Summary
Highlights
The video begins by calling Unit 6 'gross' due to the widespread racism, suffering, exploitation, and overall nastiness of the historical period. It introduces King Leopold II of Belgium as the 'MVP' who encapsulates all the grossness of this era, characterized by greed and a lack of accountability for terrible deeds.
King Leopold II ruled Belgium for 44 years, from 1865 to 1909. At the Berlin Conference in 1884, he personally gained control of the Congo under the guise of improving the lives of its people. However, he transformed the Congo into his personal rubber plantation. Those who failed to meet rubber quotas or harvested unsustainably faced brutal punishment, including having their hands cut off.
Missionaries in the Congo extensively chronicled these horrors. A notable photograph by Alice Seely Harris in 1904 shows Nsala, whose wife and daughter were killed and mutilated by Leopold's men. Literary figures like Joseph Conrad, with his novel 'Heart of Darkness' (1899), and 19th-century celebrities like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Mark Twain, also spoke out. Mark Twain's 1905 pamphlet, 'King Leopold's Soliloquy,' famously satirized Leopold's defense of his actions.
Between 10 and 20 million Congolese were murdered under King Leopold's regime. Despite his horrific actions, statues of Leopold still exist in Belgium. In the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Belgian protestors demanded their removal, though some officials claimed removals were for 'public safety' rather than acknowledgment of his atrocities. The video concludes by emphasizing Leopold's importance for understanding Unit 6: Imperialism and transitions to the contemporary period starting in 1900.