Re: But what's less known, the Belgians starting out with a little private business by their king down in Congo most likely took the price for brutality.
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No doubt Gustave knows a few things here.
Indeed. Leopold II was bestowed with the Congo Free State merely because Britain had already her hands full with India, South Africa, Egypt, etc. Yet the Brits didn't want the French or the Germans to build up a colonial empire in the centre of Africa. Enter Belgium and her king Leopold II as a convenient proxy...
wsws.org
Excerpt:
Leopold developed a military dictatorship over a country 76 times the size of Belgium, with only a small number of white officials. Initially, he paid mercenaries, but in 1888 these were transformed into the “Force Publique”. At its peak, there were 19,000 conscripted African soldiers and 420 white officers.
By means of bribes and lobbying, Leopold gained recognition for the Congo in 1884 by the United States, followed by a similar deal with France. By making a web of bilateral agreements at the Berlin conference in February 1885, he carved out the boundaries for this huge state. Once his ownership of the Congo was secure, the rubber boom erupted. Rubber sap was in great demand for tyres and other products, and the Congo was covered with such vines. Joint ventures ensued between Belgian, British and Dutch firms. The astronomical profits saved Leopold's colonial empire. An example given is the 700 percent profits of the Anglo-Belgian India Rubber and Exploration Company (ABIR).
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