The conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following independence in 1960 was primarily inherited from its European colonizers. The notion that the 80-year exploitative occupation of Belgium could leave the Congo anything but traumatized and unstable is farfetched. This was cogently conveyed in the very first sequence of the film, Lumumba, which presented evidence using actual footage and archival images of the violent legacy of colonization. Far from the benevolent guardianship that King Leopold tried to claim, African rule under Belgium was marked by the physical, psychological, social, economic and cultural subjugation of the Congolese. From the outset we learn that the domination of a people is achieved in many ways, and that the abuses of the Congolese came in many forms. Absolute control of the national military was a central feature of conquest; in this context, Belgians stayed in command of the Force Republique, even after independence was declared. Africans were also pitted against each other by a strategically imposed hierarchical social system among the enslaved. African “masters” were thus compelled to participate in the subjugation of their fellow Africans, a system reminiscent of the divide-and-conquer strategies utilized against the enslaved in plantations stateside, such as we witnessed in the movie Sankofa. In fact, this forced enslavement, hard physical labor, social displacement, the separation of families, cultural domination, and dehumanization of whole populations should all be sadly familiar to Americans given their similar histories. The privileges and benefits the white Belgians enjoyed during this occupation lay in stark contrast with the violence instituted against black Africans on whic... ... middle of paper ... ...ntable. Given the instability Lumumba faced internally, and the stakeholders that threatened him externally, I would have utilized diplomacy and treaded more lightly in his shoes. It did not seem like he tried at all to preempt the various threats that came his way. He neither consulted carefully with those around him, nor made a special effort to win their loyalty. He appeared to be more reactive than proactive in the way he addressed conflict. He undervalued his allies and underestimated his enemies. The newly liberated government was in many ways ill equipped for independence, at least at that point. The viability of the republic was perhaps more reliant on the his ability to positively engage with the international community. Lumumba’s failure to realize or acknowledge the need for interdependence with both internal and external players was his ultimate undoing.
The book mainly chronicles the efforts of King Leopold II of Belgium which is to make the Congo into a colonial empire. During the period that the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River.
George Washington Williams was a black American. He had come to the Congo over a route that seemed almost as if it took him through several different lives. He was in the U.S. Army, fought battles, attended University`s, and graduated from Newton in 1874. Williams married and became a pastor. He also created a milestone in the literature of human rights and of investigative journalism. This work is titled An Open Letter to His Serne Majesty Leopold 2nd , King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo, by Colonel the Honorable Geo.W. Williams, of the Untied States of America(102). As well as submitting a statement to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations urging recognition of the International Association of the Congo. Williams had a plan to go to the Congo to collect material for his book. As Williams traveled up the the great river he had time to take in Africa. When he reached Stanley Falls he could no longer contain what he had felt and saw. He then writes h...
...ion of imperialism has evolved. In both Heart of Darkness by Conrad, and The Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver, Africa is invaded and altered to conform to the desires of more “civilized” people. While this oppression in the Congo never seems to cease, the natives are consistently able to overcome the obstacles, and the tyrants, and thus prove to be civilized in their own regard and as capable of development as the white nations. As Orleanna says herself: “Call it oppression, complicity, stupefaction, call it what you’d like…Africa swallowed the conqueror’s music and sang a new song of her own” (Kingsolver 385). Kingsolver illustrates that though individuals may always seek to control and alter the region, the inhabitants and victims of the tyranny and oppression live on and continue past it, making the state of the area almost as perpetual as the desire to control it.
In this program, it centers on a pattern of segregation and genocide evident in King Leopold’s Belgian Congo rampages, the terrorism of Jim Crow, South Africa apartheid rule, and less recognizable examples that persist in today’s global community. Slavery caused Blacks to suffer, and allowed
During the 17th century, slavery was a widely used commodity with the Europeans, little do people know however that African kings also had and accepted slavery in their own nations. King Nzinga Mbemba of Congo and the King of Ouidah had similarities on the issue of slavery; they tolerated the use of slaves. Congo’s king had no contingency with slavery; in fact, he had slaves in his country. When the Portuguese were purchasing goods in Congo, the king had men “investigate if the mentioned goods are captives or free men” (NZ, 622). The fact that the king differentiates the men between ‘free’ and ‘captives’ illustrates that not all people in Congo are free. Whether these captives are from the country of Congo or not, they are still caught and held all across the nation against their will. King Mbemba kept slaves because the population of Congo was vastly declining due to the slave trade. In his letter, he pleads with the king of Portug...
One can easily note the physical and sexual violence brought upon the people (black and white) of Congo after independence, but we must locate the other forms of violence in order to bring the entire story of Patrice Lumumba to light. The director’s attempt at bringing the story of Patrice Lumumba to the “silver screen” had political intentions.
As a political figure, King Leopold of Belgium had minimal power, yet he acknowledged the political and financial advantages of colonization, and acquired the Congo as a private colony whereas Britain snatched up colonies globally, including the “crown jewel” of all colonies, India. Belgium and Britain demonstrated a stark contradiction of two opposing methods of colonization. These two countries methods’ of domination ultimately decided the fates of each party, ...
Alas, in 1961 Patrice Lumumba was assassinated by a US- sponsored plot 7 months after independence, and replaced him with a “puppet dictator named Mobutu” (Kingsolver). In her book, Barbara Kingsolver surfaces a forgotten part of our nation’s history in the exploitation of the Congo through her main characters, the Price family, who are missionaries sent to the Kilanga village. Through characters’ narratives that “double as allegories for the uneasy colonial marriage between the West and Africa” (Hamilton, Jones), Kingsolver creates a relatable way for her readers to understand the theme she is trying to convey, which is “‘what did we do to Africa, and how do we feel about it?’” (Snyder). Kingsolver began with this theme and developed the rest of the novel around it, just as she does with her other works, and sticking with her trademark technique, she utilizes her book as a vessel for “political activism, an extension of the anti-Vietnam protests” she participated in college (Snyder).
... attention allowed economic exploitation in the Congo and its people devastated by human rights abuses, and even today the lack of international attention has caused many conflicts in and around the Congo. The economic exploitation of the Congo during colonial times robbed the country of wealth which could have been used to develop the land, and the lack of wealth has contributed to Congo’s poor standing in the world today. Lastly, the human rights abuses in the Congo Free State contributed to economic and political troubles during the colonial period and has continued into the present day, as human rights abuses are still prevalent in that region of Africa. Due to the lack of international attention, economic exploitation, and human rights abuses, the Congo Free State was harmful to the Congo region of Africa and its legacy continues to harm that region of Africa.
The course of human history is marked by appalling crimes. But even the hardened historian is filled with horror, loathing and indignation on examining the record of African slavery. How was it possible? How could it have gone on for so long, and on such a scale? A tragedy of such dimensions has no parallel in any other part of the world.
As we know the majority of our past has challenges and the discontent, fight to win independence from the Europeans. With the various readings we have discussed in the past couple of weeks about fighting for independence due to colonization. Also the troublesome view on race, human identity, and frustration. We will discuss a very important reading and viewing that is believed to best represents the main challenges that Africans’ went through during their difficult journey to independence, and identify conflicts. Blackass by Ignoi Barrett, will give us two very different examples but, very similar concepts on the role of independence and the war that colonization has been carried on in this new world in an political sense.
While the economic and political damage of the scramble for Africa crippled the continent’s social structure, the mental warfare and system of hierarchy instituted by the Europeans, made the continent more susceptible to division and conquest. The scramble for partition commenced a psychological warfare, as many Africans were now thrust between the cultural barriers of two identities. As a result, institutions for racial inferiority became rooted in the cultural identity of the continent. This paper will expound on the impact of colonialism on the mental psyche of Africans and the employment of the mind as a means to seize control. I will outline how the mental hierarchy inculcated by the Europeans paved the way for their “divide and conquer” tactic, a tool essential for European success. Through evidence from a primary source by Edgar Canisius and the novel, King Leopold’s Ghost, I will show how colonial influences heightened the victimization of Africans through psychological means. I will culminate by showing how Robert Collins fails to provide a holistic account of colonialism, due to his inability to factor in the use of psychological warfare as a means to the end. By dissecting the minds of both the colonizer and the colonized, I hope to illustrate the susceptibility of African minds to European influences and how psychological warfare transformed Africans from survivors to victims during colonialism.
Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest of the country out of fear of the mutinous army that was out of control looting and killing.
As Marlow passes through the waters of the Congo, it is easily visible the trouble of the natives. “Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees, leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth half coming out, half effaced with the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair.” (20) Show that the holding of these colonies has started. The soldiers have come in and taken the inhabitants and are destroying them and taking from them the one thing they deserve over everything, life. The imperialists seem to not care about the Africans and are just there for their land.
Analyzing the factors that escalated full enslavement of Africans can be very subjective. However, taking historical evidence into account, one can reach an unequivocal conclusion that full-scale enslavement was motivated by two major factors. The first factor being “economic purpose” happened to be more self-evident. In order to fully comprehend this very fact, it’s imperative to also understand that at first the initial use of North American land was cultivated raw material necessary for the British to produce goods for end users. However, the need for cheap labor soon arose and the Europeans at this time decided to fill this vacuum through the use of African-slaves. Africans were seen as inferior beings, not worthy to be treated with dignity and with basic human rights,