Emerging colonial frontiers
Colonising
the Congo
| GRADE LEVEL | THEME | TOPIC | DURATION |
| 7 | SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY | EMERGING COLONIAL FRONTIERS | x LESSONS |
Emerging colonial frontiers |
The first people living in the Democratic Republic of Congo moved there from the area we know as Nigeria. They arrived and settled there in the 7th and 8th centuries.
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A + B: Migration from Nigeria to the Belgian Congo Diego or Diogo Cao, a Portuguese navigator, was the first explorer to discover the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1482. The next important explorer of the country was a British journalist called Henry Morton Stanley. He had left on his first expedition into Africa in 1871 and by 1874 his fame as an adventurer earned him the task of finding suitable colonies in central Africa on behalf of King Leopold II of Belgium. He explored the region for Leopold from 1879 to 1884 and led the first Belgian expeditions to the Congo. Stanley had tried to persuade Britain to colonise the Congo, but his own country wasn’t interested. King Leopold’s willingness to take over the African country led to the Congo being colonised by Belgium.
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A: King Leopold II of Belgium Read more about Stanley’s Congo treaties. In September 1876 King Leopold II called a meeting of famous explorers in Brussels. The aim of the meeting was to discuss Africa and its potential as a source of colonies, resources and power. He received enough support to create the International African Association (IAA), an organisation aimed at exploring and colonising Africa. The IAA was a good way of masking the fact the he wanted the Congo for himself, not for Belgium. In 1885 King Leopold II claimed The Congo as his personal property and named it the Congo Free State. Web article: An Evil King Used Geography to Enslave the Congo Web article: Belgium's imperialist rape of Africa The IAA was popular at the time because European countries measured their status and power by how many colonies they had. Territory in Africa was also rich in natural resources like gold and diamonds, which could make the colonisers rich. King Leopold II ruled over the Congo Free State for the next 30 years. This period was so violent that no one was willing to believe the reports sent to Europe by missionaries about the conditions in the country. Most of the local workers had jobs on rubber plantations where they weren’t paid, or hunted elephants for ivory that the Belgians seized. They were also killed or tortured if they didn’t work hard enough. Nearly 10 million people died during this time. In 1908 the Belgian government bought the colony from King Leopold II and tried to change things for the better by building roads, railways and improving towns, but the situation didn’t really change. During this time gold, diamonds, copper and cobalt were discovered in the Congo, making it even more attractive to people who wanted to exploit the country. Click here to link to our Special Feature on the Congo. Learning Outcome: The learner is able to compile and organise information from maps to obtain evidence about the Belgian colonisation of the Congo, and to use the information from sources to present answers to questions about the topic.
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