Western Civilization II / Unit 13 WC2 1212 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Leopold's Congo Free State: Rubber, Hostages, Hands, and 1908
Captions available
The idea
The conference made the Congo Free State Leopold's personal fiefdom. Companies leased it and enforced rubber quotas by raids, floggings, hostage-taking of women and children, and mutilation. The population halved in twenty-five years, the anchor says. Exposure by journalists and Conrad forced Belgium's parliament to take it in nineteen oh-eight.
In practice
The severed hands, photographed.
Where people slip
The halving is the anchor's figure.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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