Location
DePauw Libraries, Roy O. West Library Wood Study
Start Date
29-11-2023 1:20 PM
End Date
29-11-2023 1:30 PM
Presentation Type
Essay
Description
The Congo, placed in the heart of Africa, is filled with landscapes that are Often compared to descriptions of heaven. A country approximately the size of Western Europe with an estimated $24 trillion worth of minerals buried deep within the heart of darkness. The Congo could be the jewel of Africa, if not one of the most prosperous countries in the world. But a further gaze underneath the lush canopies of the Congolese jungle would find nothing but the ghosts of millions of Congolese victims to the Europeans and Americans. Whose greed and savagery turned this once thought of paradise into hell on earth. In order to gain control of the Congo’s political and economic systems, Belgium and the United States attempted to destabilize the Congo through orchestrated covert efforts to overthrow the government and assassinate Patrice Lumumba. The Congo has dealt with some of the 19th and 20th centuries' most consequential and unnecessary tragedies, suffering unspeakable atrocities at the hands of Belgian and American tyranny. Nevertheless, after 75 years of suppression, the Congolese gained independence from Belgian colonial rule in 1960 . Despite the trope that all stories end happily, the history of Congolese Independence proves otherwise. Belgian and American policies did not prioritize Congolese freedom and independence, as they failed to align with their Cold War African economic and political agenda. In order to gain control of the Congo’s political and economic systems, Belgium and the United States attempted to destabilize the Congo through orchestrated covert efforts to overthrow the government and assassinate Patrice Lumumba.
Included in
Crisis in the Heart of Darkness: Navigating the Complexities of the Congo Crisis 1960-1961
DePauw Libraries, Roy O. West Library Wood Study
The Congo, placed in the heart of Africa, is filled with landscapes that are Often compared to descriptions of heaven. A country approximately the size of Western Europe with an estimated $24 trillion worth of minerals buried deep within the heart of darkness. The Congo could be the jewel of Africa, if not one of the most prosperous countries in the world. But a further gaze underneath the lush canopies of the Congolese jungle would find nothing but the ghosts of millions of Congolese victims to the Europeans and Americans. Whose greed and savagery turned this once thought of paradise into hell on earth. In order to gain control of the Congo’s political and economic systems, Belgium and the United States attempted to destabilize the Congo through orchestrated covert efforts to overthrow the government and assassinate Patrice Lumumba. The Congo has dealt with some of the 19th and 20th centuries' most consequential and unnecessary tragedies, suffering unspeakable atrocities at the hands of Belgian and American tyranny. Nevertheless, after 75 years of suppression, the Congolese gained independence from Belgian colonial rule in 1960 . Despite the trope that all stories end happily, the history of Congolese Independence proves otherwise. Belgian and American policies did not prioritize Congolese freedom and independence, as they failed to align with their Cold War African economic and political agenda. In order to gain control of the Congo’s political and economic systems, Belgium and the United States attempted to destabilize the Congo through orchestrated covert efforts to overthrow the government and assassinate Patrice Lumumba.
Comments
Prepared as part of Dr. Barbara Whitehead's HIST 490: History Senior Seminar.