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Greed Disguised as Humanitarianism:
The Story of the Congo Reform Movement
William Tyler Grove
Appalachian Spring Conference in World History and Economics
March 20, 2010
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The Childhood of Human Rights: the Kodak on the
Congo,
Sharon Sliwinski argues that the Congo Reform effort can
be regarded as a forerunner of present-day humanitarian
groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International
This paper disagrees with this premise. This effort was not a precursor to Amnesty International.
The reasons for the movement seem to be four-fold: Some wanted change for financial motives, religious motives
Scapegoating (Leopold) and philanthropic interests. Some simply wanted someone else to blame for the conditions of European Imperialism
Members of the Congo Reform Association (CRA) may not have consciously realized
their true motivations for joining the group, but ultimately they were not driven
primarily by humanitarian aims..
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The Congo Free State
1885
80 times the size of Belgium
All unoccupied land was made
property of State
Organized Congo state to extract
wealth from local populations
Destroyed traditional economy
forces natives to work only for thestate or concessionaries.
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Raw Materials
Ivory: Belgian Monopoly
Rubber: 1887- The inflatable bicycle tire was invented
and spawned, along with the car tire, a worldwide
rubber boom.
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Force Publique
Leopolds 19,000 man private army
Compared to Hitlers SS for its brutality
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Early Reform Efforts:
George Washington Williams
Leopold blunted criticism of Williams and
missionaries through the formation ofCommission for the Protection of Natives (1895)
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The Missionaries
Present in Congo from founding
Part of Civilizing Native Populations
Protestant and Catholic Missionaries
were stations throughout the Congo and
provided first-hand accounts of the
atrocities
Played a key companion to Morel and
the Congo Reform Association.
Impact of Lantern Lectures
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Examples of
civilizing the native
populations
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Congo Reform
Association 1904 - The CRA was born in
England following return of
Roger Casement from the
Congo.
Casement had reported onthe conditions for the British
Government
Modeled on other
movements including
abolition:
Deployed knowledge,
observers with local
experiences and
photographs, to legitimate
accusation of exploitation.
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E.D. Morel
Edmund Dene Morel (28) quit hisLondon shipping line job 1901
Worked for Elder Dempster Companywhich is responsible from transit fromAntwerp to Congo
Published anonymous articles about theatrocities the Congo in 1900
International concern over reports ofatrocities: Human rights campaign ledby journalist British
began a full time campaign to exposethe barbarities in the Congo underLeopold II.
He started his own publication, "TheWest African Mail," an illustrated weekly
journal in 1903 as a forum on West andCentral African Questions.
funded by millionaire William Cadbury
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The War of Words a sample of documents
Anti-Leopold
Mark Twain King Leopolds
Soliloquy1905
E.D. Morel wrote Red
Rubber: the Story of theRubber Slave Trade
Flourishing on the Congo in
the year of Grace 1906
Arthur Conan Doyle Le Crime
Du Congo 1905
Pro- Leopold La Vrit sur le Congojournal
1904-1908
Henry Wellington Wack The
Story of the Congo Free State
1905
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The Incorruptible Kodak
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Armed with modern weapons and the chicotte a bull whip made of
hippopotamus hide the Belgian armyroutinely took and tortured hostages
(mostly women), flogged, and raped the natives.
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The Force Publiquetook human hands astrophies on the ordersof white officers toshow that bullets
hadn't been wasted. Some of the Victims
lived.
Two youths of the Equator district. The hands of Mola, seated,
have been destroyed by gangrene after being tied too tightly by
soldier. The right hand of Yoka, standing, was cut off by soldiers
wanting to claim him as killed.
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The baskets of severed hands, set down at
the feet of the European post commanders,
became the symbol of the Congo Free State
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Hands collected
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.
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Public Opinion in Media:
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1908
King Leopold II turned the Congo over to Belgium
for 150m francs.
1909
Leopold II dies, booed at his funereal parade.
The most hated man in Europe
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The philanthropic
intentions :
simply a politicallyconvenient story for their
true ambitions.
Economics
Safe Target Blame Leopold
Greed and Competition
Ignore other colonies:
Death Toll
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Results:
Leopolds rule resulted in the torture and
murder of an estimated 10 million Congolese
between 1888 and 1908.
Reduced the population by half.
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Congo Today
4 million people havebeen killed since 1998
Exploitation Continues:
Gold, Diamonds
During the 1990s theU.S. supplied more than$125 million in armsand training to 6 of the7 states who have had
troops fighting onseveral sides in CongoCivil War
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Questions?
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Other Information:
Questions?
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Why?
1876: Leopold organizes a meeting in Brussels todiscuss his plan: to open to civilization the only part of our globe
where Christianity has not yet penetrated and topierce the darkness which envelops the wholepopulation
1877: Henry Morton Stanley There are 40 million naked people on the other
side of the rapids, and the cotton-spinners ofManchester are waiting to clothe them...Birmingham's factories are glowing with the redmetal that shall presently be made into ironwork inevery fashion and shape for them... and the
ministers of Christ are zealous to bring them, thepoor benighted heathen, into the Christian fold.
Hired by Leopold to explore and secure the Congo
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Leopold II: Early Life
Belgium founded in 1830 Leopold I- father
Leopold II was cousin of QueenVictoria.
Leopold believed that Belgiumneeded colonies to ensure itsprosperity
Tried to buy the Philippines in1875.
Knew Belgian People wouldnot support his affairs, heworked as a private individual.
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Classroom Questions:
How did technology influence the Congo?
What effect do you think Nationalism played
in the Congo?
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The Second Wave of Imperialism
The Land Grab in Africa
In 1870 roughly 80% of sub-Saharan Africa was living
under indigenous rulers
by 1910 virtually all of it was European Colonies or
white settler regimes. It was the fastest land grab inhistory.
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Berlin Conference 1884
Bismarck calls Europeanpowers for a conferencethat leads for the Scramblefor Africa.
Leopold is given completecontrol over the Congo FreeState; in return heguarantees free trade rights
no monopolies no taxes and tariffs
no restriction on trade.
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Government Action in Britain
May 1903- The House of Commons passed a
resolution urging that Congo natives be
governed with humanity.
Sent Consul Roger Casement, to report on the
conditions in the Congo
Jun 1903- The British government officially
protested Belgian atrocities in the Congo.
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Casement Report, 1903
The single most important factor inexposing the atrocities in The Congo.
I have returned from the Upper Congotoday with convincing evidence ofshocking misgovernment and
wholesale oppression. It is an extraordinary thing that the
conscience of Europe which seventyyears ago put down the slave trade onhumanitarian grounds tolerates theCongo state today.
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Heart of Darkness
1902 Joseph Conrad's novel
Based on his 1890 trip to theCongo as a Boat Captain. Conrad saw some of the most
shocking and depraved examplesof human corruption hed everwitnessed. He was disgusted bythe ill treatment of the natives, thescrabble for loot, the terrible heatand the lack of water.
Marlow on Leopolds colonialism: The conquest of the earth, which
mostly means the taking it away
from those who have a differentcomplexion or slightly flatter nosesthan ourselves, is not a prettything when you look into it toomuch.
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Patrice Lumumba
Freely elected Prime Minister (1960)
Assassinated Jan, 1961
CIA involvement in Lumumbas
assassination
Mobutu Dictatorship
1960 1997
Initiated first coup in September
1960
Reign marked by Kleptocracy
Cold War Patron of the West
Destruction of the country
Overthrown in May 1997
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Congo Today
4 million people havebeen killed since 1998
Exploitation Continues:
Gold, Diamonds
During the 1990s theU.S. supplied more than$125 million in armsand training to 6 of the7 states who have had
troops fighting onseveral sides in CongoCivil War