If greed were a person he would be Belgian monarch, King Leopold II. In this episode, we will explore the incredibly dark history of the Congo region in Central Africa. Congo has a history of exploitation by European colonizers and extractive industries. The worst of these predators was King Leopold II whose need to secure a colony for Belgium drove the him to deceive the international community for decades.
His deception was a cover for his quest to create wealth for his own fortune and for Belgium at the cost of an estimated many millions of lives. Leopold’s personal property, the Congo Free State, utilized the barbaric services of The Force Publique, a secret police force that terrorized the Congolese people.
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Sources:
Geography Now. Geography Now! CONGO (Democratic republic). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD3ZFQ62Vxc&ab_channel=GeographyNow
The Kongo Kingdom. Infographics Africa. The Rise and Fall of the Kingdom of Kongo: Tales of Three Kings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z73ievjudi8&ab_channel=InfographicsAfrica
The Kingdom of Kongo. Step Back. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8DmKlw1jcA&ab_channel=StepBack
Congo River Basin. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Congo-Basin
Congo: The Epic History of a People by David Van Reybrouck. (2015).
The Kongo kingdom: Long-standing diplomatic and trade connections with Europe. The Africa Museum. https://www.africamuseum.be/en/discover/history_articles/kongo-kingdom
Revising the Population History of the Kingdom of Kongo by John K. Thornton. The Journal of African History (July 2021).
The Miserable Story of The Congo. Hoser. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4INpgF4YPhA&ab_channel=hoser
Berlin Conference of 1884–1885. Encyclopedia of Africa. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Kwame Anthony Appiah. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195337709.001.0001/acref-9780195337709-e-0467
Why is Belgium a country? - History of Belgium in 11 Minutes. Knowledgia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxEySPSUcXs&t=42s&ab_channel=Knowledgia
Encyclopedia Britannica. Leopold I. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leopold-I-king-of-Belgium
The History Behind the ‘Victoria’ in Victoria’s Secret. Time Magazine. Merrill Fabry. https://time.com/4140242/victorias-secret-fashion-show-history/
A Habsburg Tragedy – Crown Prince Rudolf by Judith Hare. (1978).
Association Internationale Africaine. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Association-Internationale-Africaine
Henry
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