Eyes on the Heart of Africa - Visual Essay#1
A visual essay looking at the colonial presence in the DRC
Notes
[Image #1] Friends of Congo has a Reading List for anyone interested in learning more about the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the people’s longstanding legacy of resistance for freedom, sovereignty and independence from Western imperial powers. On my save for later list is “White Malice: The CIA and the Neocolonialization of Africa” by Susan Williams and “Challenge of the Congo” by Kwame Nkrumah. The following series of visuals is inspired by spending time with Professor Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja’s seminal work, “The Congo - From Leopold to Kabila: A People’s History.” Off top, every Black/African person should read this. Anyone setting their feet on the path towards decolonization should read this. Anyone looking at our lives right now and the multiple global crises be it the numerous uprisings, protests from land and water defenders, our struggles with our government officials ability to truly be about the people, should read this. Anyone working on readjusting their values and principles, ie: cleansing themselves of internalized white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, should read this. Professor Nzongola is doing some major channeling as he really breaks down the many ways the Congolese people have been fighting and struggling for liberation from the grips of multiple European governments, entities, and corporations. It is a lot and is touching on so many things. A full review of this will come later. For now, here are a few images to pique interest and maybe many of you will find some time to tap in.
[Image #1.1] Mr. Big Thief, Leopold II (son of Leopold I the first King of the Belgians) declared himself ruler and sole owner of Congolese lands officially in 1885 and ruled for the next 23 years until 1908. His capitalist fixation began in the early 1870s, with Leopold closely watching the adventures of Henry Morton Stanley (British-born American Journalist known for his “discoveries” along the Congo river). In 1876, he organized a conference which would lead to the creation of the association internationale africaine (AIA). Under Leopold’s leadership and Stanley’s knowledge of the interiors of the DRC, the AIA was created for “the humanitarian venture and scientific research and economic development of Central Africa, ” (Nzongola, p. 15). Oh, the lies they tell. No humanitarian efforts were even thought of or created. In fact, Leopold goes on to create additional bodies of power (ie: the Association Internationale du Congo, AIC) in order to cement his authority and grant permissions for explorations into to the DRC. This results in Morton going back to the DRC in 1879 where he then precedes to manipulate and/or “force” treaties upon indigenous African leaders “...who by placing a thumb mark on a piece of paper, ceded their lands and territories to the AIC, and its flag, a blue standard with a single gold star in the middle,” (Nzongola, p. 16). The U.S will become the first country to recognize and affirm this flag and Belgian’s authority in the Congo as legitimate in 1884.
[Image #2] Bula Matari is the name given Henry Stanley Morton for his destructive and violent colonial ways. It means smasher of rocks. Morton used dynamite to blow through the mountain ranges in the Lower Congo in order to meet his and the Belgians expansionist goals. He then went on to build and establish trading posts along the river from Boma to Kisangani.
[Images #3-5] The weeping tree, the crying tree, landolphia owariensis, these are just a few of the names used to describe the tree that excretes latex when it is cut. This latex would become a key component in the emerging global demand for rubber for the production of tires and wheels. Leopold II became fixated on this abundant resource and continued with his patterns of thievery and violence by declaring the lands vacant and thus public property. He then forced Congolese people into a rhythm of cultivating the trees and extracting the rubber so that he could amass wealth. The mass killing of elephants was also taking place in order to acquire their tusks (ie ivory). Congolese people were forced to meet certain quotas and if they failed to meet it, agents of Leopold’s regime would beat, rape and/or brutally maim their bodies as punishment. Under Leopold’s 23 year rule, “a death toll of holocaust proportions that is estimated to be as high as 10 million people,” (Nzongola, p 22).
[Image #6] From 1908 - 1960, the DRC was no longer under the rulership of Leopold II but a combination of the “colonial trinity” which consist of the Belgian government, the Catholic church, and major companies. Claiming on the surface to be different the Leopold regime, these entities continued their pattern of colonial control and subjugation. For example, the Belgian government and the Lever Brothers formed a company in order to exploit the land and resources. Along with the weeping trees and ivory, Congolese people were coerced and forced to labor in “palm concessions” in order to harvest and cultivate palms and their fruits for their palm oil in order to meet the capitalist desires of Western businesses (We Were Left With Barely Anything). “Forced to ensure painful working conditions and poorly remunerated, Congolese people were rarely drawn voluntarily into the fruit cutting workforce. The company’s already fragile profitability rested mainly on resort to menace and coercion to secure its needs in manpower. Recruitment had to be performed in an increasingly coercive manner and in collaboration with colonial power brokers such as the territorial administration and indigenous leaders.”
[Image #7] These images are just a tiny glimpse into what Professor Nzongola teaches and shares in Chapter #1 “Congo From Leopold to Kabila - A People’s History”. He gets into early resistance efforts toward to Colonial rule. Definitely hoping to create some more images that speak to this legacy as well. Stay tuned…