Democratic

Republic of
the Congo
CASE STUDY
Bianca Santini, Aubrey Bush, Jaslene Marquez
TABLE OF CONTENTS
#1 Essential Question

#2 History

#3 European Perspective

#4 African Perspective
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
HOW DID COLONIALISM AFFECT
PEOPLE IN THE CONGO?
-
HISTORY
Colonized for 80 years by Belgium; ruled by King Leopold II
- Plan was to extort Ivory and Rubber from The Congo for money
- Resources such as: precious metals, cobalt, gold, copper,
and diamonds
- Rape, mutalation, and murder were common forms of
punishment (everyone had a daily extraction quota & were
punished if they didn’t meet it)
- Colonial reforms allowed the formation of African political
parties
- Common ways of resistance:
- Armed resistance, desertion, migration, or withdrawal to
remote regions
- Country lines changed from one country to 3; Kongo Ngbandi, &
Tutsi
- Rule was highly segregated and rights were severely unequal
- Belgium recieved 42% of income & The Congolese
received 58%
- 10 million Africans died in the first 2 decades
- June 30, 1960: The Congo’s day of independence
EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE
-Belgium and King Leopold II believe that
colonialism was extremely beneficial for the
people of the Congo.

-They built large cities for them, expanded

economic activity, established a medical
service, and improved hygienic conditions.

-King Leopold claimed that he came to the

Congo on a humanitarian crusade
AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE
- After the coming of Leopold II the 250 different
ethnic groups got divided by colonial borders
enforced by Europeans.

- Africans were segregated, raped, phsically

punished, and abused

- Laws were implemented which prevented Africans

from traveling across provincial borders and
practicing non-European relgions