Name: History's deadliest king - by Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja
Uploaded: 2021-07-09T14:32:10.000Z
Duration: 5 min 55 s
Description: VoiceTubeの動画で発音を聞きながら英語表現を覚えよう！学べる英語：

On December 12, 1904,  Chief Lontulu laid 110 twigs

関係詞節（制限と非制限）

Every twig represented a person  in his village who died

because of King Leopold's horrific regime in the Congo—

Chief Lontulu separated the twigs  into four piles:

tribal nobles, men, women, and children—

then proceeded to name the dead of one-by-one.

His testimony joined hundreds of others to help bring an end

to one of the greatest atrocities  in history.

European countries participated in the so-called “Scramble for Africa.”

exploiting African resources  and enriching their countries.

Belgium had recently become an independent kingdom.

Its ruler, Leopold II,  wanted to acquire what he called

“a slice of this magnificent  African cake.”

Meanwhile, he read colonial explorer  Henry Morton Stanley's reports

Stanley emphasized  the Congo basin's majesty.

So, in 1879, Leopold contracted him to return to the Congo.

There, Stanley deceived leaders  into signing some 450 treaties

Leopold persuaded the US and European powers to grant him ownership

pledging to protect free trade  in the region.

And on May 29, 1885, a territory more than 80 times the size of Belgium

and home to 20 million people was declared his own private colony—

Leopold lost no time consolidating power  in what he called the Congo Free State.

and forced many Congolese men to complete unpaid labor.

a Scottish inventor redeveloped the pneumatic tire,

creating a massive international market for rubber.

The Congo had one of the world's largest supplies.

requiring villages to meet  ever-greater rubber quotas.

Congolese men had to harvest the material from wild vines.

As supplies drained, they walked for days to gather enough.

Leopold's army entered villages and held  women and children hostage

Soldiers sexually violated women  and deprived children of food and water.

they refused to cooperate,  fought Leopold's soldiers,

hid in the forests,  and destroyed rubber vines.

Leopold's army responded to resistance  or failure to meet quotas

Because guns and ammunition were expensive,

officers ordered soldiers to prove they  used their bullets in the line of duty

by removing a hand from anyone  they killed.

However, many soldiers hunted  using their guns.

To avoid harsh penalties and account  for lost bullets,

They also used this practice as punishment.

soldiers would sever people's hands and bring them to their commanders

The regime dramatically upended daily life and agriculture,

causing widespread starvation and disease.

Meanwhile, King Leopold built monuments  and private estates

Soon, people brought international attention to the horrific abuses

In 1890, American journalist  George Washington Williams

accused King Leopold of “deceit, fraud,  robberies, arson,

murder, slave-raiding, and [a] general policy of cruelty.”

In 1903, Diplomat Roger Casement  wrote a report that corroborated

In response, Leopold appointed his own  commission to investigate the accusations.

They heard numerous witness statements  in the Congo— Chief Lontulu's included.

Facing pressure, Leopold relinquished  control of the Congo

The Belgian state awarded Leopold 50 million francs

“in testimony for his great sacrifice  in favor of the Congo.”

For more than 50 years following, the Congo remained a Belgian colony,

That year, the Congo elected its first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba.

But months later, he was unseated  in a US and Belgium backed coup.

In early 1961, Lumumba was assassinated  under Belgian supervision.

The coup launched the country  into a decades-long dictatorship.

Around 10 million Congolese people  are thought to have died

during Leopold's occupation and looting  of the Congo.

Despite this devastation, calls  for reparations have gone unanswered.

To this day, throughout Belgium can be  found the monuments King Leopold built

on a foundation of inconceivable cruelty.

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History's deadliest king - by Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja

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