Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death
Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death describes how King Leopold II of Belgium turned Congo into its private colony between 1885 and 1908.
Under his control, Congo became a gulag labor camp of shocking brutality. Leopold posed as the protector of Africans fleeing Arab slave-traders but, in reality, he carved out an empire based on terror to harvest rubber.
Families were held as hostages, starving to death if the men failed to produce enough wild rubber. Children's hands were chopped off as punishment for late deliveries.
The Belgian government has denounced this documentary as a "tendentious diatribe" for depicting King Leopold II as the moral forebear of Adolf Hitler, responsible for the death of 10 million people in his rapacious exploitation of the Congo.
Yet, it is agreed today that the first Human Rights movement was spurred by what happened in the Congo.
What the Belgians did in the Congo was forgotten for over 50 years. It's a shocking, astonishing story. In a way, it's a horrifying prelude in European history to the Holocaust.
Between 1870 and 1900 the Congo was pillaged - it was valuable as a source of rubber. King Leopold created his own colony in the Congo over which he ruled unchecked.
Peter Bate's film is a marvelously made reconstruction of those days - it features footage of Congolese villages and explains with actors exactly what happened.
It's really a memorable film - the painfulness of what is described is counterbalanced by the great skill in the storytelling.
Oh please as scripture says the heart of Man is wicked and deceitful above all thingsneither white man or black man or green man.We had our own Iddi Amin in Uganda pouring beggars,the poor and disabled from tipper lorries into the Nile.Should his descendants pay??
2004, a year after UK's illegal invasion of Iraq, the BBC decides to show this. Classic tactic to point out what happened elsewhere to make your country look better.
Everyone knows about Leopold's terror in the Congo, and it should be talked about, but if only in 2003 and 2004 the BBC had not been part of the propaganda to destroy Iraq.
Iraq is Britain's Congo, and happened 10 years ago instead of 100.
Fu***the BBC, I just hate the hypocrisy of the British.
Everyone is always talking about the Jewish Holocaust & how reparations need to be given to Jews. However, what about the people of Congo who suffered under that devil called Leopold? There is always a double standard when it come to white people and their problems.
plenty of lies in that film people need to read the documents of truer things
one important question is why aren't black people particular Africans attack
It seems that where ever these Europeans go they destroy everybodys culture
one thing I hate is African speaking that disgusting French language what a evil group of people
Yes, an instance where, for once, the white savages behaved badly as africans. It brings to mind the kinoms of West Africa, which enabled and propsered from a trade which was the deporttionn of their own population to death and certain degradatiion, just like they had bck home. Those who deal with Africans become much like the Africans themselves. Do not stare too long in the abyss that is Africa, or it will stare out at you. Mubutu, Mugabe, Tu-tu-Tutsi good bye,....the list is long. But memory is short. Leoplold's name will be held in well deserved detestation, but the African thugs,, well, not so much.
Wow, AW, hold your horses a bit and be mindful of the fact that reality is ALWAYS complex.
First of all, when you say "Europeans", who do you really mean?
If you are implying that all nations in Europe had colonies and performed mass exploitation/murder, think again. Consider all those European nations that were invaded by others time and again.
You also say that those "Europeans" were responsible for killing the Native Americans... Sure, there were invasions, war, genocide, etc. carried out by colonists from SOME European countries, but never forget that not all Native Americans were peaceful like the peoples who formed the Iroquois Confederacy. There were Native Americans who did some ethnic cleansing of their own and showed a great deal of cruelty towards rival tribes.
Anyway, the bulk of the Native American tribes wasn't killed by European colonists from the 17th/18th century, they were exterminated by American citizens during the 19th century, when the central territories were bought/taken and the railroad was built ("Dancing with Wolves", Crazy Horse, and all that stuff).
Regarding India and Pakistan, just say British, and French to a lesser extent, but keep the rest of European nations aside.
What about Africa? Yep, here you were pretty much correct, that was pretty widespread, nations like Spain, Italy, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Portugal, The Netherlands, Germany, etc.
were making all sorts of shameful stuff to the natives, and some of them even wanted to keep doing it after WW2.
But let me just point out that the Arabs, among others, also conquered a good portion of Africa without being European.
Conquest, enslavement, pillaging, murder, etc. these are human activities, not just European. Learn about the history of Japan, China, India, Mongolia, etc. and you'll notice a remarkable amount of all sorts of nasty stuff.
What about the Holocaust? That was Nazi Germany, not Europe as a whole, and the nazis were exterminating all sorts of people, not just jews. it is true that, historically, there has been quite a lot of intolerance against jews in Europe, but then again, you can find extreme intolerance towards all sorts of groups anywhere on the planet.
Two world wars... Well, you speak as if the European nations were the only ones that waged wars through history, What about the Mongols? They sure weren't European, and that didn't stop them from conquering a gigantic piece of the planet and unleashing hell in all the lands they conquered. What about the wars in China? What about Japan? Does the Sengoku period ring a bell? Japan was hell on Earth during that period and hadn't had any real contact with Europe yet.
What happened after that was even worse. After the Japanese learned enough science and made their lightspeed industrial revolution in just 40 years, they started invading and mass murdering their neighbors, thinking themselves superior to the rest of Asian nations. They invaded Korea and Manchuria, they started a war with Imperial Russia which they won. They were starting to get a fame of ruthless cold-hearted sons of b*tches across the Asian nations they conquered, and Japan hadn't yet unleashed their mass enslavement programs which were applied during WW2...
Was that Europe's fault? Maybe, in a way, SOME European nations had encouraged dangerous notions in certain sectors of the Japanese ruling class, and SO did the Americans (starting with commodore Perry), but that was it. The hell unleashed by Japan during the 20th century was Japan's doing, and Japan's alone.
What did the Europeans do for this world? Seriously? Where do I start? Democracy, almost all the sciences there are including some of the most brilliant minds ever (I mean, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Newton, Darwin, Planck, Einstein,Tesla, Linnaeus, Lyell, Mendel, Lavoisier, Mendeleev, -if you count Western Russia in-, etc. -I could spend ages writing this list-).
And what about philosophy and the history of knowledge and social movements? European tradition, mostly (not only, of course).
Great philosophers, historians, merchants, industrialists, architects, inventors, explorers, engineers, politicians, artists, etc. you will probably find Europe at the top positions in each discipline (and almost inventing it). Granted that a lot of sh*t has come out of that part of the planet, but plenty of amazing things too, don't choose to ignore it.
About the spreading of Christianity, that was often an excuse rather than the real motivation behind any act of war, invasion, enslavement, ethnic cleansing, etc. I'll say it again, those things are not unique to Europe, you can find them anywhere in the history of life on Earth. For humans, resources and geopolitical control were often the real motivators, any nation that had both was bound to be strong, capable of defending itself and also of conquering others if needed be.
It is the Europeans who were responsible for killing Native Americans in US, Colonising the Africa, Dividing and ruling India and Pakistan, mass extermination of Jews in Europe, two world wars--What did the Europeans do for this world-I am disgust that I am born a human being after watching these documentaries--particularly this spreading of Christianity--was this blind god, imaginary friend not watching these attrocities, was he not watching what was happening in Aushwitz. Shame on christians for taking a blind eye. Ultimately mankind is going to pay for screwing this one home--our earth
Its ironic that the documentary was done by the BBC and English news source.
Some of us in Africa know very well about this stories, although we are still constrained by resources including lack of documents (still classified as you can see here), or a media outlet. All this "obscure" knowledge and history does reside in our universities. In the next 20-30 years, when among other things africa develops its own bbc, history channel, national geography you will get to here the stories of the likes of leopold, you will here of concepts of extra-territoriality like that given to diplomats to rapists and murderers......
Blacks cannot be racist Why? They dont control not one industry in the world except maybe labor, a victim can do nothing other than respond to the effects/affects of slavery
This is where the capital is situated. In a country whose king murdered 10 to 13 million Congolese. Ths is what Belgium owes to the Africans.
humans are nothing.
So this is how Belgium got rich?
This is why Congo is messed up.
How could someone be called an human ,commit such evil acts?Just horrible.
Nothing has changed in that area and it is all over the resources those people have and we in the North are trying to get on the cheap. Simple as that. Our Press doesn't focus on that only tell us what the Pentagon told them. No Questions asked.
RR
Why was this demonic monster never punished? He ruled Belgium till his death. His descendants still rule.... WHY??? When his atrocities were exposed- why was he not put on trial? Present day Belgium should not have to feel guilty or accountable- BUT AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT HE WAS A CRIMINAL!!! DETHRONE HIS DESCENDANTS. MAKE THEM COMPENSATE THE CONGO. Yes, White kids MUST be told generation after generation. Not to push guilt on them. But they should know what their ancestors did. In the
name of Christianity. Under the guise of bringing civilisation to "savages". They abused their power and exploited other humans for material gains.But please do not sweep this under the carpet. Not only white kids but all kids need to know about these atrocities. Christ taught to love each other as we love ourselves. No need for white guilt. Just feel compassion for each other as humans.
Belgian as country is going to disappear the faster the better. You can send the Belgian royals to Congo then we will take care of them for good!
Born as a Belgian in 1945, I never, ever heard a whisper about this drama in Congo. Everybody who knew apparently kept their mouth shut. It wasn't until I read "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad that things started dawning upon me. I read it in Englisch, because I could never find a Flemish (my native language) edition. And even now, it is more like we never had a Leopold II. But still, his offspring is still in charge, and although they don't cut off hands anymore, the way they suck out money from the people is just as bad. Belgium is now their colony, and they are still exploiting it, and they are still getting away with it. Can you believe it. Luckily, the crownprince behaves like a complete id**t, and the majority of Flemish people do hope that those usurpers will disappear completely out of the picture after the actual king abdicates.
I am really curious as to why we do not have any Holidays in the USA to Remember this Tragedy? It should definitely be told of in the school system.
THE SAME SHOULD DO THE SAME TO THESE 'ROYALS' AND THEIR MINIONS!!!
SUBHUMAN BARBARIANS IS WHAT THEY WERE/ ARE/ TRAITORS OF HUMANITY AND HUMAN D. ALL FOR MONEY!!. Just sickening.
An excellent documentary indeed. All this horror is beyond description.
However, why should Belgians today feel any remorse for what happened more than one century ago?. I am Spanish but I don´t really feel any guilt about the horrible crimes commited by SOME Spaniards during the Spanish Empire long time ago. I haven´t killed or tortured anybody, nor did my parents or my grandparents and so on. My ancestors most probably were poor peasants -like most Spanish people at that time. I don´t think they had anything to do with imperialism, colonialism and all those terrible crimes commited by soldiers, landowners, etc in America or Asia. I don´t even think that they knew anything about what was happening many thousands miles away from them.
One thing is all the deeds commited by kings and goberments and another is common people. It´s a common and silly thing to mistake them.