Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at CSU East Bay THE DARK HEART OF KING LEOPOLD II OF BELGIUM Kevin P. Dincher www. kevindincher. com
Kevin P. Dincher LEOPOLD II Africa 2
Kevin P. Dincher 3 Africa and the Congo Sherlock Holmes Joseph Conrad European Colonialism Cold War Leopold II Charles Darwin Mark Twain US Imperialism Slavery Stanley and Livingston
4 Leopold II (1835 – 1909) • King of the Belgians: 1865 – 1909 • Family Connections • Mother: Louise d’Orleans, Princess of France • Wife: Marie Henriette Hapsburg, Archduchess of Austria • Sister: Carlota of Mexico, Empress of Mexico Leopold, 1844 • 1 st cousin: Queen Victoria • 7 th cousin 6 times removed: Kevin Dincher
Kevin P. Dincher Belgium • October 4, 1830: Belgian Revolution • Southern provinces declared independence from the Netherlands • Catholic, officially French-speaking and neutral • Constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy • 1831: Leopold I • Elected “King of the Belgians” • House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha 5
Kevin P. Dincher 6 Leopold II 1855: Became member of senate • Immediately began urging establishing Belgian colonies • Overseas colonies were the key to a country's greatness 1865: Became king • 1866: first of three unsuccessful attempts to acquire the Philippines from Spain
Kevin P. Dincher 7 Leopold II 1876: Convened the Brussels Geographic Conference • Proposed an international benevolent committee • • “Propagation civilization among the peoples of Central Africa” (Congo) Multi-national Scientific Humanitarian Leopold II and Marie Henriette
Kevin P. Dincher 8 Leopold II 1876 -1878: International African Association (AIA) • Association Internationale Africaine • Private holding company disguised as an international scientific and philanthropic association • Leopold served as chairman twice • Primary Achievement • Convincing Belgian people and European countries that his interests in Africa were altruistic and humanitarian
Kevin P. Dincher Leopold II 1878: Study Committee of the Upper Congo • Comité d'Études du Haut-Congo • Exploration • Scientifc • Humanitarian • Commercial 9
Kevin P. Dincher 10 Leopold II • 1879: International Association of the Congo (IAC) • Association Internationale du Congo • International Congo Society • Humanitarian/philanthropic • Scientific • Commercial/economic • Official Stockholders • British/Dutch businessmen • Belgian Banker
Kevin P. Dincher Leopold II • 1879: International Association of the Congo (IAC) • Henry Morton Stanley • Five-year contract • Establish bases in the Congo • Secure trade route for ivory market • Rubber and minerals Dr. Livingston, I presume? 11
Kevin P. Dincher 12 Henry Stanley … …a fearless newspaper reporter ready to do whatever it takes to get a story, regardless of any danger to his life!
Kevin P. Dincher 13 Leopold II 1881 – 1914: • Scramble for Africa • Race for Africa • Partition of Africa • 1870 • Europeans occupied about 10% of the continent • 1914: • only Ethiopia and Liberia were independent
Kevin P. Dincher 14 Leopold II • 1884 -1885: Berlin Conference • Portuguese initiative • British support • Bismark’s work • • • • Austria-Hungary Belgium Denmark France United Kingdom Italy Netherlands Portugal Russia Spain Sweden-Norway Ottoman Empire United States
15 Kevin P. Dincher Leopold II • 1884 -1885: Berlin Conference Belgium* Britain France Germany Italy Portugal Spain Independent *Recognized the International Association of the Congo (IAC) as sovereign government
Kevin P. Dincher 16 Leopold II • 1884 -1885: Berlin Conference • “Spheres of Influence” • Region over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military, or political exclusivity • An international prohibition of the slave trade throughout their respected spheres • "International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs" (Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness)
Kevin P. Dincher 17 Leopold II 1885 • Resolution passed in Belgian Parliament • Transferred the IAC charter to “Congo Free State” • État indépendant du Congo • Leopold: Roi-Souverain • Person property - private colony • Established Force Publique (FP) "I do not want to miss a good chance of getting us a slice of this magnificent African cake. " King Leopold II
Kevin P. Dincher 18 Leopold II 1885: Congo Free State • Leopold pledge to uphold Berlin Conference • Suppress East African slave trade • Promote humanitarian policies • Guarantee free trade within the colony • Impose no import duties for 20 yrs. • Encourage philanthropic and scientific enterprises "I do not want to miss a good chance of getting us a slice of this magnificent African cake. " King Leopold II
Kevin P. Dincher 19 Leopold II • Exploitation of resources • Ivory, Rubber, Minerals • One of the greatest international scandals of the early 20 th century • • Forced/slave labor Starvation Disease Torture/mutilation • Directly and indirectly eliminated 20% of the population • 10 to 13 million people A 1906 Punch cartoon depicting Leopold II as a rubber vine entangling a Congolese man
Kevin P. Dincher Leopold II 20
Kevin P. Dincher 21 "I have just returned from a journey inland to the village of Insongo Mboyo. The abject misery and utter abandon is positively indescribable. I was so moved, Your Excellency, by the people's stories that I took the liberty of promising them that in future you will only kill them for crimes they commit. “ John Harris (Missionary)
Kevin P. Dincher 22 Hochschild: Great Forgetting Royal Museum for Central Africa • Large collection of colonial artifacts Blankenberge, Belgium • Monument shows a colonialist bringing "civilization" to the black child at his feet Oostend, Belgium • Monument to Leopold II with grateful Oostend fishermen and Congolese. • The gratitude of the Congolese to Leopold II for having liberated them from slavery under the Arabs.
Kevin P. Dincher 23 I have undertaken the work in Congo in the interest of civilization and for the good of Belgium. “ Monument, Arlon, Belgium
Kevin P. Dincher 24
Kevin P. Dincher 25 1. Everything’s related! 2. When we learn about other people, times and places, we learn about ourselves.
Kevin P. Dincher The Dark Heart of King Leopold II Adam Hochschild King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa • Lecturer, Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley • Other Works: • To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914 -1918 • Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves • The Mirror at Midnight: A South African Journey • The Unquiet Ghost: Russians Remember Stalin 26
Kevin P. Dincher 27 The Dark Heart of King Leopold II • Other Resources • Handout, page 2 • Course Slides Online • www. kevindincher. com • Click on COURSES • Click on THE DARK HEART OF KING LEOPOLD II OF BELGIUM • Click on COURSE MATERIALS AND RESOUCES (at bottom of page)
Kevin P. Dincher AFRICA 28
Kevin P. Dincher 29
Kevin P. Dincher Africa: Caravan Routes 30
Kevin P. Dincher Africa • Reconquista: 711 – 1492 • 1139 -1179: Portugal as independent • 1249: capture of the Algarve • Henry (Enrique) the Navigator (1394 -1460) • Son of King and Queen of Portugal • 1415: Battle of Ceuta (Morocco) • “Key to the Mediterranean” • Caravan routes • Major northern trade center on the 31
Kevin P. Dincher 32 Africa Battle of Ceuta • 45, 000 Portuguese • Practical Failure • “Success” • Energized Europeans • Ripple effect • Expansion beyond continent • “Christendom” • Portugal took the lead • 1415 -1505: expanded along the Pacific Coast of North Africa
Kevin P. Dincher 33 Africa Henry the Navigator • Trade routes • Prester John Legend 1420 Madeira Island 1427 Azores 1434 Beyond Cape Bojador 1441 First Slaves from Mauritania 1444 Senegal River (Beyond Sahara/Muslims) • Gold/Slaves* 1444 -1446 40 ships trading at Lagos, Portugal* 1456 Cape Verde Islands 1490 Cape of Good Hope 1498 Vasco da Gama: Portugal to India *1552: slaves made up 10% of population of Lisbon
Kevin P. Dincher Africa First Wave of European Colonization • 1415 – 1830 • Primarily involved the colonization of the Americas • Also some colonies in India and Maritime SE Asia Africa • Trading posts • Atlantic slave trade 34
Kevin P. Dincher 35 ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
Kevin P. Dincher 36 Slavery 1. “…the right by some individuals to possess, buy, sell, discipline, transport, liberate, or otherwise dispose of the bodies and behavior of other individuals. ” Seymour Drescher Abolition: A History of Slavery and Antislavery 2. “ … integral element is that children of a slave mother automatically become slaves
Kevin P. Dincher 37 Slavery 1760 BCE • Code of Hammurabi • Earliest record of slavery as an established institution 1800 • ¾ of all people alive in some form of slavery or serfdom. • David P. Forsythe, Encyclopedia of Human Rights 1981 • Mauritania: Last country to outlaw slavery • Did not become a crime to own slaves until 2007 • Today: 10% to 20%) of the population lives in slavery. • 340, 000 to 680, 000
Kevin P. Dincher Slavery: Classical Era Ancient Greece • 30% of the population of some cities • Athens: majority owned at least one slave • Aristotle Ancient Rome • Roman Republic • vital to the economy • Roman Empire • 25% of the empire's population • 30 to 40% of the population of Italy 38
Kevin P. Dincher Slavery: Middle Ages Vikings • British Isles and Eastern Europe • Sold on the Byzantine or Islamic slave markets • Ended in the 11 th century - Serfdom Spain/Portugal • Muslim raids on Christian territories • Byzantine-Ottoman Wars • Both Christians and Muslims • Knights of Malta 39
Kevin P. Dincher Charles Bridge, Prague 40
Kevin P. Dincher 41 Slavery: Muslim Powers Islamic Law: forbidden to enslave “People of the Book” • Muslims, Christians, Jews Sabian, Magians • Exceptions could be made if they were captured in battle • Expected to be freed if converted to Islam Slave Trading: Iberian Peninsula • Muslim and Jewish merchants • Brought slaves into al-Andalus from eastern Europe (pagan Slavs) • Re-exported them to other regions of the Islamic world • Christianization of Slavs ended practice Africa
Kevin P. Dincher African Slave Routes 650 – 1900 • 4 million via Red Sea • 4 million through the Swahili ports of the Indian Ocean • 9 million along the trans-Saharan caravan route 42
Kevin P. Dincher 43 Slavery Before the “Age of Discovery” Not about Race Part of Human Nature • Aristotle Consequence of Sin • Augustine • No “Slave Economies”
Kevin P. Dincher 44 Atlantic Slave Trade 12 million African slaves to the Americas between 1600 and 1800 70% to Brazil and Caribbean Islands 5% (600, 000) to US • Half during colonial era
Kevin P. Dincher Atlantic Slave Trade 45
Kevin P. Dincher Slave Ship 46
Kevin P. Dincher Brazil • Slavery = Mainstay of colonial economy • Mining and sugar cane • About 38% of all African slaves sent to Americas • 1761: slavery abolished in Portugal but continued in colonies • 1888: Last South American country to ban slavery 47
Kevin P. Dincher Brazil • Enslavement of Native Populations • Jesuit Reductions • The Mission 48
Kevin P. Dincher Caribbean 49
Kevin P. Dincher 50 Caribbean • Slavery = Mainstay of colonial economy • Sugar cane • About 38% of all African slaves sent to Americas • 1778: French alone importing 13, 000 annually • Death rates for Caribbean slaves were greater than birth rates • Free blacks owned one-third of the plantation property and onequarter of the slaves in Haiti • 1794: French Republic abolished slavery • 1802: Napoleon • 1804: Haiti a free republic
Kevin P. Dincher 51 United States • 1619: Jamestown • 1 st African indentured servants • 1642: Colonies begin to codify slavery • 1776: Declaration of Independence • Gradual abolition in North • Increase in slavery in the South • 1787: US Constitution • Article I, Section 9: allowed the continued "importation" of slaves • Article IV, Section 2: Fugitive Slave Clause
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