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Imperialism in the Congo

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Imperialism in the Congo

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    1. Imperialism in the Congo The Dark Side of Empire

    6. Colonial Africa

    7. What is Colonialism? Political Domination The Establishment of a Government Large-Scale Religious Conversion Forced Economic Dependence The Creation of a Mass Market The Building of an Infrastructure (roads, railroads, hospitals, schools, etc.)

    8. Exploration, Imperialism & Racism 1863: British explorers Speke & James Augustus Grant, traveling downstream, & Sir Samuel White Baker, working upstream, locate sources of Nile Christian missionaries & European merchants come with European explorers View of Africans: "primitive, pre-literate, undeveloped a/c Eurocentric theories of evolution of civilized culture.

    9. Imperialism The point of divergence Imperialism is a system where by foreign states impose their will - in a political or economic or cultural sense - on other countries without necessarily taking over formal control of their territory. There is no doubt that Imperialism was the principle vehicle used to spread European influence throughout the whole world.Imperialism had profound impact on: The countries subjected to the imperialism The growing power of the European nations. The spread of the western model of governance and the European state system and all its institutions.

    10. The Second Wave of Imperialism In 1800 Europeans occupied or controlled 35% of the land surface of the world: in 1878 that proportion rose 67%: by 1914...the European world occupied or controlled 84% of the habitable land surface of the globe" Again motivated by economic and political factors Major expansion of imperialism during the thirty years 1870-1900 during which the European powers, without the need for a display of superior military power extended their control over existing colonies and divided up the rest of the world among themselves

    11. 3 types of socio-economic system develop under colonial rule: 1. settler economy 2. Plantations and mines 3. coastal trade based economy

    20. Timeline of Colonisation Belgian colonisation 1879-87 - Leopold commissions Stanley to establish the king's authority in the Congo basin. 1884-85 - European powers at the Conference of Berlin recognise Leopold's claim to the Congo basin. 1885 - Leopold announces the establishment of the Congo Free State, headed by himself. 1891-92 - Belgians conquer Katanga. 1892-94 - Eastern Congo wrested from the control of East African Arab and Swahili-speaking traders. 1908 - Belgian state annexes Congo amid protests over killings and atrocities carried out on a mass scale by Leopold's agents. Millions of Congolese are said to have been killed or worked to death during Leopold's control of the territory. 1955 - Belgian Professor Antoin van Bilsen publishes a "30-Year Plan" for granting the Congo increased self-government. 1959 - Belgium begins to lose control over events in the Congo following serious nationalist riots in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa).

    22. Pattern of Takeover In many cases Europeans managed to secure colonial acquisitions by making alliances with local rulers. Europeans would promise to sustain the local ruler against his enemies in exchange for a degree of control and supply of labour

    23. Force Publique Serving under European officers was an ethnically-mixed African soldiery. Many were recruited from warrior tribes in the Upper Congo. The role required of the Force Publique was to defend Free State territory and combat Arab slavers. Under Leopold however a major purpose of the force was to enforce the rubber quotas, and other forms of forced labor. Armed with modern weapons and the chicotte a bull whip made of hippopotamus hide soldiers of the FP often took and mistreated hostages (sometimes women, who were held captive in order to force their husbands to meet rubber quotas).

    24. Impact of colonialism on population: forms of labour forced labour indentured labour waged labour petty commodity production

    29. Roger Casement

    30. Some legacies of colonialism * Mono-crop economies * Development of infrastructure but geared mainly to serve export orientation * Very limited industrialisation. Dominance of merchant capital, with much of the profits repatriated * ethnic divisions re-enforced through indirect rule * Urbanisation/proletarianisation

    31. A Question of Perspective?

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