to claim land in the Congo. At the Berlin conference of 1884-1885 they recognized Leopold as the sovereign ruler of the Congo. The country was treated as a brutal business investment by Leopold who was viewed by the world as a noble king. But in reality
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well-researched work King Leopold’s Ghost‚ Hochschild was able to reconstruct the Belgian takeover of the Congo from an almost omniscient point of view. Through his narration‚ the reader is able to see all of the involved agents of the story (King Leopold‚ Henry Morton Stanley‚ William Sheppard) acting in motion and how the actions of one affected the plans and behaviors of others. Hochschild’s reconstruction reveals King Leopold’s meticulous manipulation of key individuals and entire governments throughout
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Letter from Leopold to Prime Minister Beernaert How does Leopold justify colonization of the Congo? Leopold justifies the colonization of the Congo with the fact that countries have been colonizing in other territories throughout history. He goes back on major empires and names few along with what they did. What economic arguments does he stress? He stresses intellectual‚ capitalist‚ or manual opportunities for all workers. How does he envision the future of Belgium and the Congo? Leopold visions the
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IN THE CONGO In 1876‚ King Leopold II of Belgium began plans for international benevolent committees for the people of the Congo region. Though originally accepted as multi-national‚ scientific‚ and humanitarian propositions‚ they have of late become anything but. Soon after their conception‚ Leopold used these organizations to establish a sphere of influence and eventually Belgian sovereignty in the Congo Basin. The region is rich in ivory and rubber‚ and Leopold made use of those resources and
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The Republic of the Congo began as a Belgian colony in the late 19th century. Belgium’s King Leopold II‚ after becoming increasingly frustrated by Belgium’s lack of international power‚ began to persuade his government to support colonial expansion. His attention was drawn to the area of the Congo River basin following during Sir Henry Morton Stanley’s exploration from 1874–77. King Leopold II organized a geographical conference in Brussels in 1876‚ during which he proposed “establishing an international
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The story of the Democratic Republic of Congo starts off with King Leopold II‚ the King of Belgium from 1865-1909. King Leopold II was extremely interested in making Belgium a world power‚ and did so by imperialism and colonization. In 1885‚ he made possible the formation of the Congo Free State (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo) (Hochschild). This state was originally created as a way to open up the interior of Africa to European trade‚ specifically for ivory‚ which was extremely valuable
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materials and territory. Specifically‚ regarding the conquests of and King Leopold II of Belgium‚ and Napoleon III it is evident that the root cause of European imperialists was to discover foreign territory in hopes to find raw materials that could potentially reap economic benefits. After taking the throne in 1865‚ King Leopold’s motives were centered around annexing Congolese territory to profit from the ivory enterprise. King Leopold‚
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d) Leopold promised to suppress the East African slave trade‚ promote humanitarian policies‚ guarantee free trade‚ and encourage missions. However‚ Leopold prohibited trade in arms‚ authorized the terms for the employment of native workers‚ committing them agree for terms of seven years to their employers‚ and established the Force
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the Congo by King Leopold II‚ with which I disagree‚ through the years of 1885 to 1908. If one leaves it to King Leopold II of Belgium‚ his intentions were pure. All he wanted was to improve the living conditions of the poor people of the Congo. However‚ King Leopold II was a ruthless‚ capitalist‚ tyrant.
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