Heart of Darkness: Political History of Congo and the European Influence

Posted: August 25th, 2021

Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course

Date

Heart of Darkness: Political History of Congo and the European Influence

Joseph Conrad wrote the heart of darkness story in the year 1902 after living in Congo for a couple of years. The experience in Congo made him question what it meant to be civilized incolonialism age. The book gives an insight into the economic and political establishment in the Congo. In his story, he reveals how desperate King Leopold II’s agents werefor precious resources like Ivory in Congo. The scramble led to the death of millions of Congolese natives.Also, he talks about the scramble to partition and occupy the African region by Europeans, which was initiated by the activities of King Leopold II of Belgium in Congo (Stanard 17).The political repression patterns established in the 19^th Century colonial era are still shaping Congo’s political and economic dynamics currently. In the subsequent parts, the paper discusses thepolitical history of the Democratic Republic of Congo from the time just before Conrad arrived there to modern times and the influence of European presence on thecountry.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a vastcountry found in central Africa (Hancock 108). It is one of the countries with numerous natural resources.According to Stanard (73), the greedy and devious Leopold persuaded the world that his motive was to protect the natives in the year 1884. Bismark called for a Berlin Conference that was not attended by any African, not even Leopold. He convinced Iron Chancellor to give him the region and declare it as a free trade zone to eliminate Britain and Germany’s rivals in the area (Summaries 28). He faced difficulties in persuading the Belgian government to grant him the region. Leopold got the colony by himself in 1895, which ignited the scramble of Africa.As Hanock (112) asserts, Leopold II became the owner of the unoccupied jungle, which is significantly larger than Belgium itself without even going there, thus allowing him to implement his dream of ruling over the free state of Congo.

In the year 1885, the King introduced control over a territory that had no single political region before then (Stanard 97).  It had only a few colonial state officials administering a more significant part. His primary focus was on natural resources. Apart from yielding too much Ivory, he went through a struggle to make a profit. King Leopold II’sreliance was on severalcolonial companies, which he believed would help him govern the new territory.The practices that he acquired from the colonial companies, coupled with his cruel ruling,led topolitical and economic exploitation as prescribed under the company principle. Thus, through the influence over the colonial system, the majority of companies aligned closely with the colonial state.

Equally, there were many industrial mining activities taking place at the time.The mining generated excessive profits, which flowed out of the Congo to Belgium without benefiting the natives. Besides the loss of their natural wealth, King Leopard II’s power led to violence towardsthe Congolese, which was manifested in many forms, including the suppression of local political groups, forced migration of the antagonists, physical harm to social-cultural traditions of the people and mistreatment of the people (Hancock 117). Moreover, the destruction that was meted on the Congolese provoked frequent resistance against the rulers.As a result, during his ruling, he gave orders to massacre a vast number of opposing forces among the Congolese who stood against his economic appropriations within the country  (Hancock 119). Therefore, the Congolese lost their lives in wars between the slavers of Arab and king’s agents.

Independence became inevitable in 1959 after exposing the Congolese resistance to the colonial system,which appeared like a moment of anticipated possibilities (Stanard 193). Previous studies show that eliminating colonial systems entanglements based on political authorities would be difficult.Notably, opinions differed as to what decolonization would encompass. Soon after negotiations about independence began, the wish of Belgians was to establish an independent political system much like their own. However, according to the Congolese, their views were different (Summaries 11). They demanded economic and political freedom, with an urge to control and protect their resources as well as recover those stolen into Belgium. After the attainment of independence, Congo acquired a weak governance system, therefore, making the country prone to frequent economic and political manipulation.

Onthe 30^th of June 1960, the weak system of Congo found itself in danger within a few months of its independence. It was after the death of Patrick Lumumba, who was killed by Congolese actors. Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, the military man, took over power in September 1960as the permanent head of state (Hancock 113).He was used as a conduit for the Westerners to offer stability in aiding them to advance their interests within Congo. Unfortunately, after the failure to reinforce the financial exploitation and political nature that was established by Belgians,   Mobutu’s relationship with Belgium became complicated as he worked towards securing the country’s economic resources (119).  As a result, the end of the Cold War allowedLaurent-Désiré Kabila to take power fromthe Mobutu regime.He got help from Rwanda during a military campaign (Stanard 156). Once he was in control, he decided to distance himself from Rwanda. Rwanda, having learned a lesson from experience, sent two thousand troops to strike Congo, and this triggered war.The Great Wardestroyedthe Congo from east to west. Kabila and Rwanda’s relationship worsened and led to another campaign, which aimed at finding a replacement for him with a different rebel group from Congo. However, the South African forces coalition intervened, and the Congolese leader was saved.

            During his reign, economic conditions deteriorated than they were during Mobutu’s ruling. Kabila lacked political programs and only gave his family and friends jobs. For instance, he appointed his cousin as the chief of the armed forces and later let his son, Joseph Kabila to succeed him while just aged 29 years.Subsequently, the 2006 elections were considered, giving hope of a peaceful political environment for Congo’s future (Summaries 17). In 2011, he was re-elected for the final term in an election that was marred with malpractices. Subsequently, the elections of 2016 never took place since the deadline passed, as Kabila’s attempts to secure a third term did not succeed.It is evident that even if the 2018 elections were to be performed, there would be no more changes to the Congo. Currently, there is an increase in resistance against the new system and regime, which follows theresistanceagainst power abuse in Congo.

Based on this background, it can be seen that the European influence and manipulation of both the political and economic status of Congo under King Leopold II of Belgium activities triggered the scramble for resources beyond Congo (Stanard 189). It gave birth to scramble for territories in Africa and the division of the continent among the various European powers of the old nineteenth century.Partitioning of Africa provided a good foundation for the Europeans to colonize the continent (Hancock 109). After the partitioning, regions withEuropean country legal influence became a European country’s colony, controlled and protected by the specific statutory laws of the respective colonials. Moreover, the natives’ political institutions were also affected, where some crippled, leaving natives under foreign systems  (Stanard 133). Also, the poor demarcation of Africa’s boundaries by Europeans has significantly contributed to significant border issues affecting the Congo and its neighboring African states (Hancock 132). The aim of Europeans at the time was to exploit the natural resources rather than colonization and establishing the colonies.

In conclusion, Congo,as a country, is well endowed withnatural resources.King Leopold II scramble for Ivory in Congo led to the death of millions of Congolese natives. Also, the scramble to partition and occupy Africa countries by Europeans has many effects ranging from political to social, which altered the way of life for Africans, both economically and politically. The boundary in Africa by Europeans was a significant reason for the disputes that fueled wars between Congo and other African countries. Despite the hope that is attributed to the ongoing transitional government, the problems that face Congo now are pegged on the poor decisions that were made in the democratic government. However, the ongoing participation of Western countries in reestablishingeconomic and political systems would help to solve the problem in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Works cited

Hancock, Larry J. Shadow Warfare. Berkeley, California: Counterpoint, 2014.

Stanard, Matthew G. Selling the congo. Univ Of Nebraska Press, 2015.

Summaries, Bright. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis, and Reading Guide. Cork: Primento Digital, 2018. Print.