Info About the Congo Free State

The Congo Free State was privately owned by Leopold II, the King of Belgium. Leopold was the chairman of the Congo and used the state to exploit copper, rubber, and other minerals. The people were treated brutally, all to gain capital from the resources. The colonists severely mistreated the native population to increase rubber production, which became popular after the increased use of cars. The colony was monitored by the Belgium army, called the Force Publique (FP).  In enforce the rubber quotas, the FP would cut limbs off the natives, and this practice was used throughout the Congo Free State. These severed limbs were supposed to pay back the amount of the quota that wasn’t fulfilled. Villages would occasionally attack each other in attempts to gather hands. Officers raided villages that protested Belgian rule. It is predicted that over half the native population died during the Belgian reign.

            Other international powers, especially Great Britain, protested the treatment of the locals. This pressure eventually forced the Belgian parliament to take the Congo Free State away from the king. The colony was then called the Belgian Congo, and it was put into the rule of the elected Belgian government.

            It is hard to conceptualize how harshly the natives were treated. It seems as though it was a game among the officers to see who can collect the most limbs, which were somewhat treated as currency. Logistically, it doesn’t make sense to cut off hands, because the person will no longer be able to work. No matter how much rubber they were producing prior to losing their hands, it is more than what can be produced without any hands. Overall, the situation sounds like a severe abuse of power. On the other hand, I am glad that other nations protested against the inhumane treatment of the locals and demanded that Leopold lose power of the colony.

Works Cited: http://cobweb.sfasu.edu/sbradley/Classes/homepages/Congo_Free_State/