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État indépendant du Congo Congo Free State ← 1885 – 1908 → Flag Coat of arms Capital Boma Government Monarchy Ruler and owner Leopold II of Belgium Historical era New Imperialism  - Established 1885  - Annexation by Belgium 15 November, 1908

The Congo Free State was a corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians through a dummy non-governmental organization, the Association Internationale Africaine. Leopold was the sole shareholder and chairman. The state included the entire area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Early history Migration & states Colonization Stanley (1867–1885) Congo Free State Leopold II (1885–1908) Belgian Congo (1908–1960) Congo Crisis First Republic (1960–1965) Zaire Mobutu regime (1965–1996) Shaba I (1977) Shaba II (1978) First Congo War Kabilas rise (1996–1998) Second Congo War Africas Great... Image File history File links blank picture File links The following pages link to this file: Antioquia Boyacá Cundinamarca Bolívar Department Santander Department Atlántico Magdalena Department Amazonas Department, Colombia Arauca Caquetá Casanare Cauca Cesar Chocó Córdoba Department Guainía Guaviare Huila Department Guajira Department Meta Department Nari... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Congo_Free_State. ... Motto: Travail et Progres (Work and Progress) The Belgian Congo Capital Léopoldville/Leopoldstad Political structure Colony Governor  - 1908-1910 Baron Wahis  - 1946-1951 Eugène Jacques Pierre Louis Jungers  - 1958-1960 Henri Arthur Adolf Marie Christopher Cornelis History  - Established 15 November, 1908  - Congolese independence 30 June, 1960 The Belgian... Image File history File links Flag_of_Congo_Free_State. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Flag of the Congo may refer to the following: Flag of the Republic of the Congo Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Category: ... The Coat of arms of the Congo may refer to the following: Coat of arms of the Republic of the Congo Coat of arms of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Category: ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1357x628, 44 KB) from Image:LocationDRCongo. ... Throughout the world there are many cities that were once national capitals but no longer have that status because the country ceased to exist, the capital was moved, or the capital city was renamed. ... For other uses, see Boma (disambiguation). ... For the documentary series, see Monarchy (TV series). ... Leopold II (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor (French) or Leopold Lodewijk Filips Marie Victor (Dutch) (April 9, 1835 – December 17, 1909) was King of the Belgians. ... {{}} // The term imperialism was used from the third quarter of the nineteenth century to describe various forms of political control by a greater power over less powerful territories or nationalities, although analytically the phenomena which it denotes may differ greatly from each other and from the New imperialism. ... The conference of Berlin The Berlin Conference (German: or Congo Conference) of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germanys sudden emergence as an imperial power. ... is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The concept of the corporate state developed under the context of Fascism in Mussolinis Italy as a means of regulating industrial relations. ... Leopold II (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor (French) or Leopold Lodewijk Filips Marie Victor (Dutch) (April 9, 1835 – December 17, 1909) was King of the Belgians. ... The Association Internationale Africaine (French) was an organization created by King Leopold II of Belgium for supposedly furthering humanitarian projects in the area of Central Africa that was to become the Congo Free State and subsequently todays Democratic Republic of the Congo. ...

Until the middle of the 19th century, the Congo was on the edge of unexplored Africa, one of the last uncolonized territories. The rainforest, swamps and attendant malaria, and other diseases such as sleeping sickness made it a difficult environment for European exploration and exploitation. Imperialists were at first reluctant to colonize the area in the absence of obvious economic benefits. King Leopold managed to secure it in 1885 through his private efforts, ruling the state personally until its annexation by his own kingdom of Belgium in 1908. Other powers vied with Leopold for the land when natural resources, first rubber, and then copper and other minerals in the upper Lualaba River basin, were discovered. The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. ... A freshwater swamp A swamp is a wetland that features permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water, generally with a substantial number of hummocks, or dry-land protrusions. ... Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. ... Sleeping sickness or African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease in people and animals, caused by protozoa of genus Trypanosoma and transmitted by the tsetse fly. ... Imperialism is the policy of extending the control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of other countries. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Copper has played a significant part in the history of mankind, which has used the easily accessible uncompounded metal for nearly 10,000 years. ... The Lualaba is the headstream of the Congo River, running from the vicinity of Lubumbashi north to Kisangani, where the Congo officially begins. ...

Under Leopold II's administration, the Congo Free State was subject to a regime of terror that engaged in mass killings and maimings to subjugate the indigenous peoples of the region and procure slave labor. Estimates of the death toll range from five million to twenty million, depending on the source.

The European and U.S. press agencies exposed the conditions in the Congo Free State to the public in 1900. By 1908 public pressure and diplomatic maneuvers led to the end of Leopold II's rule and to the annexation of the Congo as a colony of Belgium, known as the Belgian Congo. This article is about a type of political territory. ... Motto: Travail et Progres (Work and Progress) The Belgian Congo Capital Léopoldville/Leopoldstad Political structure Colony Governor  - 1908-1910 Baron Wahis  - 1946-1951 Eugène Jacques Pierre Louis Jungers  - 1958-1960 Henri Arthur Adolf Marie Christopher Cornelis History  - Established 15 November, 1908  - Congolese independence 30 June, 1960 The Belgian...

Lesser Coat-of-Arms of the Congo Free State

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

Genesis of the Congo Free State

History of DR Congo

Early history Migration & states Colonization Stanley (1867–1885) Congo Free State Leopold II (1885–1908) Belgian Congo (1908–1960) Congo Crisis First Republic (1960–1965) Zaire Mobutu regime (1965–1996) Shaba I (1977) Shaba II (1978) First Congo War Kabila's rise (1996–1998) Second Congo War Africa's Great War (1998–2003) 2000s (2000–2010)

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Leopold II, King of the Belgians and de facto owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908

The Congo Free State was established as a neutral independent sovereignty^[1] without reference to its inhabitants save a few autocratic chiefs. In 1876 Leopold II, King of the Belgians organized the International African Association with the cooperation of the leading African explorers and the support of several European governments for the promotion of African exploration and colonization. In 1877 Henry Morton Stanley called attention to the Congo country and was sent there by the association, the expense being defrayed by Leopold.^[1] Through corrupt treaties with native chiefs, rights were acquired to a great area along the Congo, and military posts were established. The treaties were extremely one-sided in favor of Leopold. In some cases chiefs not only handed over their lands, but also promised to help provide workers for forced labor. Early history Migration & states Colonization Stanley (1867–1885) Congo Free State Leopold II (1885–1908) Belgian Congo (1908–1960) Congo Crisis First Republic (1960–1965) Zaire Mobutu regime (1965–1996) First Congo War Kabilas rise (1996–1998) Second Congo War Africas Great War (1998–2003) Transitional government Towards... Image File history File links Flag_of_Congo_Kinshasa_1963. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Zaire. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Congo_Kinshasa_1997. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo. ... Early Congolese History starts with waves of Bantu migrations from 2000 BC to 500 AD moving into the area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Early history Migration & states Colonization Stanley (1867–1885) Congo Free State Leopold II (1885–1908) Belgian Congo (1908–1960) Congo Crisis First Republic (1960–1965) Zaire Mobutu regime (1965–1996) Shaba I (1977) Shaba II (1978) First Congo War Kabilas rise (1996–1998) Second Congo War Africas Great... Motto: Travail et Progres (Work and Progress) The Belgian Congo Capital Léopoldville/Leopoldstad Political structure Colony Governor  - 1908-1910 Baron Wahis  - 1946-1951 Eugène Jacques Pierre Louis Jungers  - 1958-1960 Henri Arthur Adolf Marie Christopher Cornelis History  - Established 15 November, 1908  - Congolese independence 30 June, 1960 The Belgian... Combatants Congo ONUC Cuba Belgium Katanga South Kasai Commanders Patrice Lumumba Pierre Mulele Laurent-Désiré Kabila Che Guevara Moise Tshombe Joseph Mobutu Mike Hoare Albert Kalonji Early history Migration & states Colonization Stanley (1867–1885) Congo Free State Leopold II (1885–1908) Belgian Congo (1908–1960) Congo Crisis First Republic... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Combatants Zaire France Belgium Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (FNLC) Commanders Mobutu Sese Seko Nathaniel Mbumba Strength Unknown Unknown Casualties Unknown Unknown Shaba II is a proxy war that occurred in 1978 when the FNLC, Shaba separatists, encouraged by the governments of Angola and Cuba, invaded Shaba... Combatants AFDL, Uganda, Rwanda Zaire Commanders Laurent-Désiré Kabila Mobutu Sésé Seko Casualties Civilians killed: 200,000+ The First Congo War was a conflict from late 1996 to 1997 in which Zairean President Mobutu Sésé Seko was overthrown by rebel forces backed by foreign powers such as... Combatants Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Chad, Mai-Mai, Hutu-aligned forces Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Movement for the Liberation of Congo Congolese Rally for Democracy Tutsi-aligned forces Commanders Laurent-Désiré Kabila (Congo), Joseph Kabila (Congo), Sam Nujoma Robert Mugabe José Eduardo dos Santos Idriss D... Early history Migration & states Colonization Stanley (1867–1885) Congo Free State Leopold II (1885–1908) Belgian Congo (1908–1960) Congo Crisis First Republic (1960–1965) Zaire Mobutu regime (1965–1996) Shaba I (1977) Shaba II (1978) First Congo War Kabilas rise (1996–1998) Second Congo War Africas Great... in public domain This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... in public domain This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Leopold II (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor (French) or Leopold Lodewijk Filips Marie Victor (Dutch) (April 9, 1835 – December 17, 1909) was King of the Belgians. ... Leopold II (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor (French) or Leopold Lodewijk Filips Marie Victor (Dutch) (April 9, 1835 – December 17, 1909) was King of the Belgians. ... The Association Internationale Africaine (French) was an organization created by King Leopold II of Belgium for supposedly furthering humanitarian projects in the area of Central Africa that was to become the Congo Free State and subsequently todays Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Sir Henry Morton Stanley, also known in the Congo as Bula Matari (Breaker of Rocks or, alternatively, Sledge Hammer) , born John Rowlands (January 28, 1841 – May 10, 1904), was a journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. ... A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by and/or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. ...

Christian de Bonchamps, a French explorer who served Leopold in Katanga, expressed a cynicism towards such treaties shared by many Europeans, saying, "The treaties with these little African tyrants, which generally consist of four long pages of which they do not understand a word, and to which they sign a cross in order to have peace and to receive gifts, are really only serious matters for the European powers, in the event of disputes over the territories. They do not concern the black sovereign who signs them for a moment."^[2] Christian de Bonchamps The Marquis Christian de Bonchamps was a French explorer in Africa and a colonial officer in the French Empire in the period known as the Scramble for Africa. De Bonchamps featured in two of the more notorious incidents of the period. ... Capital Lubumbashi Created June 1960 Dissolved January 1963 Demonym Katangan Currency Katanga franc Katanga is the southern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, regional capital Lubumbashi (formerly Elizabethville). ...

After 1879, the work was under the auspices of the Comité d'Études du Haut Congo, which developed into the International Association of the Congo. This organization sought to combine the numerous small territories acquired into one sovereign state and asked for recognition from the European Powers. On April 22, 1884, the United States government, having decided that the cessions by the native chiefs were lawful, recognized the International Association of the Congo as a sovereign independent state, under the title of the Congo Free State, and this example was followed by Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Sweden. The international conference on African affairs, which met at Berlin, 1884–85, determined the status of the Congo Free State.^[1] This article describes the government of the United States. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... The conference of Berlin The Berlin Conference (German: or Congo Conference) of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germanys sudden emergence as an imperial power. ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ...

King Leopold initially gained ownership of the Congo largely through the cooperation on the part of the major powers of Europe. Leopold's profits from the region and a general increase in European interest in colonizing Africa led to greater competition in the continent. Leopold's activities in the Congo had already pushed the French into claiming an area (the modern Republic of the Congo) on the northern shore of Stanley Pool. While no one (bar Leopold) particularly wanted such economically unpromising colonies, the other European powers were not prepared to stand idly by and see land snapped up by their rivals, particularly the French. Image of Pool Malebo, as well as the cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, taken by NASA The Pool Malebo (formerly Stanley Pool, also seen as Malebo Pool), is a lake-like widening in the lower reaches of the Congo River. ...

In a succession of negotiations, Leopold, professing humanitarian objectives in his capacity as chairman of the Association Internationale Africaine, played one European rival against the other. The Association Internationale Africaine (French) was an organization created by King Leopold II of Belgium for supposedly furthering humanitarian projects in the area of Central Africa that was to become the Congo Free State and subsequently todays Democratic Republic of the Congo. ...

Other powers and their claims

• Britain was uneasy at French expansion and had a technical claim on the Congo via Lieutenant Cameron's 1873 expedition from Zanzibar to bring home Livingstone's body, but was reluctant to take on yet another expensive, unproductive colony.
• Portugal had a much older claim, dating back to Diogo Cão's discovery of the mouth of the Congo river in 1482 and, having ignored it for centuries, were stimulated into remembering it. Portugal flirted with the French at first, but the British offered to support Portugal's claim to the entire Congo in return for a free trade agreement and to spite their French rivals.
• Bismarck of Germany had vast new holdings in South-West Africa, and had no plans for the Congo, but was happy to see rivals Britain and France excluded from the colony.

Map of Zanzibars main island Zanzibar is part of Tanzania Coordinates: , Country Tanzania Islands Unguja and Pemba Capital Zanzibar City Settled AD 1000 Government  - Type semi-autonomous part of Tanzania  - President Amani Abeid Karume Area  - Both Islands  637 sq mi (1,651 km²) Population (2004)  - Both Islands 1,070... David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 4 May 1873) was a Scottish Presbyterian pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and explorer in central Africa. ... The pillar bearing the arms of Portugal erected by Cão at Cape St. ... Bismarck redirects here. ... Flag German South-West Africa (black), other German colonies in red Capital Windhoek (from 1891) Political structure Colony Governor  - 1898-1905 Theodor von Leutwein  - 1905-1907 Friedrich von Lindequist  - 1907-1910 Bruno von Schuckmann  - 1910-1915 Theodor Seitz Historical era The Scramble for Africa  - Established 7 August, 1884  - Genocide 1904...

King Léopold's campaign

Leopold began a publicity campaign in Britain, drawing attention to Portugal's slavery record to distract critics and secretly telling British merchant houses that if he was given formal control of the Congo he would give them the same most favored nation (MFN) status Portugal offered. At the same time, Leopold promised Bismarck he would not give any one nation special status, and that German traders would be as welcome as any other. Most favoured nation (or most favored nation, MFN) is a term used in international trade. ...

Leopold then offered France the support of the Association for French ownership of the entire northern bank, and sweetened the deal by proposing that, if his personal wealth proved insufficient to hold the entire Congo, as seemed utterly inevitable, that it should revert to France.

He also enlisted the aid of the United States, sending President Chester A. Arthur carefully edited copies of the cloth-and-trinket treaties British explorer Henry Morton Stanley had extracted from various local chiefs, and proposing that, as an entirely disinterested humanitarian body, the Association would administer the Congo for the good of all, handing over power to the locals as soon as they were ready for that grave responsibility. Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American politician who served as the 21st President of the United States. ... Sir Henry Morton Stanley, also known in the Congo as Bula Matari (Breaker of Rocks or, alternatively, Sledge Hammer) , born John Rowlands (January 28, 1841 – May 10, 1904), was a journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. ...

The Berlin Conference

In November 1884, Otto von Bismarck convened a 14-nation conference (the Berlin Conference) to find a peaceful resolution to the Congo crisis. After three months of negotiation on February 5, 1885, Leopold emerged triumphant. France was given 666,000 km² (257,000 square miles) on the north bank (modern Congo-Brazzaville and the Central African Republic), Portugal 909,000 km² (351,000 square miles) to the south (modern Angola), and Leopold's wholly owned, single-shareholder "philanthropic" organisation received the balance: 2,344,000 km² (905,000 square miles), to be constituted as the Congo Free State. It still remained though for these territories to be occupied under the conference's Principle of Effectivity. Bismarck redirects here. ... The conference of Berlin The Berlin Conference (German: or Congo Conference) of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germanys sudden emergence as an imperial power. ... is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The conference of Berlin The Berlin Conference (German: or Congo Conference) of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germanys sudden emergence as an imperial power. ...

In a display of diplomatic virtuosity, Leopold had the conference agree not to a transfer of the Congo to one of his many philanthropic shell organisations, nor even to his care in his capacity as King of the Belgians, but simply to himself. He became sole ruler of a population that Stanley had estimated at 30 million people, without constitution, without international supervision, without ever having been to the Congo, and without more than a tiny handful of his new subjects having heard of him.

Leopold's conquest

In one of three problems for Leopold, Cecil Rhodes attempted to expand British territory northward into the Congo basin.

Leopold no longer needed the façade of the Association, and replaced it with an appointed cabinet of Belgians who would do his bidding. To the temporary new capital of Boma, he sent a Governor-General and a chief of police. The vast Congo basin was split up into 14 administrative districts, each district into zones, each zone into sectors, and each sector into posts. From the District Commissioners down to post level, every appointed head was European: mercenaries and adventurers of every kind. Image File history File links CecilRhodes. ... Image File history File links CecilRhodes. ... Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes, PC, DCL, (July 5, 1853 – March 26, 1902[1]) was a British-born South African businessman, mining magnate, and politician. ... Image of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, taken by NASA; the Congo River is visible in the center of the photograph Length 4,380 km Elevation of the source m Average discharge 41,800 m³/s Area watershed 3,680,000 km² Origin Mouth Atlantic Ocean Basin countries Dem. ... Image of Kinshasa and Brazzaville, taken by NASA; the Congo River is visible in the center of the photograph Length 4,380 km Elevation of the source m Average discharge 41,800 m³/s Area watershed 3,680,000 km² Origin Mouth Atlantic Ocean Basin countries Dem. ...

Three main problems presented themselves over the next few years.

1. Beyond Stanley's eight trading stations, the Free State was unmapped jungle, and offered no commercial return.
2. Cecil Rhodes, then Prime Minister of the British Cape Colony (part of modern South Africa) was expanding his British South Africa Company's charter lands from the south and threatening to occupy Katanga (southern Congo) by exploiting the 'Principle of Effectivity' loophole in the Berlin Treaty, supported by Harry Johnston, British Commissioner for Central Africa who was London's representative in the region.^[3]
3. The slaving gangs of Zanzibar trader Tippu Tip had established a strong presence in the north and east of the country and the area to the east of it (modern Uganda), and had effectively established an independent state.

Cecil Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes, PC, DCL, (July 5, 1853 – March 26, 1902[1]) was a British-born South African businessman, mining magnate, and politician. ... Anthem: God Save the Queen Cape Colony Capital Cape Town Language(s) English and Dutch1 Religion Dutch Reformed Church, Anglican Government Constitutional monarchy Last Monarch King George VI Last Prime Minister  - 1908 – 1910 John X. Merriman Last Governor  - 1901 - 1910 Walter Hely-Hutchinson Historical era 19th century  - Dutch East India... The flag of the British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC) was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company, Ltd. ... Capital Lubumbashi Created June 1960 Dissolved January 1963 Demonym Katangan Currency Katanga franc Katanga is the southern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, regional capital Lubumbashi (formerly Elizabethville). ... The Treaty of Berlin was signed in 1885 by France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany. ... For the footballer, see Harry Johnston (footballer). ... Flag of British Central Africa The British Central Africa Protectorate existed in the area of present-day Malawi between 1891 and 1907. ... The United Kingdom is a unitary state and a democratic constitutional monarchy. ... Map of Zanzibars main island Zanzibar is part of Tanzania Coordinates: , Country Tanzania Islands Unguja and Pemba Capital Zanzibar City Settled AD 1000 Government  - Type semi-autonomous part of Tanzania  - President Amani Abeid Karume Area  - Both Islands  637 sq mi (1,651 km²) Population (2004)  - Both Islands 1,070... Categories: People stubs | 1837 births | 1905 deaths ...

Turning a profit

Leopold was one of the richest men in Europe, but not even he could afford the expense. He needed to extract riches from the Congo, not expend them. He set in train a brutal colonial regime to maximise profitability. The first change was the introduction of the concept of terres vacantes — "vacant" land, which was anything that no European was living on. This was deemed to belong to the state, and servants of the state (i.e., any white men in Léopold's employ) were encouraged to exploit it.

Next, the Free State was divided into two economic zones: the Free Trade Zone was open to entrepreneurs of any European nation, who were allowed to buy 10- and 15-year monopoly leases on anything of value: ivory from a particular district, or the rubber concession, for example. The other zone — almost two-thirds of the Congo — became the Domaine Privé: the exclusive private property of the State, which was in turn the exclusive private property of King Leopold. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ...

On this basis, the Congo became financially self-sufficient. This did not satisfy Leopold, however. In 1893 he excised the most readily accessible 259,000 km² (100,000 square miles) portion of the Free Trade Zone and declared it to be the Domaine de la Couronne. Here the same rules applied as in the Domaine Privé except that all revenue went directly to Léopold. Léopold did not publicly disclose his profits made from the Congo Free State, but it was estimated at many tens of millions (and this in a time when even one million was a massive fortune), and vastly more than Leopold could spend.

Scramble for Katanga

Main article: Stairs Expedition

Early in his rule, the second problem — the British South Africa Company's expansionism into the southern Congo Basin — was addressed. The distant Yeke Kingdom in Katanga on the upper Lualaba River had signed no treaties, and was known to be rich in copper and thought to have gold. Its powerful mwami (king), Msiri, had already rejected a treaty brought by Alfred Sharpe on behalf of Rhodes. In 1891 a Free State expedition extracted a letter from Msiri agreeing to their agents coming to Katanga, and later that year Leopold sent the well-armed Stairs Expedition to take possession of Katanga one way or another. Msiri tried to play the Free State off against Rhodes, and when negotiations bogged down, Stairs flew the Free State flag anyway, and gave Msiri an ultimatum. Instead, Msiri decamped to another stockade, Stairs sent a force to arrest him, but he stood his ground, whereupon Captain Omer Bodson shot Msiri dead and was fatally wounded in the resulting fight.^[4] The expedition cut off Msiri's head and put it on a pole,^[2] after which the replacement chief installed by Stairs signed the treaty. Captain William Stairs, leader of the expedition Map of Central and East Africa showing route of the Stairs Expedition to Msiris Yeke Kingdom in Katanga in 1891–2. ... The Yeke Kingdom (also called the Garanganze or Garenganze kingdom) in Katanga, DR Congo was short-lived, existing from about 1856 to 1891 under one king, Msiri, but it became for a while the most powerful state in south-central Africa, controlling a territory of about half a million square... Capital Lubumbashi Created June 1960 Dissolved January 1963 Demonym Katangan Currency Katanga franc Katanga is the southern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, regional capital Lubumbashi (formerly Elizabethville). ... The Lualaba is the headstream of the Congo River, running from the vicinity of Lubumbashi north to Kisangani, where the Congo officially begins. ... Copper has played a significant part in the history of mankind, which has used the easily accessible uncompounded metal for nearly 10,000 years. ... MSiri (c. ... Sir Alfred Sharpe (1853—1935) was a professional hunter who became a British colonial administrator and Commissioner (a de facto Governor) of the British Central Africa Protectorate from 1896 until 1910 (it changed its name to Nyasaland in 1907). ... Captain William Stairs, leader of the expedition Map of Central and East Africa showing route of the Stairs Expedition to Msiris Yeke Kingdom in Katanga in 1891–2. ... William Stairs William Grant Stairs (July 1, 1863 – June 9, 1892) was a Canadian explorer, soldier, and adventurer. ... Captain Omer Bodson, Congo Free State Omer Bodson (5 January 1856 — 20 December 1891) was the Belgian officer who shot and killed Msiri, King of Garanganze (Katanga) on 20 December 1891 at Bunkeya in what is now DR Congo. ...

War with African slavers

In the short term the third problem, that of the African slavers, like Zanzibari/Swahili strongman Tippu Tip was solved. Leopold negotiated an alliance and later appointed Tip as Governor of Stanley Falls district. In the longer term this was unsatisfactory. At home Leopold found it embarrassing to be allied with Tip. Even worse, Tip and Leopold were direct commercial rivals: every slave that Tippu Tip extracted from his realm, every pound of ivory, was a loss to Leopold. War was inevitable. Categories: People stubs | 1837 births | 1905 deaths ...

Both sides fought by proxy, arming and leading the tribes of the upper Congo forests in a conflict. Tip's muskets were no match for Léopold's artillery and machine guns. By early 1894 the war was over. Muskets and bayonets aboard the frigate Grand Turk. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ...

Leopold's rule

Clearing tropical forests ate away at profit margins. However, ample plots of cleared land were already available. Above, a Congolese farming village (Baringa, Equateur) is emptied and levelled to make way for a rubber plantation.

Meanwhile the quest for income was unrelenting. District officials' salaries were reduced to a bare minimum, and made up with a commission payment based on the profit that their area returned to Léopold. After widespread criticism, this "primes system" was substituted for the allocation de retraite in which a large part of the payment was granted, at the end of the service, only to those territorial agents and magistrates whose conduct was judged "satisfactory" by their superiors. This meant in practice that nothing changed. Native communities in the Domaine Privé were not merely forbidden by law to sell items to anyone but the State: they were required to provide State officials with set quotas of rubber and ivory at a fixed, government-mandated price, to provide food to the local post, and to provide 10% of their number as full-time forced labourers — slaves in all but name — and another 25% part-time.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links CongoVillageErased. ... Image File history File links CongoVillageErased. ...

The rubber came from wild vines in the jungle, unlike the rubber from Brazil, which was tapped from trees. To extract the rubber, instead of tapping the vines, the natives would slash them and lather their bodies with the rubber latex. When the latex hardened, it would be scraped off the skin in a painful manner, as it took off the natives' hair with it. This killing of the vines made it even harder to locate sources of rubber as time went on, but the government was relentless in raising the quotas.^[5]

The Force Publique (FP) was called in to enforce the rubber quotas. The FP was an army, but its aim was not to defend the country, but to terrorize the local population. The officers were white agents of the State. Of the black soldiers, many were cannibals from the fiercest tribes from upper Congo while others had been kidnapped during the raids on villages in their childhood and brought to Catholic missions, where they received a military training in conditions close to slavery. Armed with modern weapons and the chicotte — a bull whip made of hippopotamus hide — the Force Publique routinely took and tortured hostages (mostly women), flogged, and raped the natives. They also burned recalcitrant villages, and above all, took human hands as trophies on the orders of white officers to show that bullets hadn't been wasted. (As officers were concerned that their subordinates might waste their ammunition on hunting animals for sport, they required soldiers to submit one hand for every bullet spent.)^[5] The Force Publique (FP) was the official armed force for what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885, (when the territory was known as the Congo Free State), through the period of direct Belgian rule (1908-60), until the beginning of the Second Republic in 1965. ... The sjambok is the traditional whip of South Africa. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758[2] Range map[1] The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), from the Greek ‘ιπποπόταμος (hippopotamos, hippos meaning horse and potamos meaning river), often shortened to hippo, is a large, mostly plant-eating African mammal, one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae (the other being the Pygmy...

A Currency of Severed Hands

Native labourers who failed to meet rubber collection quotas were often punished by having their hands cut off.

One junior white officer described a raid to punish a village that had protested. The white officer in command "ordered us to cut off the heads of the men and hang them on the village palisades ... and to hang the women and the children on the palisade in the form of a cross."^[6] After seeing a native killed for the first time, a Danish missionary wrote: "The soldier said 'Don't take this to heart so much. They kill us if we don't bring the rubber. The Commissioner has promised us if we have plenty of hands he will shorten our service.'"^[7] In Forbath's words: Image File history File links Size of this preview: 393 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (699 × 1067 pixel, file size: 547 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 393 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (699 × 1067 pixel, file size: 547 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...

The baskets of severed hands, set down at the feet of the European post commanders, became the symbol of the Congo Free State. ... The collection of hands became an end in itself. Force Publique soldiers brought them to the stations in place of rubber; they even went out to harvest them instead of rubber... They became a sort of currency. They came to be used to make up for shortfalls in rubber quotas, to replace... the people who were demanded for the forced labour gangs; and the Force Publique soldiers were paid their bonuses on the basis of how many hands they collected.

In theory, each right hand proved a murder. In practice, soldiers sometimes "cheated" by simply cutting off the hand and leaving the victim to live or die. More than a few survivors later said that they had lived through a massacre by acting dead, not moving even when their hand was severed, and waiting till the soldiers left before seeking help. In some instances a soldier could shorten his service term by bringing more hands than the other soldiers, which led to widespread mutilations and "unjust" dismemberment.

Demographic catastrophe?

Estimates of the total death toll vary considerably. The reduction of the population of the Congo was noted by all who have compared the country at the beginning of the colonial rule and the beginning of the 20th century.^{[citation needed]} Estimates of observers of the time, as well as modern scholars (most authoritatively Jan Vansina, professor emeritus of history and anthropology at the University of Wisconsin), show that the population halved during this period.^{[citation needed]} According to British diplomat Roger Casement, this depopulation had four main causes: indiscriminate "war", starvation, reduction of births and diseases.^{[citation needed]} Sleeping sickness ravaged the country and was used by the regime to account for demographic decrease. Opponents of King Léopold's rule stated, however, that the administration itself was to be considered responsible for the spreading of this dreadful epidemic.^{[citation needed]} One of the greatest specialists on sleeping sickness, P.G. Janssens, Professor at the Ghent University, wrote:^{[citation needed]} Jan Vansina (born in Belgium) is a historian and anthropologist specializing in Africa. ... Roger David Casement (Irish: ;[1] 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG between 1905 and July 1916, was an Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary and nationalist by inclination. ... Sleeping sickness or African trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease in people and animals, caused by protozoa of genus Trypanosoma and transmitted by the tsetse fly. ... Ghent University (in Dutch, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated UGent) is one of the three large Flemish universities. ...

It seems reasonable to admit the existence on the territories of the Congo Free State, of French Congo and Angola of a certain number of permanent sources that have been put again in activity by the brutal changement of ancestral conditions and ways of life that has accompanied the accelered occupation of the territories.

In the absence of a census (the first was taken in 1924),^[8] it is even more difficult to quantify the population loss of the period. Casement's 1904 report set it at 3 million for just twelve of the twenty years Leopold's regime lasted; Forbath, at least 5 million; Adam Hochschild, 10 million; the Encyclopædia Britannica gives a total population decline of 8 million to 30 million. The Casement Report was a 1904 document by British diplomat Roger Casement (1864-1916) detailing abuses in the Congo Free State which was under the private ownership of King Leopold II of Belgium. ... Adam Hochschild (born 1942) is an American writer. ... The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. ...

A motion (EDM 2251) presented to the British Parliament on 24 May 2006 called for recognition of "the tragedy of King Leopold's regime" as genocide; as of September 2007, it had gained 48 signatures.^[9] The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative institution in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories (it alone has parliamentary sovereignty). ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Genocide (disambiguation). ...

End of the Congo Free State

Like Joseph Conrad in his Heart of Darkness, Mark Twain (above) saw a colonial regime of plunder, slave labor, rape, and mutilation. Twain's King Leopold's Soliloquy was a biting, sarcastic satire.

Leopold ran up high debts with his Congo investments before salvation came with the beginning of the worldwide rubber boom in the 1890s. Prices went up at a fevered pitch throughout the decade as industries discovered new uses for rubber in tires, hoses, tubing, insulation for telegraph and telephone cables and wiring, and so on. By the late 1890s, wild rubber had far surpassed ivory as the main source of revenue from the Congo Free State. The peak year was 1903, with rubber fetching the highest price and concessionary companies raking in the highest profits. from http://www. ... from http://www. ... // Joseph Conrad (born Teodor Józef Konrad Nałęcz-Korzeniowski, 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Polish-born novelist who spent most of his adult life in Britain. ... For other uses, see Heart of Darkness (disambiguation). ... Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910),[1] better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer. ... King Leopolds Soliloquy is a 1905 pamphlet by Mark Twain. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ... For other uses, see Telephone (disambiguation). ...

However, the boom sparked efforts to find lower-cost producers. Congolese concessionary companies started facing competition from rubber cultivation in South-east Asia and Latin America. As plantations were begun in other tropical areas — mostly under the ownership of the rival British firms — world rubber prices started to dip. Competition heightened the drive to exploit forced labour in the Congo in order to lower production costs. Meanwhile, the cost of enforcement was eating away at profit margins, along with the toll taken by the increasingly unsustainable harvesting methods. As competition from other areas of rubber cultivation mounted, Leopold's private rule was left increasingly vulnerable to international scrutiny, especially from Britain. Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Fundamentally, a plantation is usually a large farm or estate, especially in a tropical or semitropical country, on which cotton, tobacco, coffee, sugar cane, or trees and the like is cultivated, usually by resident laborers. ...

To visit the country was difficult. Missionaries were allowed only on sufferance, and mostly only if they were Belgian Catholics that Leopold could keep quiet. White employees were forbidden to leave the country. Nevertheless, rumours circulated and Leopold ran an enormous publicity campaign to discredit them, even creating a bogus Commission for the Protection of the Natives to root out the "few isolated instances" of abuse. Publishers were bribed, critics accused of running secret campaigns to further other nations' colonial ambitions, eyewitness reports from missionaries such as William Henry Sheppard dismissed as attempts by Protestants to smear honest Catholic priests. And for a decade or more, Leopold was successful. The secret was out, but few believed it. For other uses, see Missionary (disambiguation). ... Reverend William Henry Sheppard (1865 - 1927) was one of the earliest African-Americans to become a missionary for the Presbyterian Church. ... Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. ...

Eventually the most telling blows came from a most unexpected source. E. D. Morel, a clerk in a major Liverpool shipping office and a part-time journalist, began to wonder why the ships that brought vast loads of rubber from the Congo returned full of guns and ammunition for the Force Publique. He left his job and became a full-time investigative journalist and then a publisher with help from merchants who wanted to break into Léopold's monopoly or, in the case of chocolate millionaire William Cadbury, philanthropists. Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness was released in 1902. Based on his brief experience as a steamer captain on the Congo ten years before, Conrad's novel encapsulated the public's growing concerns about what was happening in the Congo. In 1903 Morel and those who agreed with him in the House of Commons succeeded in passing a resolution which called on the British government to conduct an inquiry into alleged violations of the Berlin Agreement. Sir Roger Casement, then the British Consul, delivered a long, detailed eyewitness report which was made public in 1904. The British Congo Reform Association, founded by Morel with Casement's support, demanded action. Other European nations and the United States followed suit. The British Parliament demanded a meeting of the 14 signatory powers to review the 1885 Berlin Agreement. The Belgian Parliament, pushed by Emile Vandervelde and other critics of the King's Congolese policy, forced Léopold to set up an independent commission of inquiry, and despite the King's efforts, in 1905 it confirmed Casement's report. Picture of E.D. Morel frontpage of Red Rubber 1906 Picture of Roger Casement Emile Vandervelde Edmund Dene Morel, originally Georges Eduard Pierre Achille Morel de Ville (July 10, 1873 – November 12, 1924) was a British journalist, author and socialist politician. ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... // Joseph Conrad (born Teodor Józef Konrad NaÅ‚Ä™cz-Korzeniowski, 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Polish-born novelist who spent most of his adult life in Britain. ... For other uses, see Heart of Darkness (disambiguation). ... Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, (Conservative) since May 5, 2005 Members 659 Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin... Roger David Casement (Irish: ;[1] 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG between 1905 and July 1916, was an Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary and nationalist by inclination. ... The Congo Reform Association exposed gross and rampant abuses of labor in King Leopold II of Belgiums Congo Free State, leading to the annexation of Congo by Belgium in 1908. ... Emile Vandervelde born in Brussels in 1866 died in 1938. ...

Leopold offered to reform his regime, but few took him seriously. All nations were now agreed that the King's rule must be ended as soon as possible, but no nation was willing to take on the responsibility. No nation seriously considered returning control of the land to the native population. Belgium was the obvious European candidate to run the Congo, but the Belgians were still unwilling. For two years, Belgium debated the question and held fresh elections on the issue. Leopold opportunistically enlarged the Domaine de la Couronne so as to milk the last possible ounce of personal profit while he could.

The Parliament of Belgium annexed the Congo Free State and took over its administration on November 15, 1908, four years after the Casement Report and six years after the first printing of Heart of Darkness. However, the international scrutiny was no major loss to Leopold or the concessionary companies in the Belgian Congo. By then Southeast Asia and Latin America had become lower-cost producers of rubber. Along with the effects of resource depletion in the Congo, international commodity prices had fallen to a level that rendered Congolese extraction unprofitable. The state took over Léopold's private dominion and bailed out the company, but the rubber boom was already over. is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Casement Report was a 1904 document by British diplomat Roger Casement (1864-1916) detailing abuses in the Congo Free State which was under the private ownership of King Leopold II of Belgium. ... Motto: Travail et Progres (Work and Progress) The Belgian Congo Capital Léopoldville/Leopoldstad Political structure Colony Governor  - 1908-1910 Baron Wahis  - 1946-1951 Eugène Jacques Pierre Louis Jungers  - 1958-1960 Henri Arthur Adolf Marie Christopher Cornelis History  - Established 15 November, 1908  - Congolese independence 30 June, 1960 The Belgian...

Order of the Crown

The still-existent Order of the Crown, originally created in 1897 under the authority of Leopold II, denoted supposed heroic deeds and service achieved while serving in the Congo Free State. The Order was made an institution of the Belgian state with its abolition. Please see Order of the Crown for other decorations bearing this name Order of the Crown Belgium The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was first created in the year 1897. ... 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

See also

• Lado Enclave

The Lado Enclave was an enclave of the Congo Free State situated on the west bank of the Upper Nile in what is now southeast Sudan and northern Uganda that existed from 1894 until 1910. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Harper & Row is an imprint of HarperCollins. ... Detroit redirects here. ... Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately-held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. ... The Parliamentary Information Management System (PIMS) is an electronic library used in the United Kingdom parliament. ... Type Bicameral Houses House of Commons House of Lords Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin MP Lord Speaker Hélène Hayman, PC Members 1377 (646 Commons, 731 Peers) Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• Report of the British Consul, Roger Casement, on the Administration of the Congo Free State, reprinted in full in The eyes of another race : Roger Casement’s Congo report and 1903 diary edited by Seamas O Siochain and Michael O’Sullivan. Dublin, 2003.
• Butcher, Tim: Blood River - A Journey To Africa's Broken Heart, 2007. ISBN 0-701-17981-3
• Hochschild, Adam (1999). King Leopold's Ghost. Pan. ISBN 0-330-49233-0.
• Rodney, Walter (1974). How Europe underdeveloped Africa. Howard University Press. ISBN 0-88258-013-2.
• Pakenham, Thomas (1991). The scramble for Africa. Abacus. ISBN 0-349-10449-2.
• Forbath, Peter. The River Congo, 1977. Harper & Row. ISBN 0-06-122490-1.
• Stanley The Congo and the Founding of the Congo Free State (London, 1885).
• Hinde, The Fall of the Congo Arabs (London, 1897).
• Kassai, La civilisation africaine, 1876–88 (Brussels, 1888).
• Blanchard, Formation et constitution politique de l'etat indépendant du Congo (Paris, 1899).
• Jozon, L'Etat indépendant du Congo (Paris, 1900).
• The Congo Report of Commission of Inquiry (New York, 1906).
• Wack, Story of the Congo Free State {New York, 1905).
• Verbeke Le Congo (Molines, 1913).
• Wauters, Historie politique de Congo belge (Brussels, 1911).
• Ward, Voice from the Congo (New York, 1910).
• Bibliography of Congo Affairs from 1895 to 1900 (Brussels, 1912).
• Johnston, George Grenfell and the Congo (two volumes, London, 1908).
• Overbergh (editor), Collection de monographies ethnographiques (Brussels, 1907–11).
• Czekanowski, in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, pages 591–615 (1909).
• The Annales du Musée du Congo, especially "Notes analytiques sur les collections ethnographiques du Musée du Congo" (Brussels, 1902–06).
• Torday and Joyce, Les Bushongo (Brussels, 1910).
• Starr, Congo Natives: An Ethnographic Album (Chicago, 1912).
• The reports of the Congo Reform Association, particularly the "Memorial on the Present Phase of the Congo Question" (London, 1912).

Adam Hochschild (born 1942) is an American writer. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Sir Henry Morton Stanley, also known in the Congo as Bula Matari (Breaker of Rocks or, alternatively, Sledge Hammer) , born John Rowlands (January 28, 1841 – May 10, 1904), was a journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ... For the footballer, see Harry Johnston (footballer). ... George Grenfell (1849-1906) Was an English missionary and explorer, born at Sancreed, near Penzance, Cornwall. ... For the contemporary American academic and musician, see S. Frederick Starr. ...

External links

• Reforming The Heart of Darkness: The Congo Reform Movement in England and the United States
• Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness
• Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness in Project Gutenberg
• CoBelCo.org
• A Journal of a Tour in the Congo Free State, 1905, by Marcus Dorman, from Project Gutenberg
• Mass Crimes Against Humanity: The Congo Free State Genocide, circa 1895–1912
• Motion in the British Parliament, recognizing the genocide in Congo.
• Congo Free State
• Catalogue of the Edmund Morel papers at the Archives Division of the London School of Economics.

This article incorporates text from an edition of the New International Encyclopedia that is in the public domain. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive and distribute cultural works. ... Mascot Beaver Affiliations University of London Russell Group EUA ACU CEMS APSIA Universities UK U8 Golden Triangle G5 Group Nobel laureates 14 Website http://www. ... The New International Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia first published in the 1910s. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...