King Leopold Imperialism

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King Leopold ll of the Congo Free State once affirmed that, “I do not want to miss a good chance of getting us a slice of this magnificent African cake,” (Packenham 22). To the European colonizers at the time of the Scramble for Africa, African countries were seen as land that could be annexed without much regard for the people already inhabiting the area. King Leopold ll, a Belgian colonizer, took control of the an area in Africa seventy five times bigger than Belgium in 1885 and transformed it into the Congo Free State. The atrocities that took place under his rule was the cause of the death of approximately twenty three million natives and mutilation of many more. From 1881 to 1914, the Scramble of Africa was a time where European …show more content…
Belgium gained much from the colonization of the Congos, however because the territory was ran by one sole person, the experience as a Congolese was atrocious. As a way of collecting slaves, “Every village was ordered to provide four people a year to work as full-time slaves for the Congo Free State… their wives and children were held as hostages. Some had a hand cut off as punishment for not achieving the quota imposed,” (Heale 28). The ghastly experience the natives had whilst under European rule were the cause of many deaths. The Europeans had no regard for the inhabitants and would do any such manner to receive profit. When it was time for the workers to hand over the resources, “The gendarmerie were sent in to collect it- a process that was sped up by looking, arson and rape. If a village failed to reach its quota hostages would be taken and shot,” (Stanley). The Congolese were assaulted and mutilated at the whims of King Leopold’s wishes. As the Belgians first arrived in the Congo region, it was a death sentence for many of the …show more content…
Because of the atrocities, many of the missionaries, who were there to give peace and civilization to the Congolese, reported their horrific experiences to the Belgian state. The Belgian state had no word in Leopold’s actions, as they gave him absolute control of over 30 million Congolese with only the request that Belgium receives the resources extracted. It was not until the missionaries spoke out of the horror, their many reports were of, “atrocities so embarrassing the Belgian government that they persuaded their king to hand over the governing of the country,” (Heale 28). As a result, the King then realized the state Leopold had placed on the Congo Free State and ordered for Leopold’s return. The Congo Free state, in 1908, then became the Belgian Congo until 1960, when they gained independence, which was, “without sufficient planning or infrastructure,” (Heale 29). Through King Leopold’s reign, the entire country was altered and many natives felt the wrath of Leopold’s selfish ambition to make his country great. In total, “Between 10 to 23 million people died during Leopold’s rule… a direct result of physical violence, the many starvation, and work exhaustion deaths,” (Kenneth). More than half of the population was wiped out within the twenty three years of Leopold’s rule alone. The amount of death that the Belgium’s colonization had caused is astounding,
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