What Are The Benefits Of Imperialism In Africa

The Belgians of the Congo Free State in Africa obtained a vast amount of riches; however, much of it was taken out and brought back to Europe. Belgian ruler King Leopold made himself the dictator of the Congo and spent the riches to form what was nearly his own private colony, the Congo Free State. As we look at how Belgium profited from the colonization of Congo, I am going to refer to the books and films we used in class to help explore and define this topic more proficiently.
Belgium discovered many natural materials that were very valuable for the times and could potentially benefit Africa and the western world. These materials, such as rubber and ivory were so valuable that many extremes were taken in order to receive as much as possible. One of the extremes being the cutting off of laborers hands that didn't gather enough rubber. Belgium also received a majority of
This became the main source of revenue for the Congo because labor was the only requirement needed in order to attain rubber. This was a problem though because they needed people willing to work as rubber gatherers in order to receive the possible profits. Therefore, they resorted to capturing the natives' women in return for the gathering of rubber. Since the Congo operated by quotas, one had to establish that quota or they would have to pay the consequences. When the men reached the quota, their wife would be returned, but if one refused to gather, their wife would be killed (King Leopold's Ghost, 161). Mutilation was another commodity during the times. In the movie, Tools of Exploitation, white men condemned the slave trade but that didn't mean they were civil to the natives. They caused other problems such as the mutilation of people such as the cutting off of their hands. Natives did not receive money for doing this work; instead they were paying for the profits gained by