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Essays on colonialism in africa specifically in te congo
Imperialism and the Congo
The impact of imperialism on the congo essay
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The essence of the argument discussed in "there is no Congo" written by Jeffrey herbst and Greg mills is that the democratic republic of Congo is unfit to be referred to as a state. The argument is based on the suggestion that the efforts into the development of Congo, are doomed to fail. The following essay will discuss the reasons why democratic republic of Congo may not fit the traditional view of a nation state discussed with reference to the forms of sovereignty. The essay will go on to Mention the suggested solutions proposed in the article and attempt to explain why I agree with the suggestion different authority figures that in the different provinces of the DRC should be recognised under what should be either a become a more efficient …show more content…
Joseph Kabila’s (aged 43) title as president was passed from his father following his assassination. This portrays how the leadership of DRC was not a choice made unilaterally by the Congolese citizens but instead was a title passed down from a war hero to his offspring. Joseph Kabila is now questioned regarding the legitimacy of his position as the absolute leader of the DRC. The traditional view nation state includes a clear authority used to govern the state and the state’s role in protecting the interests of the citizens. Congo however defies the characteristics of both an empirical and judicial state. It has an inefficient political institution, proved by the process of “decongolisation”- which explains how pillage has led to the usage natural resources benefiting foreigners more than natives. No capacity to govern – proven by their extensive history of civil war. No evidence of a common national unity. The nation is evidently unable to exercise monopoly as a state as seen in how foreign influence has proven ability to exploit the countries natural resources with the participation of the Congolese elite. Alternatively Congo would be regarded to as a juridical state. However the nation is not independent from foreign influence as
Congo was an astounding bestseller novel. It was a great fictional novel that took place in the depths of the Congo rainforest. The novel was later made into a movie. Both the novel and the movie were good, however, I prefer the novel. It just seemed like a more entertaining piece than the movie. This movie was based much upon the novel, but had many alternatives and a completely different ending than the novel.
Meece, Roger. U.S. Department of State: Diplomacy in action, "Democratic Republic of the Congo." Last modified Nov 04, 2013. Accessed May 10, 2014. http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/congokinshasa/40495.htm.
At The top of society was a small group of Europeans. Rubber agents and other government officers controlled every aspect of life in The State. They even held control over when natives could visit family. (Doyle, 1909) These Europeans had a section of land that they were to supervise and oversee the production of goods. In Belgium, a very selective group of people had control over the region with King Leopold II at the top. He had the final say in all policy of The Congo Free State. Although he held this power, most of the decision making was sub-contracted to government owned companies, such as The Anglo-Belgian Indian Rubber
Uganda is a nation located in Southern Mid-Africa, and is ruled by Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. The LRA, also known as the Lord’s Resistance army, is a rebel group active in Uganda and the countries around it and was originally created by the woman Alice Lakwena (Lakwena). The group was known as the Holy Spirit Movement then and was mainly created, because Lakwena stated that she had a dream where the Holy Spirit told her to overthrow the Ugandan government, whom were mistreating the Acholi people in Uganda at the time. The movement gained much support and when the Ugandan government won a battle between the movement and itself Lakwena was exiled. This was when Joseph Kony (Kony), stepped in saying he was Lakwena’s cousin and that he was taking over. Kony renamed the movement the LRA, but due to particularly violent tactics many people began to leave the LRA and it was rapidly losing support. This then led the LRA to start using child soldiering, and raid many villages and kill or mutilate many people. Despite what some people believe, the LRA is still a deadly group that uses child soldiering, and human trafficking and continues to threaten Uganda and its neighbors today.
The history of the Belgian Congo is one of terrible sadness and seldom-noted human devastation. From 1885 to 1908 the Congo was ruled by one man as his sole, personal colony; a ruler ironically noted at the time for his philanthropy, King Leopold II of Belgium. Seeking his own colony, he founded the Congo Free State, a massive territory in the African interior that was larger than seventy-six times the size of his own country (Hochschild, 87). A “sober, respectable businessman” by the name of Edmund Dene Morel made a note of something about this colony that blew the cover of one of the largest collections of atrocities in human memory (Hochschild, 1). Working in Antwerp on business at the docks, he noticed that only soldiers were going towards the Congo while goods were being imported, a clear sign that no true legitimate trading was going on; he rightly deduced this to mean slavery (Hochschild, 2).
The Congo Crisis was a war of cultures between the US and the USSR. Despite the Soviet Union having some support within the Congo, the US was able to prevail and instill capitalism by taking more direct action in the Crisis and by ensuring the new leader of Mobutu was friendly to American interests. The Congo Crisis negatively affected decolonization by serving as an example of the failings of an independent state ran by Africans, despite a majority of problems coming from foreign influence. As a battle of the Cold War, the Congo acted as foreshadowing to the US success over the USSR and as proof to the West that capitalism was the best and foreign ideas were inferior, negatively affecting their opinions of other states for years to come.
Congo is at a really high risk of genocide. Even though the wars were from 1996 to 2003, Congo still continues to have many conflicts now. There are so many things that happen and are happenin...
... 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.
Africa has long been a nation of conflict and strife. Certain countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have a prolonged history of corrupt leaders, violence and lack of resources. These conflicts often can lead to spill over and create wars in their neighboring countries. When a weak state has internal conflict it often spreads to surrounding weak states as it did with many of the countries in central Africa. This type of crisis will often involve the entire world in a variety of capacities such as militaries, foreign aid and the global economy. Congo especially has proved to create problems that continue to persist in the modern world and much of that is due to leadership of Motubu Sese Seko. “The conflict [in Congo] produced tremendous carnage: as many as 3.8 million dead and many more injured or displaced. Both phrases of the war (1996-97 and 1998-2002) involved domestic militias, a massive foreign invasion, and shifting alliances – with Angola, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe playing major roles. Even though the was has officially ended, peace remains elusive”(Atzili 2007 pg 141). One player’s internal conflicts spread through an entire continent and affected the whole world and caused enormous damage. All countries need to strive to maintain strong institutions to be a good global citizen and one of the keys to this is leadership.
When Kabila took over the country, it was in terrible condition but he did nothing to try and improve the state of the nation. When he tried to expel the same Rwandan rebels that helped him come to power, he started a war that eventually led to his death. Many various ethnic and rebel groups inside of Congo who relied on the Rwandans for protection joined the uprising.4 Africans inside and around Congo chose sides, in fact there were more than ten different rebel groups fighting to choose from.5 Almost all were backed by a neighboring country or a wealthy businessman, and they wanted the removal of Kabila for their own reasons.6 One of Kabila's bodyguards, who sided with the Rwandans, shot and killed Kabila in the Presidential Palace. Shortly thereafter, Kabila's son Joseph was sworn in as the temporary President of Congo.... ...
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.
to be a kingdom before Germany started to occupy the region. Both of the Kingdom
Patrice Émery Lumumba was the first democratically elected president of the “Democratic Republic of the Congo” (Curtis, 2002, p.37). The years after the “DCR” was established, the country was shaped by political instability, corruption and the fight to build up a nation with the ability to sustain itself. Since 2006, Joseph Kabila rules as the president of the DCR, but after he was re-elected in 2011, riots broke out in Kinshasa and official observers described that the election “lacked credibility” (Kara 2011: Online). Even though the DCR is a country with rich resources and a strong labour force, the country is still strongly determined by the colonial rule and the effect it had on the Congolese people, the countries´ economy and its social and political stability.
Today, when many marriages end in divorce rather than death, a long and happy marriage is no easy feat. This is because nothing worth having is easy. Spouses must stay true to one another in good times and in bad. They must care for one another in sickness and in health. They must love each other for better and for worse. So, how do spouses persevere through the trials of marriage and live happily ever after? Spouses’ love for one another must be fostered with mutual respect for one another, similar shared values, and a genuine care for each other in order to maintain a successful and happy marriage.
...line were ruined. Transportation costs are very high which seriously hampers small producers’ access to markets. At the height of the conflict, about one third of the country's people were displaced. The chronic financial crisis became severe and the economy was close to collapsing. Poverty became deeper in the rural areas of the Congo where poor people are now powerless, vulnerable and isolated. This is a big contributor to the poverty Congo is experiencing today because little has improved and won’t improve until these problems are fixed.