A case study of ruthless exploitation of labour and land in colonial Africa.

The area referred to as the Congo is that geographical region drained by the Congo River. This area was at early stages an area of informal activities manned by the Portuguese in the period when it was a world power in navigation. They were carrying out some trade in the area but without its full-scale political control.

In around the 1876, the area witnessed the activities of Leopold II who came up with his philanthropic (humanitarian) association called International African Association. (I.A.A) that he formed in Brussels (Belgium) after convening a meeting of major  world powers represented by their explorers, geographers, merchants and other humanitarian agencies whom he convinced that the aim of this association was purely "humanitarian" intentioned to stop slave trade and other barbaric practices in the Congo Free State then "develop" the area.

In 1879-1880, Leopold II got Stanley the famous explorer and an imperialist who agreed to work as his agent in securing treaties all over Congo that he was to use later in justifying his hold over the Congo Free State, for example, with the Viri chiefs south of river Congo.

With constant use of tricks, diplomacy and tactics, he managed to out-do other European powers that were interested in controlling Congo i.e. Portugal, Britain, France and Germany in that by 1885,'Belgium had become the supreme controller of Congo.

In 1884-85 Berlin Conference Leopold II satisfied the members that Belgium should fully take over Congo Free State as he fulfilled all the required conditions to take control of a given territory in colonial Africa. It was after these successful maneuvers that he set himself to exploit the area in a close-monopoly although there were some manifested resistance cases in the course of his exploitation.

The colonial economy was characterised by exploitation, oppression, and later followed by resistance although there were some infrastructual developments that were designed to facilitate the exploitation of Congo resources where the natives came to benefit accidentally.

1.   Exploitation:

This was of different forms ranging from land alienation, forced labour and taxation.

(a)  Land: Through land policy that he declared, Leopold was able to exploit land maximumly. He attracted different European firms and especially of Belgium origin which he granted in concessions. This was the first move he made to leave Africans in the Congo powerless or less resistant.

For example, he attracted and entered railway building contract with Campagnie Du Congo Pour Le Commerce of Industrial (C.C.C.l). This company was to build railways from port Matadi to Leopold Ville and in exchange of 5.5 km of railway built, the company was to get 1km of land. The result was loss of about 3000 Sq. Km of land to favourable railway construction companies of Leopold II.

He also gave another company called Campagne Du Katanga a third of all vacant lands in Congo to satisfy their selfish ends. Leopold II reserved much of the fertile land for his personal use. This he termed it as crown land. All these were Leopold's techniques to exploit Congo resources.

In another policy of the regime Dominaile, Leopold declared that all vacant land in Congo was government land and was to be exploited by the Congo government on behalf of the local Africans.

Europeans in Congo-Belgium had the right to distribute such land amongst themselves, ousting Africans. Apart from its direct implication, this policy also neglected the Congolese land tenure system then practiced by Africans in the area. This land had formerly been used for gathering, shifting cultivation, hunting among others. hence after this enactment policy, Africans could not carry on with all these activities on their traditional land.

(b)  Taxation: Exploitation was shown in the taxation system imposed by Leopold's regime. Africans were to pay taxes in form of rubber or Ivory. This was exploitation because lots of revenues received was to directly help in solving the bankruptcy of Leopold IFs I.A.A Association and if any access existed, it was used to develop Belgium and not Congo hence subjecting the Congolese to Open exploitation.

They did not bother to construct roads using Congo revenues except the few which helped in more exploitation of the interior. It's this factor which partly explains why up to 1914 only 1400 miles of roads had been constructed and yet the revenues received were great.

No effective health services (hospitals and dispensaries) were put in place for the benefit of the local Africans in the Congo. It's due to such neglect that Malaria, sleeping sickness and small pox epidemics had killed many people by 1910.

(c)   Forced labour: Leopold's regime insisted on flogging to force the local people offer their labour services to satisfy the local demands. The Companies employed Africans at "Slave wages" or even nothing at all and yet revenue collected out of their sweat was great.

Compulsory labour was recruited for the maintenance of roads, railways, clearing up government stations and colonial offices.

Africans were also forced to supply labourers to work in rubber plantations. This was especially during the rubber boom (1895-1905), This policy was exploitative in that Africans were not paid anything worth their toil not even enough for their subsistence life.

To exploit African labour properly, Africans were required to pay heavy taxes in form of rubber. Ivory or Palm Oil. Wild rubber in Congo brought a lot of profits to the Campanies because it was on high demand in Europe for making car and bicycle tyres. Rubber was so profitable that in 1896-1905 period, Leopold alone got a profit of three million pounds.

(d)  Trade: Colonial policy in Congo did not favour the development of free trade. Leopold 11 made Congo his private property for exploitation as an individual. The suffering caused by Leopold's agents and campanies led to public outcry and caused an international pressure on methods of administration and Leopold II. To end this pressure Congo control was transferred into the hands of Belgium government which also never changed much from the methods of Lepold II's work.

2.   Oppression:

This was another aspect that characterised the Leopold-Congo regime. He had created a Force Publique which was on pretext of keeping law and order. But in reality he used this for suppression and oppression of the Congolese masses. This was a force that implemented his ruthless taxation policy,

The tax paid in rubber and ivory was not only exploitative but the method of extracting was rather oppressive. It involved flogging, chaining or death if one failed to pay.

The regime also stressed the need to pay the tax hence making Africans leave their local subsistence duties for the forests (to tap rubber). The result was insufficient food supply and famine. Activities like farming, fishing were left by Africans and yet they were subsistence farmers hence a big problem.

Another way in which the people were oppressed was by punitive expeditions sent against the villages and even in forest where some had escaped to. If others resisted, they were tortured, their homes destroyed and many others killed in the process hence oppression of the natives.

Mutilation was another form of oppression. This was administered to those who were got as captives who had failed to listen to Belgium colonial law among others. On 15th November 1895, an American missionary called Reverend John B. Murphy said that:

"Each town in the district is forced to bring a certain quantity of rubber to the headquarters of commissioner on every Sunday. It is collected by force. The soldiers drive the people into the bush. In case of resistance, they are shot down and their left hands cut off and taken as trophies to the commissioner". This is an indication of ruthless exploitation and oppression in Congo Belgium.

Generally, the soldiers did not care whom they shot down and more often they shoot poor hopeless women and harmless children. These cut hands, i.e. the hands of men, women and children were placed in rows before the D. Commessaire who counted them and appreciated the work done by his soldiers. This was a very destructive act, hostile and quite oppressive.

Questions

1.                How did Congo became the property of King Leopold II?

2.                Discuss Leopold’s policies in Congo Free State.

3.                Assess the role of Leopold in the scramble and partitioning of Africa.

Leopold was one of the leading European personalities during the era of European imperialism, he had become the King of Belgium in 1865 and it was after this period that he started preparing way to establish a personal empire in Africa and the desire to take control over the under developed parts of Central Africa forced him to establish an organisation known as the International African Association (IAA) in 1876 with the aim of establishing commercial and scientific stations in Central Africa which he wanted to be controlled by the missionaries as later seen in the station at Tabora which he wanted to use to stop slave trade.

However, by 1879, Leopold had begun to show interest in colonialism and acquiring of wealth and he therefore used H.M. Stanley a journalist and explorer to meet his objectives especially of developing Congo as a personal empire.

It’s worth noting that Stanley had already been in Central Africa where he met Dr. David Livingstone and therefore had a proper knowledge of the region and it’s economic viability such that when his attempts to convince Britain to occupy Congo, failed, he became a sympathizer of Leopold’s interests in acquiring Congo.  Therefore, for a period of five years (1879-1887) Stanley spent his time exploring Congo, he established new roads, rivers between Kisangani and the Atlantic coast as a mechanism of controlling trade activities in the Congo basin.

Leopold’s interests and the activities of his agent Stanley greatly threatened France who decided to send De Brazza to establish French influence in Congo and indeed on his arrival he signed a treaty with Chief Makoko known as the De-Brazza- Makoko Treaty.

The De Brazza-Makoko treaty worried Leopold a great deal for he realised he could lose Congo and that other powers had also developed interest.  It was under this state of affairs that Leopold decided to establish political control over the Congo region, he also encouraged Stanley to acquire more treaties with the Congolese Chiefs especially in the South of River Congo.

It was these treaties that Leopold used to seek support from European powers to recognise his leadership over Congo such as France, Germany, U.S.A and Britain whom he called upon to keep Congo as a free trade areas than other European powers controlling it.

This state of affairs only precipitated the pace at which European powers rushed for colonies especially countries such as France which had hoped to control Congo and therefore Leopold needed more support which he got from Bismarck of Germany whom he supported to make claims in other parts of Africa in return for the Germans’ support.  He also convinced America that his mission in Congo was purely philanthropic i.e to stop slave trade and therefore won their support such that by the 1880’s Leopold had won a considerable sympathy from European countries except for Britain which had traded in Congo and had even signed a treaty with Portugal giving them the right to control the mouth of River Congo as one way of pushing her out of Central Africa.

The introduction of Portuguese rule on the mouth of River Congo increased the threat on Leopold whose access to the Atlantic coast was blocked and he therefore he had to find ways of making sure that the Portuguese interests were jeopardised and he did this by developing cordial relations with Britain with whom he started offering good business contracts and even promised Britain that he wouldn’t interfere with her trading activities in Congo.  It was an end result that Britain decided to abandon the Anglo- Portuguese agreement of Congo.

It was under these circumstances at the climax of the scramble for Africa that Otto Von Bismarck one of the contenders in the colonial race called upon the European powers to meet in the German city of Berlin among whose acts was the recognition of Congo as Leopards state of control and to allow River Congo to be a free navigational area which made it difficult for any European power to prevent Leopold from having access to the Atlantic, coast.  Although France was allowed to keep her territory from Makoko, Leopold occupied the rest of Congo including the mineral regions of Katanga in what came to be known as the Congo Free State purely considered the property of Leopold himself than of the Belgium government until 1908.

The rule of Leopold II therefore traces its way from 1885-1908 when Congo was run as the personal property of Leopold who employed a number of policies in his administration whose central government was located in Brussels Belgium which means therefore that Leopold controlled Congo on a remote with the army stationed in Congo purely run by Belgium officials.  The judicial system, civil service but with Leopold as the sole proprietor.

 In the economic sphere, Congo was seen as a personal commercial empire of Leopold and the role was to help private investors to establish their business in Congo especially those from Belgium.  Among the most outstanding policies that were employed by Leopold in the exploitation of Congo was the “Regime Dominial” and according to this policy all areas declared “vacant” in Congo were to be controlled by the government of Belgium, exploited in terms of raw materials such as minerals, rubber, ivory that were carried to Belgium.  These were usually referred to as “Dominial products” which were usually exploited by investors from Belgium.

This was not a very successful policy until Leopold did establish companies or gave rights to companies to carry out the exploitation of the areas.

Secondly, there was the use of concessionaire companies.  Its worth noting that although Leopold succeeded in the abolition of slavery and slave trade in Congo, the suffering of Africans was far from the end such that after alienating Africans from the fertile areas i.e economically viable areas, Leopold begun to attract private capital through granting land and mineral rights to European companies that were to open up the interior for legitimate trade through construction of roads and railways, acquire vast land to develop plantation agriculture especially palm oil and rubber that were then at high demand in Europe. 

It’s therefore in this regard that Leopold in 1886 made a contract with “Campagne Du Congo Pour Le Commerce et L’ industrie” (CCCI) which agreed to build a railway round the lower Congo from Matadi to Leopold Ville in exchange the company was to have 1,500 hectares of land for every kilometer of railway constructed.

The lower Congo railway resulted into the alienation of about 3,000 square miles of land, similar contracts were made with other companies such as the company Du Katanga which was to build a railway from Katanga to Lake Tanganyika while others exploited the interior such that other lands that weren’t under these companies were to be “crown lands” run by Leopold himself;  this land which was leased to private companies was leased on profit sharing basis, hence leading to the exploitation of the whole of Congo Free State.

Furthermore Leopold and the concessionaire companies used forced labour as a mechanism of increasing their profits whereby Africans were supposed to work; collect rubber by force, grow palm.  One of the most notorious economic policies of the time where men, women and children were herded into forests to collect rubber by soldiers and any attempts to resist were paid by death.  As an end result, African farmers were forced to abandon villages and flee to the forests to flee from company agents and punishing expeditions resulting into neglect of farming and fishing leading to starvation famine and depopulation for example its argued that in the period of 20 years, the population in Congo had fallen by two-thirds from over 20 million people.

Like many colonial economies, Congo Free State used the policy of taxes in cash and kind, that is in form of rubber, ivory, palm oil all of which brought profits to companies because they were in high demand to make tyres for bicycles and cars in Europe.  For instance, its argued that Leopold alone got a profit of  £3 million between 1896 - 1905, this was another mechanism of exploiting the African resource.

Closely related, Africans were paid very little for tapping rubber and handing it over to European agents for in most cases it was taken free of charge and regarded as a “tax” but they suffered more than financial losses for it’s said that failure to deliver the required amount of rubber was punished by flogging, chaining, mutilation, imprisonment, burning of villages and at worst death little wonder therefore that the colonial economies caused a lot of resistance and suffering of the masses.

Colonial economic policies in Congo also didn’t favour the development of free trade for the country was the private property of Leopold II and the free state was a colonial enterprise of the worst kind.  The suffering of the people caused by Leopold and his agents led to a public out cry that caused international pressure on Belgium to take over the control of Congo Free State in 1908.

Industries were undermined.  For Congo was rendered purely a producer of raw materials like palm oil and rubber.  The education system was also intended to impoverish the Africans in Congo because much of the curriculum only maintained an African at the position that he was found.

It was therefore as a result of the above exploitative policies of Leopold and his concessionaire companies that the international community called on the Belgian government to take over the control of the free state.  Therefore in 1908, the Belgium government took over control of the Congo Free State in what became the Belgian Congo.

The reign of the Belgian government in Congo had very little improvement in the short run because the government had inherited from Leopold the contracts with the concessionaire companies and left them in possession of their vast territories.

Closely related, Leopold and the companys’ soldiers the very men guilty of appalling atrocities that had been committed and recruited into “Force Publique” were also inherited from Leopold.  Therefore, it’s argued that the period after 1900 witnessed an era of decline in suffering of the Africans especially in the rubber industry that only ended with the collapse of the rubber boom on the world market.

In Conclusion therefore, Historians have rightly argued that nowhere in colonial Africa did the exploitation of land and labour reach such worrying proportions.  The period between 1885 - 1908 has been described as “a dark period for the people of Congo” for it was an era of exploitation and oppression of the Congolese population all in the names of Leopold colonial exploitation that was only relieved by the end of the rubber boom between 1906 - 1910.

POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION LEFT BEHIND BY CONGO BELGIUM.

Their stay at least improved the economic situation through trade, businesses, although Africans almost benefited nothing. Many urban trading centers were set up for example Matandi, Leopold II among others.

Much of the interior was opened up through the construction of many railway lines. Although the primary aim for their construction was to ease the exploitation of resources, it must be accepted that Africans accidentally gained, for example, Katanga-Tanganyika railway and port Matadi-Kasai railway. This cheapened the transport costs in the area and they still exist today.

Transformation of rubber from a wild plant to domestic cash crop. It should be recalled that rubber was in existence long before the coming of Belgium rule but growing in a wild form and therefore less profitable. They left Congo in late 20th century when it was the main cash crop with a lot of profits. Rubber plantation centres were all served with the necessary infrastructure.

Increase in mining companies: mineral prospectors increased along with a number of mining companies, for example Coruite Special Du Katanga, Tanganyika Concessions (tanks) and the union minor Du Katanga of 1902. All these were competing in the interior of Congo. This left Katanga as one of Africa's major mineral producing area next to Witwatersrand in South Africa.

They also set up some schools and hospitals which atleast benefited the Africans after their colonial rule. These later increased the standards of living of Congolese although they were primarily meant for whites.

RESISTANCE CASES AGAINST LEOPOLD II’S POLICIES.

In above hostile circumstances of exploitation and oppression, Africans in Congo had to resist. This was either directly by picking up arms and resisting the Belgians or by refusing to supply the wanted services (passive resistance) or by fleeing into forests or as in some special cases by robbing caravans as a way of disorganizing Belgium exploiters.

The most resistance that rose up for the loss of independence was that of Azande kingdom in 1892-1912 period. Another society was the Yeke Kingdom which followed the views of their king who stated that

"I am the master here and as long as 1 live, Yeke kingdom has no other".

He refused Belgium to set up a military post near his capital Bukenya. He was however killed in 1891 and his army destroyed.

Between 1903-1905 forced labour problems made Babua to rise up against Belgium rule. Also the Bakuba and Bayaka people formed a political and religious movement against Leopold's regime. In another instance, Africans refused to pay tax in form of ivory and rubber. They escaped and joined the French central African Empire that was at least peaceful at the time. Others organised raids on rubber and Ivory caravans and in ase they could be attacked by Force Publique, they could run to forests and swamps.

However, all these forms of resistance were subdued by Leoplold's forces. On the other hand, Leopold suppressed all these resistance cases and concentrated on exploitation of Congo. Although Belgium government later took over the control, they never changed much.