Congo Free State

Roger Casement

1 September 1864 - 3 August 1916 He was an Irish nationalist, activist, patriot and poet. A British consul by profession, Casement became famous for his long, detailed eyewitness report exposing the human rights abuses in the Congo by the Belgians. Casement's report would prove instrumental in mobilising international pressure which Leopold to relinquish his personal holdings in Africa in 1908. He was honoured in 1905 for the Casement Report on the Congo and knighted in 1911 for his important investigations of human rights abuses in Peru.

Berlin Conference

A conference held in 1884-1885 featuring different countries that met to divide Africa in order to prevent a war between European nations because of the "scramble for Africa". The conference established rules for Africa, agreed to end African slavery and slave trade, and allowed "free" trade with the African people. No Africans were invited and traditional tribal areas were ignored.

Alice Seeley Harris

Alice Seeley Harris was an English missionary and an early documentary photographer. Her photography helped to expose the human rights abuses in the Congo Free State under the regime of Leopold II, King of the Belgians.

International Association of the Congo

Another "cover" organization created by Leopold to stake a claim in the Congo region; purposefully named to be easily confused with the International African Association

Edmund Morel

British journalist, author and politician. Early human rights activist who discovered a trading imbalance between Europe and the Congo while working for a British shipping company when he notices ships leaving Belgium with guns and chains while returning with ivory and rubber. In collaboration with Casement, exposed to the world that slavery was occurring in the Belgian Congo by writing and publishing several articles criticizing Leopold. Founded the Congo Reform Association. Recruited hundreds of influential people to his cause and eventually was able to convince the Belgian government to reform some of their tyrannical actions in the Congo.

ivory

Elephant tusks used to make luxury goods desired by Europeans.

Imperialism

From the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century, an era dominated by what is now termed Old Imperialism, European nations sought trade routes with the Far East, explored the New World, and established settlements in North and South America as well as in Southeast Asia. They set up trading posts and gained footholds on the coasts of Africa and China, and worked closely with the local rulers to ensure the protection of European economic interests. Their influence was limited.

Henry Stanley

Henry Morton Stanley was a Welsh journalist and explorer who was the first European to explore and cross the continent of Africa, discovering the Congo in the process. This man's newspaper reports caused European interest in Africa. Failing to enlist the British interests in the development of the Congo, Stanley took up service with the King of Belgium, Leopold II to dominate the Congo region. From August 1879 to June 1884, Stanley was in the Congo Basin. There, he built a road from lower Congo to Stanley Pool. Stanley's work was to pave the way for the creation of the Congo Free State.

Force Publique

In 1885 Leopold ordered the creation of a military and police force. This attracted officers drawn to the prospect of wealth and adventure in Africa. Serving under these European officers were ethnically-mixed African soldiers who enforced rubber quotas that were unachievable using violent methods. They also defended state territories and ensured that desertions and mutinies were unsuccessful. They were responsible for widespread atrocities.

King Leopold II

King of Belgium that led the first European efforts to develop the Congo River basin and held the Berlin Conference claiming he was a philanthropist that was eager to bring the benefits of western civilisation, Christianity and commerce to the Africans. He owned the Congo Free State as his own personal land but later had it taken away from him. He established the Force Publique, which was responsible for an estimated 10-15 million deaths and widespread atrocities committed under his rule in the pursuit of rubber and ivory.

New imperialism

New Imperialism began in the 1870s. European states established vast empires, mainly in Africa. The new imperialists set up the administration of the native areas for the benefit of the colonial power and small countries like Belgium gained wealth and prestige. European nations pursued an aggressive expansion policy that was motivated by economic needs, that were created by the Industrial Revolution, and a desire for status. Nations sought nothing less than total control over new territories and King Leopold II treated the Congo Free State as his own private enterprise. Justification for new imperialism came from the perceived "white man's burden". This allowed Leopold to present himself as a philanthropist who was civilising the savages.

William Henry Sheppard(1865-1927)

The first African American missionary who went to the Congo. Helped provide detailed accounts of the harsh conditions about people who lived in the Congo. He is best known for his efforts to publicize the atrocities committed against the Congolese peoples by King Leopold II's Force Publique.

wild rubber

The initial major economic resource of the Congo in the 1800's. Found in vines in the Congo rainforest. Very difficult to harvest. Congo men were forced to go deep into the forests to find it and often had to dry the rubber by spreading the rubber sap on their body and then peeling it off.The Congolese people were forced to reach impossible quotas to harvest rubber for Leopolds' economic advantage. They were punished if they damaged the vines trying to harvest quickly but were also penalised if they were not quick enough. Punishments included rape, murder and mutilation.

Rudyard Kipling

The poet responsible for writing "White Man's Burden". This poem is about the belief of Europeans that industrialisation is the way to civilise the new world.

White Man's Burden

This belief preached that the "superior" Westerners had to bring their culture to the "backwards" people of other parts of the world.

Chicotte

This is a whip made of sun-dried hippopotamus hide. This weapon was used by soldiers as a way of controlling and punishing the Congolese. It left horrible scarring and would often lead to death.

Social Darwinism

This states that specific races are more intelligent than others; the cause of eugenics. Justification for European powers to colonise Africa with the intention of "civilizing the savages".

George Washington Williams

Was an American Civil War soldier, Baptist minister, politician, lawyer, journalist, and writer on African-American history. He wrote an open letter to Leopold in 1890 about the suffering of the region's native inhabitants at the hands of the king's agents.

Congo Free State

What the Congo was called when it was owned by King Leopold II. A slave state where Congolese natives were exploited to produce rubber for Leopold's personal wealth. Human rights abuses resulted the death of approximately 10 to 15 million people at the hands of Force Publique.

Joseph Conrad

Wrote the book 'Heart of Darkness' based off the horrific events of the Congo. Heart of Darkness describes a British man's journey deep into the Congo of Africa, where he encounters the cruel and mysterious Kurtz, a European trader who has established himself a ruler of the native people there. Conrad is openly critical of contemporary colonisation through his fiction.