With King Leopold II of Belgium now in full control of the Belgian Congo, the extraction of ivory and other resources could begin. The story of the plunder of the Congo is so brutal and unbelievable, and at times so hard to believe, that it was once said that "to tell the full story it would have to be fiction." In the early period of the Congo Free State, forced labor and resource extraction ultimately led to atrocities and destruction, but the terror was far from over.
This episode is Part 3 in a series on the Belgian Congo. It gives an overview of Congo's rich natural resources, and the ivory boom in the late 1800's that contributed to atrocities. It discusses Leopold's style of rule and role in overseeing the carnage, the development of the ivory "trade" in the Congo, the beginnings of mass death, and the origins of early protest movements and dissent against the state, including from missionaries like George Washington Williams. Future episodes will discuss the rubber boom, it's related human rights meltdown, as well as resistance and protest movements that contributed to the end of the Congo Free State.
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