...At the peak of European imperialism into Africa the Belgian king, King Leopold II ran his own personal empire that was vast and cruel. Although Leopold was the first king to make a bold imperial movement into new territory of Africa, it was because he pressured the senate constantly about building an empire overseas, just like all the other countries. He became obsessed with the thought that a nation’s greatness was based on how much money and riches they had. With the goal to make Belgium a greater and stronger country, King Leopold jumped on a chance to profit off the resources of Congo. Leopold II formed the International African Society to organize and finance exploration of the continent. Upon his arrival to the continent, with explorer...
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...Adam Hochschild's "King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa," which unveils the brutal nature of Belgium's conquest and colonization of the central African country Congo. This conquest began with Belgian King Leopold II, who grew up with minimal expressions of love and affection from his family. His emotional void was filled with an obsession for colonies and money. His thirst for expanding his own Belgian empire grew strong. He learned as much as one could about colonization and profit, and when he realized that no colonies were available for purchase, he knew he must use force. His eyes were set on Africa. "Only in Africa could Leopold hope to achieve his dream of seizing a colony, especially one immensely larger than Belgium" (Hochschild 61). As one of the greatest conquests in world history, along with the Jewish holocaust which killed 11 million people, the European conquest of Africa killed over 10 million people cutting the population of the Congo by at least half (Hochschild 233). In thoroughly understanding this tragic event in history, it is important to explore why Europe conquered and colonized Africa, how this conquer was accomplished, and Africa's response to it. Greed was at the center of King Leopold's European conquest and colonization of Africa. In his mid-twenties Leopold read the book "Java" about how to manage a colony, and began corresponding with the author J.W.B. Money (Hochschild 37). Leopold thought colonies existed...
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...How would you feel if strangers barged in your house and killed your family? The Congolese had to go through that everyday as the Belgians imperialized them. The Congolese couldn’t do anything because they were overpowered. The Belgians weapons that were advanced compared to the swords the Congolese were using to defend themselves. This all started when King Leopold II sent a letter to Prime Minister Beernaert. Leopold hired Henry Stanley to convince the Prime Minister. The letter contained ways of persuasion to convince him into letting King Leopold to build a Belgian colony in Congo. The Prime Minister agreed thinking it will be a positive change to Congo, like the letter said. In reality, Belgium was using Congo for their natural resources....
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...Marie Amelie Augustine Victoire Clementine Leopoldine was born in 1840 to King Leopold I of Belgium and Louise Marie d’Orleans, eldest daughter of King Louis Philippe of France.1 She was christened Marie Charlotte Amelie. Her mother Louise suggested calling her Charlotte in memory of King’ Leopold’s first wife, Princess Charlotte Augusta, who died in childbirth at Castle Clermont near Esher.2 Charlotte was extraordinarily intelligent. She was able to read before she was three years old. Charlotte worshipped her father, even though characteristically, King Leopold preferred not to have had a daughter, but a third son to assure his dynasty. By her fourth birthday, Charlotte had become her father’s pet, and he showered her with presents and a crown of roses. She was much like Leopold, interested in talking like a grown up and using complicated words. She was a happy, beautiful child with large dark eyes and black hair. She was very affectionate with her family and loved to play with her pet cat.3 In the summer of 1850, her grandfather, King Louis Phillippe, died in England. Her mother Queen Louise of Belgium never recovered from her father’s death. By October 10, 1850, she was dead. King Leopold, who had never been close to his sons, found consolation in his daughter’s company. The gay, affectionate child changed almost...
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...In 1874, King leopold 2 Began developing a colony for him to directly control. The colony was within the Congo region. The king sent henry Morton Stanley a journalist to explore congo to make treaties with the native peoples. The treaties allowed Leopold to take position as the colony’s leader. Which also increased his power in the land. This movement for leopold coming to power was largely significant because it showed his greed and his soon inhuman treatment to the congolese people do to the fact that he made indigenous peoples sign away their land without knowing the consequences. In 1884 the berlin conference took place to organize the “scramble for Africa” and then later grant Leopold 2 ro rule the congo. Which meant boundaries were imposed throughout Africa, dividing into Europe’s colonial domains thus eliminating any governing people in congo. The Berlin conference encouraged Leopold to begin his reign over congo because he had permission and help from all of Europe. It also allowed Europeans to lay claims over african land and destroy indigenous people power. This lead to mistreatment and abuse to congolese people. Leopold exploited the congo natural rubber which becoming valuable commodity. He sent his armies to steal congolese women and held them hostage until their husbands brought their quota of rubber. People were either whipped of killed...
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...Adam Dees Dr. Herman WOH1030 2 April 2015 Impact of British Imperialism In the late 1800’s, European nations only controlled about 10 percent of the continent of Africa, France to the north and Britain to the south (Edgar, 2008). As time goes by, other countries gain conquests, mostly in western areas of Africa. This essay will go over a few key points in history that led to the Age of Imperialism and the British colonization of Southern Africa. The essay will also identify key players in this age. Southern Africa was known for its gold and other valuable items that made it so appealing to Europeans. This and many other reasons led to wars over the areas that had high gold content. In the mid-1800’s European nations begin seizing power over countries in Africa. “By World War I Ethiopia and Liberia were the only countries not under European control.” (Edgar, 2008). In Belgium, King Leopold II had aspirations of conquest in African nations (Edgar, 2008). In 1876, he started the IAA or the International African Association in which he hires Henry Stanley to lead up exploration of this uncharted area (Edgar, 2008). Stanley was also dispatched to ascertain the whereabouts of David Livingstone, another famed explorer that was lost in the Congo (“Sir Henry…). When Stanley found Livingstone they became friends until his death in 1872 at Lake Bangweulu. Stanley continued where Livingstone left off, however and helped in the development of the Congo (“Sir Henry…). In a journal...
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...Wal-Mart Lack of compassion Tip of the iceberg can describe the story below. Wal-Mart is company No. 1 in the world. It has the most revenue over any other company ($421 Billion). But its riches equal its controversies. This story is probably the most apt at describing the unethical treatment of its workers, because of the sheer senselessness of it. In 2000, a collision with a semi-trailer left 52-year-old Deborah Shank with permanent brain damage and in a wheelchair. Her husband and three sons were fortunate for a $700,000 accident settlement from the trucking company. After legal costs and other expenses, the remaining $417,000 was put in a special trust to care for Mrs. Shank. However, six years later the providers of Mrs. Shank’s health plan, Wal-Mart, sued the Shanks for the $470,000 it had spent on her medical care. Wal-Mart was fully entitled to the money; in the fine print of Mrs. Shank’s employment contract it said that money won in damages after an accident belonged to Wal-Mart. A federal judge had to rule in favor of Wal-Mart, and the family of Mrs. Shank had to rely on Medicaid and social-security payments for her round-the-clock care. Wal-Mart may be reversing the decision after public outcry. However this case pinpoints Wal-Mart’s often criticized treatment of employees as a commodity and its sometimes inhuman business ethics. 9 Trafigura Dumping Toxic waste on the Ivory Coast and gagging the media Earlier in the year, there was media frenzy in the...
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...royal blood, were appointed Emperor and Empress of Mexico by Napoleon III of France. Ferdinand was the son of Archduke Franz Karl, the ruler of Austria, and related by blood or marriage to every ruling family in Europe. Charlotte was daughter of King Leopold of Belgium, cousin of Queen Victoria of England and grand-daughter of Napoleon Bonaparte III, the King of France.1 The young couple had been married for seven years at the time of their appointment and were very much in love. Unwilling at the beginning, Ferdinand was finally convinced by Napoleon and a group of Mexican government conservatives-in-exile that Mexico desperately awaited a liberating ruler to take them into the “new age”. A natural linguist and talented writer, Charlotte was slender and petite, with dark eyes and dark brown hair. When she knew she and Maximilian would be going to Mexico she had immediately hired a Spanish teacher to teach her the language. Shortly after arriving in Mexico, she changed her name to Carlota, and adopted the Spanish spelling. Maximilian was described as extremely personable, handsome, idealistic and trusting. He was also naive and extremely gullible. Though not as open to learning languages as Carlota, he spoke several, including English.2 There is also well-documented suspicion that Maximilian was the actually the son of Napoleon II. Those who believe this, many Europeans and the...
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...from this justified their actions arguing that it was their duty to edify and civilize African inhabitants. Many government officials thought in colonizing the continent because they felt that it was necessary to maintain their global influence. For example, Benjamin Disraeli, the British prime minister at the time, read aloud a speech to the House of Commons in 1876 supporting the seizure of the Suez Canal saying that it would “strengthen the empire.” (Document 2) Since Disraeli was a prime minister he would be speaking in favor of the acquisition because it would increase his term and political influence. Prince Leopold, heir to the Belgian throne and future king, African colonization stating that it would be “an opportunity to prove the world that Belgians are also an imperial people capable of dominating and enlightening others.” (Document 1) This statement demonstrates the pressure on the weaker European nations to colonize in order to increase their influence. If other nations did not colonize, Prince Leopold would not have stated this. Eugene Melchoir de Vogue, a French diplomat, in 1903 wrote, “any country that does not wish to become less...
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...What Was the Driving Force Behind European Imperialism in Africa? During the 19th century, King Leopold II of Belgium compared Africa to a cake. At the Berlin Conference in 1885, seven European nations took slices of Africa for themselves without discussing any details with Africans. From a 21st century perspective, this seems like a selfish thing to have done, so why did Europeans engage in imperialism? Certainly, political factors, cultural causes, and technological advancements were important. But the primary cause was economic. European nations competed to exploit the rich resources of Africa for financial and commercial gain. Much of European imperialism in Africa came as a result of political causes. There were seven different European countries with colonies in Africa (Doc A). This probably created an intense atmosphere of competition. Each of these countries wanted to "keep up" with their neighbors and did not want to be surpassed in riches or glory ... Many in England believed they had to take colonies "or perish." Germany believed it needed to "prove and maintain its newly won position" by taking more colonies (Doc B). National pride created competition among nations that accelerated European movement into Africa. European imperialism in Africa also resulted from cultural causes. One example of this is that at The Berlin Conference, Europeans stated that the "moral and material well being" of the African peoples would be improved by European imperialism (BGE)...
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...around the melody. The use of ornaments reflects Mozart’s influence by baroque composers such as J.S. Bach. The runs and clean rhythms allow the flutist to showcase their virtuosity, while allowing the beauty and the tenderness of the flute to show. Overall, the use of little ornaments and the sonata form show how Mozart is a very classical composer. Mozart, Leopold. Letter to Anna Maria Mozart. 14 Dec. 1769. In Mozart's Words. HRI Online, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. This is one of the only recovered letters from this early in Mozart’s life. Thirteen year old, Wolfgang sent a postscript along with his father’s letter to his mother. He told of how he enjoyed traveling and the accommodations in Kalterl were much better than those in other places. He also provides evidence that he had a very close relationship with his mother and loves her very much, Mozart, Leopold. Letter to Anna Maria Mozart. 27 Feb. 1770. In Mozart's Words. HRI Online, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. This letter was sent from Milan when Mozart was fourteen years old. This was at a point in their lives when they were starting to earn more money than they need. Leopold shows how religious they are and that he has a good relationship with God. This letter shows how busy Mozart was especially at this time. It also shows Leopold’s relationship with his family. Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. Letter to Anna Maria Mozart. 3 Mar. 1770. In Mozart's Words. HRI Online, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. Mozart sent this letter to his sister, while...
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...Richard was the third surviving child of Henry II, one of the most astute and formidable of all English kings and the ruler of more of France than the French king himself. 1. Henry’s domains stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees. He was twenty-four when Richard was born and the ravishingly beautiful, accomplished and willful Eleanor of Aquitaine, (Richard’s mother) was around thirty-five. 2. Both Eleanor and Henry were French and neither spoke English. 3. Their first son, William, had died in infancy. Their second child, Hennery, later known as the Young King, was two when Richard was born, and their daughter Matilda was one. There would be two more daughters and two more sons. B. Richard was born in Oxford, in Beaumont Palace which his Grandfather Henry I had built thirty years or so before. 1. There was no university yet at Oxford and the palace stood where Worcester College is today. 2. Out of all of Eleanor’s children, Richard was her favorite, but he didn’t see much of his mother or father as a child, as he grew older they were around more often. C. Fierce family quarrels gave Richard his first experience of war. 1. Eleanor was determined that Richard should be lord of Aquitaine when the lime came. She effectively governed Poitou and Aquitaine form 1168, with Richard at her side, and he learned the trade of ruling from her. 2. At the age of twelve he was invested as Count of Poitou and at fourteen as Duke of Aquitaine. III...
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...together all the major western powers of the world. Bismark was glad for the opportunity to expand Germany’s influence over Africa and desired to force Germany’s rivals to struggle with one another for territory. This conference was the undoing of Africa as it eliminated most of the existing forms of African autonomy and self-governance while at the same time heightened the colonial activity by European powers. At the time of the conference 80% of Africa remained under the Native Traditional and local control. The outcome of the conference was the General Act of the Berlin Conference which is also known as the formalization of the Scramble for Africa. This General Act addressed six issues: 1. Freedom of trade in the basin of the Congo 2. Slave Trade 3. Neutrality of the territories in the basin of the Congo 4. Navigation of the Congo 5. Navigation of the Niger 6. Rules for future occupation on the coast of the African continent. http://africanhistory.about.com/od/eracolonialism/l/bl-BerlinAct1885.htm The conference officially opened in Berlin on November 15, 1884 with fourteen countries being represented by ambassadors. The represented countries included: Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway, Turkey and the United States. France, Germany, Great Britain and Portugal were the major players out of these fourteen nations and controlled most of colonial Africa at the time....
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...Papacy of the Middle Ages Alexander Henry His 101 2/20/2014 The history of the papacy, the office held by the pope as leader of the Catholic Church, spans from the time of Saint Peter to present day. The pope is the head of the Catholic Church. During the Early Church, the bishops of Rome enjoyed no temporal power until the time of Constantine. The fall of Rome began the middle ages (around 476 ad). The papacy at the start of the middle ages was influenced by the temporal rulers of the surrounding Italian Peninsula; these periods are known as the Ostrogothic Papacy, Byzantine Papacy, and Frankish Papacy. Over time, the papacy consolidated its territorial claims to a portion of the peninsula known as the Papal States. Thereafter, the role of neighboring sovereigns was replaced by powerful Roman families during the saeculum obscurum, the Crescentii era, and the Tusculan Papacy. A fateful event for the papacy was the donation of lands made to the pope by the Frankish king Pepin the Short in 756. The papacy had already been given lands, but it was the Donation of Pepin that came to be considered the real as well as the symbolic founding of the Papal States. The pope thus became a powerful lay prince as well as an ecclesiastical ruler. This intermingling of powers was a determining condition in the struggle between church and state that was a main theme in the history of the West in the Middle Ages. Strong lay princes attempted to direct the church just as the pope tried to...
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...around 1735, titled "Origin of the musical Bach family".[13] Bach's mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later.[5] Bach, aged 10, moved in with his oldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach(1671–1721), the organist at St. Michael's Church in Ohrdruf, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.[14] There he studied, performed, and copied music, including his own brother's, despite being forbidden to do so because scores were so valuable and private and blank ledger paper of that type was costly.[15][16] He received valuable teaching from his brother, who instructed him on the clavichord. J.C. Bach exposed him to the works of great composers of the day, including South German composers such as Johann Pachelbel (under whom Johann Christoph had studied)[2] and Johann Jakob Froberger; North German composers;[3] Frenchmen, such as Jean-Baptiste Lully, Louis Marchand, Marin Marais; and the Italian clavieristGirolamo Frescobaldi. Also during this time, he was taught theology, Latin, Greek, French, and Italian at the local gymnasium.[17] At the age of 14, Bach, along with his older school friend Georg Erdmann, was awarded a choral scholarship to study at the prestigious St....
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