Imperial German Chancellor Otto Van Bismarck organized the Berlin Conference of 1884.
During this conference, countries from the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, USA, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Sweden- Norway, Turkey, and the Ottoman Empire. This set the precedent for King Leopold II to rule the Congo Free State from 1885 - 1908.
During his rule, atrocities were committed, including forced labor for harvest, rubber, palm oil, and ivory. Beatings, lashings, and amputations, women, men, and children being forced into slave-like conditions if the quota was not met.
NOTE: King Leopold II never stepped foot in the Congo Free State during his rule.
The Congo Free State gained independence from Belgium in 1960, but the exploitation continued.
The DRC is among the five poorest countries in the world due to the ongoing imperial exploration and violence happening in the region for the natural resources of the land.
Currently, at least 40,000 children work alone in the mines in the Katanga District.
6.5 million people were displaced, and an estimated 25.4 million were in need.
Global cobalt production equals at least 128,700 tons, which grows yearly.
Sources
Aljazeera “Berlin 1884: Remembering the conference that divided Africa.”
SDSU.edu “ German Act of Berlin of the Berlin Conference on West Africa”
BBC “Leopold II: Belgium wakes up to its bloody colonial past”
Blackpast.org “George Washington’s Williams open letter to King Leopold on the Congo
Therepublic.com. “How the rush for Congo’s Cobalt is killing thousands.”
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