They speak and submit to a Mungu, one Nzambi, one Nzakomba, and what else I dont know. I have the honour to submit for your Majestys consideration some reflections respecting the Independent State of Congo, based upon a careful study and inspection of the country and character of the personal Government you have established upon the African Continent. They thought it meant complete subjugation, and they fled in confusion. The soldiers who open the combat are usually the bloodthirsty cannibalistic Bangalas, who give no quarter to the aged grandmother or nursing child at the breast of its mother. ELEVENTH.Your Majestys Government has concluded a contract with the Arab Governor at this place for the establishment of a line of military posts from the Seventh Cataract to Lake Tanganyika territory to which your Majesty has no more legal claim, than I have to be Commander-in-Chief of the Belgian army. It afforded me great pleasure to avail myself of the opportunity afforded me last year, of visiting your State in Africa; and how thoroughly I have been disenchanted, disappointed and disheartened, it is now my painful duty to make known to your Majesty in plain but respectful language. The white man took a percussion cap gun, tore the end of the paper which held the powder to the bullet, and poured the powder and paper into the gun, at the same time slipping the bullet into the sleeve of the left arm. At length he appealed to the Governor-General, and he gave him the woman and thus the trader obtained the child also. The original source came from blackpast. The officers made a wager of 5 that they could hit the native with their rifles. I cannot deal with the dimensions of these prisons in this letter, but will do so in my report to my Government. Search the history of over 806 billion Force them to pay you in sign of recognition goats, chicken or eggs every time you visit their villages. I appeal to Anti-Slavery Societies in all parts of Christendom, to Philanthropists, Christians, Statesmen, and to the great mass of people everywhere, to call upon the Governments of Europe, to hasten the close of the tragedy your Majestys unlimited Monarchy is enacting in the Congo. In a published open letter to King Leopold in 1890, Williams documented the massive enslavement, torture and killing of Africans by the king's subjects. Your email address will not be published. State soldiers patrol many villages forbidding the natives to trade with any person but a State official, and when the natives refuse to accept the price of the State, their goods are seized by the Government that promised them protection. Your essential role is to facilitate the task of administrators and industrials, which means you will go to interpret the gospel in the way it will be the best to protect your interests in that part of the world. Shocked by the widespread brutal abuses and slavery imposed on the Congolese, he wrote an open letter to Leopold in 1890 about the suffering of the regions native inhabitants at the hands of the kings agents. (1885) General Act of the Conference of Berlin, (1890) George Washington Williamss Open Letter to King Leopold on the Congo, (1947) W.E.B. . They are introduced by two methods, viz., black men are dispatched to the Portuguese coast where they engage these women as mistresses of white men, who pay to the procurer a monthly sum. An open letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold III, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo. These recruits are transported under circumstances more cruel than cattle in European countries. I love children but they have no place in my life, None of my colleagues at work knows that Im a transgender Read Montoyas Story, Gay, but married to a woman Read Jims story. In such slave-hunting raids one village is armed by the State against the other, and the force thus secured is incorporated with the regular troops. They intend to write a new open letter to the United Nations as a result. Needless to say, Caroline profited greatly from the King's attention, earning her the nickname "Queen of the Congo.". place for people to be able to obtain accurate information on African American heritage A scholarly primary source written by George Washington Williams. This is the words a letter from King Leopold II of Belgium to colonial missionaries in 1883: "Reverends, Fathers and Dear Compatriots: The task that is given to fulfill is very delicate and requires much tact. The African soldiers and labourers of your Majestys Government fare worse than the whites, because they have poorer quarters, quite as bad as those of the natives; and in the sheds, called hospitals, they languish upon a bed of bamboo poles without blankets, pillows or any food different from that served to them when well, rice and fish. And, of course, many die. The cruel and unjust treatment to which these people are subjected breaks the spirits of many of them, makes them distrust and despise your Majestys Government. Via degli Eucalipti, 9, 04024 Gaeta LT But I take the liberty to say that many of these officers are too young and inexperienced to be entrusted with the difficult work of dealing with native races. Posted on August 20, 2009 September 3, 2019 by contributed by: BlackPast. Washington Williams, George. Never invite him for dinner even if he gives you a chicken every time you arrive at his house.. If God punished Eve with painful childbirth, why do animals feel pain too? It taxes all trading companies and exempts its own goods from export-duty, and makes many of its officers ivory-traders, with the promise of a liberal commission upon all they can buy or get for the State. It afforded me great pleasure to avail myself of the opportunity afforded me last year, of visiting your State in Africa; and how thoroughly I have been disenchanted, disappointed and disheartened, it is now my painful duty to make known to your Majesty in plain but respectful language. 60 years after independence, traces of the system of exploitation and violence that Leopold II and colonial-era Belgium created still remain in DR Congo. . I make reference to their Mystic System and their war fetish warfare protection which they pretend not to want to abandon, and you must do everything in your power to make it disappear. The black servants in the hotel, where the wine had been stolen, had been often accused and beaten for these thefts, and now they were glad to be vindicated. He gave her tons of money, land, jewels, and even made her a baroness. The letter that he wrote to King Leopold, woke a society that didn't want to wake up. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja details the horrific abuses of Leopold's occupation and looting of the . Their mission statement is: All Rights Reserved. They know that to kill, to sleep with someone elses wife, to lie and to insult is bad. Other officers have served the State faithfully, and deserve well of their Royal Master. The State then hires these woman out to the highest bidder, the officers having the first choice and then the men. analyzing the situation and coming up with ways to make changes to help. Under Leopold II's administration, the Congo Free State became one of the greatest international scandals of the early 20th century. One copy is held with the Guy Carlton Papers in The National Archives of Great Britain in Read More(1783) The Book of Negroes, General Act of the Conference of Berlin Berlin, Germany Signed February 26, 1885 CHAPTER I DECLARATION RELATIVE TO FREEDOM OF TRADE IN THE BASIN OF THE CONGO, ITS MOUTHS AND CIRCUMJACENT REGIONS, WITH OTHER PROVISIONS CONNECTED THEREWITH Article I The trade of all nations shall Read More(1885) General Act of the Conference of Berlin, George Washington Williams, An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo By Colonel, The Honorable Geo. I was anxious to see to what extent the natives had adopted the fostering care of your Majestys benevolent enterprise (? It taxes all trading companies and exempts its own goods from export-duty, and makes many of its officers ivory-traders, with the promise of a liberal commission upon all they can buy or get for the State. But I take the liberty to say that many of these officers are too young and inexperienced to be entrusted with the difficult work of dealing with native races. They were a newly independent country . The laws printed and circulated in Europe for the Protection of the blacks in the Congo, are a dead letter and a fraud. But the cruelties visited upon soldiers and workmen are not to be compared with the sufferings of the poor natives who, upon the slightest pretext, are thrust into the wretched prisons here in the Upper River. NINTH.-Your Majestys Government has been, and is now, guilty of waging unjust and cruel wars against natives, with the hope of securing slaves and women, to minister to the behests of the officers of your Government. how he thought the Natives should be dealt with. or the care for the sick that was needed. This letter was a catalyst for an international outcry against the regime running the Congo, which had caused millions of deaths . George Washington Williams witnessed the extreme mistreatment of the Africans in the Congo, and wrote An Open Letter to King Leopold II as a response. This is the words a letter from King Leopold II of Belgium to colonial missionaries in 1883: Reverends, Fathers and Dear Compatriots: The task that is given to fulfill is very delicate and requires much tact. The propensity for violence is . When Leopold was 65, he took the 16-year-old prostitute Caroline Lacroix as his mistress. Read millions of eBooks and audiobooks on the web, iPad, iPhone and Android. In 1884 he said:. TENTH.Your Majestys Government is engaged in the slave-trade, wholesale and retail. issue he stands on. All the sleight-of- hand tricks had been carefully rehearsed, and he was now ready for his work. It buys and sells and steals slaves. HENRY M. STANLEYS name produces a shudder among this simple folk when mentioned; they remember his broken promises, his copious profanity, his hot temper, his heavy blows, his severe and rigorous measures, by which they were mulcted of their lands. : an American History (Eric Foner), George Washington WilliamS OPEN Letter TO KING Leopold. For thousands of years, that territory had been conquered by nearby Netherlands, France, Germany, and Luxembourg. They are ignorant and cruel, because they do not comprehend the natives; they are imposed upon them by the State. EIGHTH.Your Majestys Government has violated the General Act of the Conference of Berlin by firing upon native canoes; by confiscating the property of natives; by intimidating native traders, and preventing them from trading with white trading companies; by quartering troops in native villages when there is no war; by causing vessels bound from Stanley-Pool to Stanley-Falls, to break their journey and leave the Congo, ascend the Aruhwimi river to Basoko, to be visited and show their papers; by forbidding a mission steamer to fly its national flag without permission from a local Government; by permitting the natives to carry on the slave- trade, and by engaging in the wholesale and retail slave-trade itself. 6 Ibid, page 6 areas addressed the issues mainly the women being sold into the sex trade. all that was wrong with what was going on in the Congo. He witnessed the porters enslaved in chains, the brutal . SIXTH.Women are imported into your Majestys Government for immoral purposes. After having been impressed by meeting King Leopold II of Belgium, he traveled in 1890 to the Congo Free State ( then owned by the king) to see its development. Keep their women in nine months of submission to work freely for us. As I write, the news reaches me that these much- treasured and long-looked for materials of war are to be discharged at Basoko, and the Resident here is to be given the discretion as to the distribution of them. AT THE BEGINNING of August 1890, several weeks after he wrote his furious Open Letter to King Leopold II, George Washington Williams finished the long return journey down the Congo River to the station of Kinshasa, on Stanley Pool. This letter was accessed through the He turned his Congo Free State into a massive labour camp, made a fortune for himself from the harvest of its wild rubber, and contributed in a large way to the death of perhaps 10 million innocent people. In the Lower Congo River there is but One post, in the cataract region one. The other method is by capturing native women and condemning them to seven years servitude for some imaginary crime against the State with which the villages of these women are charged. In one war two Belgian Army officers saw, from the deck of their steamer, a native in a canoe some distance away. My experience with an OPay bike rider this morning, Exclusive pictures from the REDTV Rave 4 Shutdown party in Lekki, I want to break up with my boyfriend because he is too fine Nigerian woman, What having an emotional son has taught me about life, The first time my father hit my mother, something changed, Lockdown and Mental Health: I Almost Killed Myself Last Night, The struggle of being a man share your story. Three hundred Ntakabrassrod-is the price the State pays for a slave, when bought from a native. Dont give him more than one cigarette. I appeal to our Heavenly Father, whose service is perfect love, in witness of the purity of my motives and the integrity of my aims; and to history and mankind I appeal for the demonstration and vindication of the truthfulness of the charge I have herein briefly outlined. It buys and sells and steals slaves. I appeal to our Heavenly Father, whose service is perfect love, in witness of the purity of my motives and the integrity of my aims; and to history and mankind I appeal for the demonstration and vindication of the truthfulness of the charge I have herein briefly outlined. It has been fabricated by a Congolese, and circulates on the Internet already for years. There are only 2,300 soldiers in the Congo. Throughout my struggle for the independence of my country, I have never doubted for Read More(1960) Patrice Lumumbas Last Letter to Pauline Lumumba, Founding Charter of the Organization of African Unity May 25, 1963 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia We, the Heads of African States and Governments assembled in the City of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Convinced that it is the inalienable right of all people to control their own destiny, Read More(1963) Founding Charter of the Organization of African Unity. definitely one that I feel covers the subject in a way that makes it clear what his objective With few exceptions, the surgeons of your Majestys Government have been gentlemen of professional ability, devoted to duty, but usually left with few medical stores and no quarters in which to treat their patients. Washington. But of all the awful crimes they committed, Belgiums King Leopold II left arguably the largest and most horrid legacy of all. Passerino Editore He describes the atrocities in detail were being abused in the home country and he wanted there to be changes in the country justice, fortitude and patience. He wanted to help the Belgium King see how the natives Next came the lens act. Their letters never reach home. The primary source as the title suggests is an open letter At the end of the 19th century, the Europeans scrambled for control of Africa. I appeal to the Belgian people and to their Constitutional Government, so proud of its traditions, replete with the song and story of its champions of human liberty, and so jealous of its present position in the sisterhood of European Statesto cleanse itself from the imputation of the crimes with which your Majestys personal State of Congo is polluted. Sentiments of American Negro Leaders on Africa From the 1800s to the Twelve charges against the governemt. Public domain image. Washington was a Lawyer, Politician, Journalist . Microform in English. From Leopoldville to NGombe, a distance of more than 300 miles, there is not a single soldier or civilian. He stated when talking about the younger officers They have estranged the natives from your Majestys Government, have sown the seed of discord between tribes and villages, and some of them have stained the uniform of the Belgian officer with murder, arson and robbery. I have the honour to submit for your Majestys consideration some reflections respecting the Independent State of Congo, based upon a careful study and inspection of the country and character of the personal Government you have established upon the African Continent. was to expose atrocities and ask for change. His Heart of Darkness is an accurate description of the Congo drawn from his experience. They are the greatest curse the country suffers now. In such slave-hunting raids one village is armed by the State against the other, and the force thus secured is incorporated with the regular troops. The natives can scarcely subsist upon the vegetable life produced in some parts of the country. All the sleight-of- hand tricks had been carefully rehearsed, and he was now ready for his work. These black soldiers, many of whom are slaves, exercise the power of life and death. He then fought in two more wars, until injury forced him to retire. With few exceptions, the surgeons of your Majestys Government have been gentlemen of professional ability, devoted to duty, but usually left with few medical stores and no quarters in which to treat their patients. King Leopold II had obtained the Congo to supposedly enrich the lives of the people who lived there. Leopold II, French in full Lopold-Louis-Philippe-Marie-Victor, Dutch in full Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor, (born April 9, 1835, Brussels, Belgiumdied December 17, 1909, Laeken), king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. mv2488 statement of vehicle transfer, kevin maloney obituary, update android head unit to android 11,