Colonialism in the Congo: Conquest, Confiflict, and Commerce CHOICES for the 21st Century Education Program November 2005 Director Susan Graseck Curriculum Developer Andy Blackadar Curriculum Writer Sarah Kreckel International Education Intern Daniela Bailey Office Assistant Dan Devine Office Manager Anne Campau Prout Acknowledgments Colonialism in the Congo: Conquest, Conflict, and Commerce was Outreach Coordinator developed by the Choices for the 21st Century Education Program Bill Bordac with the assistance of the research staff of the Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies, scholars at Brown University, Professional Development Coordinator Lucy Mueller and other experts in the field. We wish to thank the following researchers for their invaluable input: Program Coordinator for Capitol Forum L. Perry Curtis Barbara Shema Professor Emeritus of History, Brown University Nancy Jacobs The Choices for the 21st Century Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Associate Professor of History Education Program develops cur- Brown University ricula on current and historical international issues and offers Peter Uvin workshops, institutes, and in- Henry Leir Chair of International Humanitarian Studies service programs for high school Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University teachers. Course materials place special emphasis on the impor- Special thanks to Paul Cunningham, formerly of Woodstock tance of educating students in Academy, Connecticut, for his work as the unit author of the their participatory role as citizens. first edition ofColonialism in the Congo: Conquest, Conflict and The Choices for the 21st Century Commerce. Education Program is a program of the Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute Colonialism in the Congo: Conquest, Conflict and Commerce is for International Studies part of a continuing series on international public policy issues. at Brown University. New units are published each academic year and all units are Thomas J. Biersteker updated regularly. Director, Watson Institute for International Studies Visit us on the World Wide Web — www.choices.edu Contents Africa Today ii Introduction: The Congo and King Leopold 1 Part I: Pre-Colonial Congo and Europe’s Interest in Africa 2 Slave Trading 4 European Interests in Africa 6 The Scramble for Africa 8 Part II: The Congo “Free” State 12 Establishing Control Over the Congo 12 Profit-Making in the Congo 13 Early Reports of Atrocities 16 The British Parliament’s Involvement 20 June 9, 1904: The Moment of Decision 23 Options in Brief 24 Option 1: Act Alone, Act Now, Force Change 25 Option 2: Cooperate with the Other Great Powers 28 Option 3: Focus on the British Empire 31 Epilogue: The Aftermath—1904 to the Present 34 The Belgian Congo 34 Congo in the Cold War 36 Supplementary Documents 40 Supplementary Resources 51 THE CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM is a program of the Watson Institute for Inter- national Studies at Brown University. CHOICES was established to help citizens think constructively about foreign policy issues, to improve participatory citizenship skills, and to encourage public judgement on policy issues. The Watson Institute for International Studies was established at Brown University in 1986 to serve as a forum for students, faculty, visiting scholars, and policy practitioners who are committed to analyzing con- temporary global problems and developing initiatives to address them. © Copyright November 2005. Second edition. Choices for the 21st Century Education Program. All rights reserved. ISBN 1891306-92-8. WWW.CHOICES.EDU ■ WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY ■ CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM ■ Colonialism in the Congo: ii Conquest, Confl ict and Commerce Africa Today TUNISIA MOROCCO ALGERIA LIBYA EGYPT WESTERN Atlantic SAHARA Ocean MAURITANIA MALI NIGER CHAD ERITREA SENEGAL GAMBIA SUDAN BURKINA FASO DJIBOUTI GUINEA GUINEA BISSAU NIGERIA SOMALIA IVORY ETHIOPIA SIERRA LEONE COAST CENTRAL AFRICAN B REPUBLIC T LIBERIA O E N CAMEROON G I GHANA O N UGANDA EQUATORIAL CONGO RWANDA KENYA GUINEA GABON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC BURUNDI O F C O N G O DEMOCRATIC TANZANIA REPUBLIC ANGOLA OF MALAWI CONGO Z A M B I A ORIENTALE o R. Cong MOZAMBIQUE ZIMBABWE MADAGASCAR ÉQUATEUR NAMIBIA BOTSWANA Mbanda NORD- KIVU SWAZILAND . u R BANDUNDU SUD- LESOTHO o KASAÏ- SOUTH g 0 500 Miles n ORIENTAL KIVU o Kinshasa C AFRICA MANIEMA 0 500 KM KINSHASA KASAÏ- BAS-CONGO OCCIDENTAL Kananga emi KATANGA Indian Ocean K River PROVINCIAL BORDER City Image courtesy of V. Estabrook. Image courtesy of V. ■ CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM ■ WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY ■ WWW.CHOICES.EDU Colonialism in the Congo: Conquest, Conflict and Commerce 1 Introduction: The Congo and King Leopold n 1903, a British man named Roger Case- being one needs to understand the advent of Iment submitted a report to the British European imperialism in Africa. Parliament about his investigations in what was then known as the Congo Free State. The Why did Europeans go to Africa? Belgian King Leopold II privately owned the As the Industrial Revolution gained mo- Congo Free State, a territory in Central Af- mentum in Europe, people there realized that rica which was more than seventy-six times if they wanted to surpass neighboring coun- the size of Belgium. Leopold used Congolese tries economically, they would need access to workers to supply rubber, which comes from more raw materials to fuel their factories and vines and trees, for the booming tire business. more people to purchase the products those Casement’s report confirmed what many in factories made. In the 1870s, some Europeans Parliament and elsewhere had suspected for even thought that war was likely. To prevent some years. such a war, leaders of Europe met in 1885 and divided up the continent of Africa. Nearly They [the Congolese] had endured every European country wanted a piece. “ such ill-treatment at the hands of the Over the next sixty years, European coun- Government officials and soldiers tries “owned” areas of Africa. Europeans were that nothing had remained but to be largely responsible for drawing the borders of killed for failure to bring in rubber African countries that exist today. or to die in their attempts to satisfy King Leopold’s interest in Central Africa the demands.” spurred much of the competition for African —The Casement Report land among Europeans. The establishment of the Congo Free State was a crucial part of the The report set off a series of international story of African imperialism and colonialism. discussions and debates about what was hap- The horrific events that took place there, and pening in the Congo Free State. Millions of the responses to them, were also a crucial part Africans were being killed or dismembered of the development of the international com- while harvesting rubber from the forest of munity’s response to human rights problems. Central Africa in order to satisfy the desires of Europeans and Americans for cheap rubber and to satisfy King Leopold’s quest for wealth. What is this unit about? In Part I of this unit you will read about the peoples of Central Africa, what forces We tried, always going further into shaped their histories, and how they related to the forest, and when we failed and “ each other. You will also read about the impact our rubber was short, the soldiers of the Atlantic slave trade on Central Africa, came to our towns and killed us. the partition of the continent, and Leopold’s Many were shot. Some had their grab for the area. In Part II, you will explore ears cut off; others were tied up with the nature of the Congo Free State and learn ropes round their necks and bodies about the people and governments who op- and taken away.” posed King Leopold’s rule there. You will then —A Congolese worker be asked to reenact a debate that took place in the British Parliament which asked what, if But how did a single man come to own an anything, Britain should do about the situation entire region of another continent? To under- in the Congo. Finally, in the epilogue, you will stand how the Congo Free State came into learn about the fate of the Congo. WWW.CHOICES.EDU ■ WATSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY ■ CHOICES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EDUCATION PROGRAM ■ Colonialism in the Congo: 2 Conquest, Conflict and Commerce Part I: Pre-Colonial Congo and Europe’s Interest in Africa he area that is now the Democratic Re- Tpublic of Congo spans 1.5 million square miles, about the size of the United States east of the Mississippi River. It is the third largest country in Africa. The region in which it is located, Central Africa, is the home of most of Africa’s rainforest. The Congo River, nearly 3,000 miles long (the Mississippi is 2,300 miles long), cuts through Central Africa and drains into the Atlantic ocean. A number of smaller rivers feed into the Congo, forming the huge Congo Basin, home to numerous species of plants and animals. Mountains as high as 17,000 feet and Lake Tanganyika border the region to the east, and in the south, there are great stretches of grasslands and hardwood forests. The country also has deposits of gold, diamonds, copper, and manganese. All of these factors combine to make Congo one of the most geographically diverse and mineral- rich countries in the world. Who were the groups of people Dmitri Kessel/Time Images. Used with permission. & Life Pictures/Getty who settled in Central Africa? The Congo River. The earliest people to live in Central Africa were forest-dwellers who lived off the fruits and nuts they gathered and animals Finally, a third category of people called they killed. Anthropologists call these groups Nilotes moved into Central Africa from what is collectively “hunter-gatherers.” These special- now known as Sudan, and brought with them ized hunters were Pygmies, or BaMbuti, and knowledge of farming, fishing, and herding.