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. It may be safely asserted that no barbarous people have ever so readily adopted the fostering care of benevolent enterprise, as have the tribes of the Congo, and never was there a more honest and practical effort made to increase their knowledge and secure their welfare. Otis Moss, III: The Criminalization of Blackness, #NowWhatBmore: Baltimore hosts a townhall on what lessons it can learn from #Ferguson. TENTH.Your Majestys Government is engaged in the slave-trade, wholesale and retail. The primary source as the title suggests is an open letter They are ignorant and cruel, because they do not comprehend the natives; they are imposed upon them by the State. 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. Williams to King Leopold on the Congo, 1890. There are only 2,300 soldiers in the Congo. Do you find this information helpful? 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. Rev. You must singularly insist on their total submission and obedience, avoid developing the spirit in the schools, teach students to read and not to reason. The third act was the gun trick. Your action will be directed essentially to the younger ones, for they wont revolt when the recommendation of the priest is contradictory to their parents teachings. Read millions of eBooks and audiobooks on the web, iPad, iPhone and Android. Often these ox-chains eat into the necks of the prisoners and produce sores about which the flies circle, aggravating the running wound; so the prisoner is constantly worried. Government are abortive, unjust, partial and delinquent 6 , and Women are imported into George Washington Williams was an impressive individual. 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. ), and I was doomed to bitter disappointment. A cap was placed upon the nipple of the gun, and the black brother was implored to step off ten yards and shoot at his white brother to demonstrate his statement that he was a spirit, and, therefore, could not be killed. 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. Against the deceit, fraud, robberies, arson, murder, slave-raiding, and general policy of cruelty of your Majestys Government to the natives, stands their record of unexampled patience, long-suffering and forgiving spirit, which put the boasted civilisation and professed religion of your Majestys Government to the blush. 7 Ibid, page 7 These recruits are transported under circumstances more cruel than cattle in European countries. This first salvo would not undo Leopold but it paved the way for others. Dont give him more than one cigarette. At length he appealed to the Governor-General, and he gave him the woman and thus the trader obtained the child also. They were a newly independent country . And, of course, many die. The staple argument was that the white mans heart had grown sick of the wars and rumours of war between one chief and another, between one village and another; that the white man was at peace with his black brother, and desired to confederate all African tribes for the general defense and public welfare. to an end. in order to generate constructive change in our society. Your principal objective in our mission in the Congo is never to teach the niggers to know God, this they know already. and more. Not long ago such a recaptured slave was given one hundred chikote each day until he died. 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. After reading through this letter it is clear that Williams had a strong stance on Your Majestys Government gives 3 per head for able bodied slaves for military service. It is not my duty to criticise the unlawful and unconstitutional use of these officers coming into the service of this African State. Nor will this condition of affairs change until the native shall have been taught by the European the dignity, utility and blessing of labour. No one can be prosecuted in the State of Congo without an order of the Governor-General, and as he refused to allow his servant to be arrested, nothing could be done. There has been, to my absolute knowledge, no honest and practical effort made to increase their knowledge and secure their welfare. Your Majestys Government has never spent one franc for educational purposes, nor instituted any practical system of industrialism. Global African History: Primary Documents: Global African History (1900) The Uganda Agreement. Needless to say, Caroline profited greatly from the King's attention, earning her the nickname "Queen of the Congo.". 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. The website is Your Majestys Government has sequestered their land, burned their towns, stolen their property, enslaved their women and children, and committed other crimes too numerous to mention in detail. and takes the bullet from his shoe! Whenever children are born of such relations, the State maintains that the women being its property the child belongs to it also. His last appearance in the Congo produced a profound sensation among them, when he led 500 Zanzibar soldiers with 300 camp followers on his way to relieve EMIN PASHA. WhatsApp Only +2347014043648. These piratical, buccaneering posts compel the natives to furnish them with fish, goats, fowls, and vegetables at the mouths of their muskets; and whenever the natives refuse to feed these vampires, they report to the main station and white officers come with an expeditionary force and burn away the homes of the natives. They make no report as to the number of robberies they commit, or the number of lives they take; they are only required to subsist upon the natives and thus relieve your Majestys Government of the cost of feeding them. 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. Major Barttelot was shot by a Zanzibar soldier, and the captain of a Belgian trading-boat was the victim of his own rash and unjust treatment of a native chief. "An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II" In Archives of Empire: Volume 2. Adam Hochschild's "King Leopold's Ghost" is a lost historical account starting in the late 19th century continuing into the 20th century of the enslavement of an entire country. There is no improvement among the natives, because there is an impassable gulf between them and your Majestys Government, a gulf which can never be bridged. Sick sailors frequently die on board their vessels at Banana Point; and if it were not for the humanity of the Dutch Trading Company at that placewho have often opened their private hospital to the sick of other countriesmany more might die. He did a through job of Three hundred Ntakabrassrod-is the price the State pays for a slave, when bought from a native. I was anxious to see to what extent the natives had adopted the fostering care of your Majestys benevolent enterprise (? 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. But the only thing they found in the wake of his march was misery. 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. Be the first one to, An open letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold III, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo, Advanced embedding details, examples, and help, Terms of Service (last updated 12/31/2014). In early April 1891 Williams wrote a letter to Leopold entitled An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo about the suffering of the region at the hands of Leopold's agents. Stanley Falls, Central Africa, When Leopold was 65, he took the 16-year-old prostitute Caroline Lacroix as his mistress. 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. 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. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja details the horrific abuses of Leopold's occupation and looting of the . For this work the Arab Governor is to receive five hundred stands of arms, five thousand kegs of powder, and 20,000 sterling, to he paid in several instalments. 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. Allegations fly on social media, Volunteers to be paid 3,500 to get infected with coronavirus, Katy Perrys pregnancy and wedding plans with Orlando Bloom. Against the deceit, fraud, robberies, arson, murder, slave-raiding, and general policy of cruelty of your Majestys Government to the natives, stands their record of unexampled patience, long-suffering and forgiving spirit, which put the boasted civilisation and professed religion of your Majestys Government to the blush. Read Open letter to King Leopold on Congo by George Washington Williams with a free trial. THIRD.Your Majestys Government is guilty of violating its contracts made with its soldiers, mechanics and workmen, many of whom are subjects of other Governments. Mr. H. M. STANLEY, the man who was your chief agent in setting up your authority in this country, has grossly misrepresented the character of the country. 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. The letter is dated from June 16, 1897. George Washington background stories, tells us who he is as a person, and what he strived for. he did not hold back on his opinion of his Majestys Government. All Rights Reserved. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window). They thought it meant complete subjugation, and they fled in confusion. He let the King know All Rights Reserved. The State then hires these woman out to the highest bidder, the officers having the first choice and then the men. Under Leopold II's administration, the Congo Free State became one of the greatest international scandals of the early 20th century. Search the history of over 806 billion 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. They are the greatest curse the country suffers now. A cap was placed upon the nipple of the gun, and the black brother was implored to step off ten yards and shoot at his white brother to demonstrate his statement that he was a spirit, and, therefore, could not be killed. BlackPast is dedicated to providing the inquisitive public with history of African Americans. The labour force at the stations of your Majestys Government in the Upper River is composed of slaves of all ages and both sexes. Programming Project - Word doc comes with QuadraticMain and QuadraticCalculator Java class files, Lab 2 - CYB 606 - Template w/instructions, seven questions, answers, and pictures. Force them to pay you in sign of recognition goats, chicken or eggs every time you visit their villages. This mission statement tells us why they decided to put together this information in one In 1884 he said:. 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. And all this upon the word of honour of a gentleman, I subscribe myself your Majestys humble and obedient servant. DuBois, An Appeal to the World : A Statement of Denial of Human Rights to Minorities, (1948) United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, (1960) Patrice Lumumbas Last Letter to Pauline Lumumba, (1963) Founding Charter of the Organization of African Unity, African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. Blackpast has a board 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. For this work the Arab Governor is to receive five hundred stands of arms, five thousand kegs of powder, and 20,000 sterling, to he paid in several instalments. My girlfriend slapped my mother what should I do? These officers draw double payas soldiers and as civilians. More than just the people of the Between 800 and 1,000 slaves are sold to be eaten by the natives of the Congo State annually; and slave raids, accomplished by the most cruel and murderous agencies, are carried on within the territorial limits of your Majestys Government which is impotent. Copyright 2023 StudeerSnel B.V., Keizersgracht 424, 1016 GC Amsterdam, KVK: 56829787, BTW: NL852321363B01, The Methodology of the Social Sciences (Max Weber), Civilization and its Discontents (Sigmund Freud), Biological Science (Freeman Scott; Quillin Kim; Allison Lizabeth), Campbell Biology (Jane B. Reece; Lisa A. Urry; Michael L. Cain; Steven A. Wasserman; Peter V. Minorsky), Principles of Environmental Science (William P. Cunningham; Mary Ann Cunningham), Business Law: Text and Cases (Kenneth W. Clarkson; Roger LeRoy Miller; Frank B. The following are documents which have contributed to the shaping of Global African history. At length he appealed to the Governor-General, and he gave him the woman and thus the trader obtained the child also. These black soldiers, many of whom are slaves, exercise the power of life and death. An open letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II: King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo. MEETING MR. KURTZ. When natives have persisted in trading with the trade-companies the State has punished their independence by burning the villages in the vicinity of the trading houses and driving the natives away. In French. . As to the significance of this move Europe and America can judge without any comment from me, especially England. From these general observations I wish now to pass to specific charges against your Majestys Government. Washington was a Lawyer, Politician, Journalist . 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. 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. And, of course, many die. In his conclusion he wrote Against the deceit, In 1935, while working in the Congo, Muikwani Bukoko bought a second-hand Bible from a Belgian priest who forgot the speech in the Bible. 2016 KineticsLive.com. It buys and sells and steals slaves. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. 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. The officers made a wager of 5 that they could hit the native with their rifles. Convert always the blacks by using the whip. 4 blackpast/george-washington-williams-open-letter-king-leopold- buying and selling of people both men, women and even children. All the crimes perpetrated in the Congo have been done in your name, and you must answer at the bar of Public Sentiment for the misgovernment of a people, whose lives and fortunes were entrusted to you by the august Conference of Berlin, 18841 885. 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. The propensity for violence is . Go look it up. soldiers and the treatment of the women. When the native inquired about the disparity of strength between himself and his white brother, he was told that the white man could pull up trees and perform the most prodigious feats of strength. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. Ibid, page 9. I was a little shocked reading some of the The third act was the gun trick. . Instead of the natives of the Congo adopting the fostering care of your Majestys Government, they everywhere complain that their land has been taken from them by force; that the Government is cruel and arbitrary, and declare that they neither love nor respect the Government and its flag. 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. These black soldiers, many of whom are slaves, exercise the power of life and death. But the only thing they found in the wake of his march was misery. George Washington Williams (October 16, 1849 - August 2, 1891) was a soldier in the American Civil War and in Mexico before becoming a Baptist minister, politician, lawyer . 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. He was not a combatant and was ignorant of the conflict in progress upon the shore, some distance away. stop to it. Three hundred and sixteen slaves were sent down the river recently, and others are to follow. This letter is in a UK documentary about King Leopold. 20072023 Blackpast.org. . Institute a confessional system, which allows you to be good detectives denouncing any black that has a different consciousness contrary to that of the decision-maker. He witnessed the porters enslaved in chains, the brutal . The original source came from blackpast. I believe that from this experience he was able to show his In 1870 roughly 80 percent of Africa south of the Sahara Desert was governed by indigenous kings, chiefs, and other rulers. They eat their rice twice a day by the use of their fingers; they often thirst for water when the season is dry; they are exposed to the heat and rain, and sleep upon the damp and filthy decks of the vessels often so closely crowded as to lie in human ordure. 9. November 11, 2017. "The task which the State agents have to accomplish in the Congo is noble and elevated (honorable).It is necessary for them to carry on the work of civilization in Equatorial Africa. 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. founders and sponsors to foster understanding through knowledge George Washington Williams wrote an open letter to the Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo by Colonel. 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 region's native inhabitants at the . Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a05f34588bb8ca64686b0d8f5df0e3d8" );document.getElementById("i421ca229f").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. and dying on the ships and they were not being given the Christian burials they required 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. This was, however, an unusual case of generosity and clemency; and there is only one post that I know of where there is not to be found children of the civil and military officers of your Majestys Government abandoned to degradation; white men bringing their own flesh and blood under the lash of a most cruel master, the State of Congo. website blackpast. your Majestys Government for immoral purposes. 7 This is only three of the problems 6 Ibid, page 6 writing. Teach the niggers to forget their heroes and to adore only ours. SEVENTH.Your Majestys Government is engaged in trade and commerce, competing with the organised trade companies of Belgium, England, France, Portugal and Holland. In the Lower Congo River there is but One post, in the cataract region one. Why did Katy Perry collapse on set of American Idol? Often these ox-chains eat into the necks of the prisoners and produce sores about which the flies circle, aggravating the running wound; so the prisoner is constantly worried. Either in the waters of the pool or when docked on the riverbank at Kinshasa, Williams's steamboat crossed paths with a boat that was at the . Keep their women in nine months of submission to work freely for us. Some of the charges maintained by a Webmaster Stanbery 'Stanley' Foster III, who works for the State of Between 800 and 1,000 slaves are sold to be eaten by the natives of the Congo State annually; and slave raids, accomplished by the most cruel and murderous agencies, are carried on within the territorial limits of your Majestys Government which is impotent. Using eyewitness accounts, letters, and official records, Williams became the first to shatter the kings carefully cultivated image of his rule of the African territory. These poor creatures are frequently beaten with a dried piece of hippopotamus skin, called a chicote, and usually the blood flows at every stroke when well laid on. 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. He describes the atrocities in detail When the native inquired about the disparity of strength between himself and his white brother, he was told that the white man could pull up trees and perform the most prodigious feats of strength. W. Williams, of the United States of America, 1890. Every charge which I am about to bring against your Majestys personal Government in the Congo has been carefully investigated; a list of competent and veracious witnesses, documents, letters, official records and data has been faithfully prepared, which will be deposited with Her Britannic Majestys Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, until such time as an International Commission can be created with power to send for persons and papers, to administer oaths, and attest the truth or falsity of these charges. From Leopoldville to NGombe, a distance of more than 300 miles, there is not a single soldier or civilian. Three shots were fired and the native fell dead, pierced through the head, and the trade canoe was transformed into a funeral barge and floated silently down the river. Your white men sicken and die in their quarters or on the caravan road, and seldom have Christian burial. analyzing the situation and coming up with ways to make changes to help. Leopold II was born in 1835 to King Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orleans. Not long ago a Belgian trader had a child by a slave-woman of the State, and he tried to secure possession of it that he might educate it, but the Chief of the Station where he resided, refused to be moved by his entreaties. CONCLUSIONS FIRST.Your Majestys Government is deficient in the moral military and financial strength, necessary to govern a territory o 1,508,000 square miles, 7,251 miles of navigation, and 31,694 square miles of lake surface. Cruelties of the most astounding character are practised by the natives, such as burying slaves alive in the grave of a dead chief, cutting off the heads of captured warriors in native combats, and no effort is put forth by your Majestys Government to prevent them. I base this appeal upon the terms of Article 36 of Chapter VII of the General Act of the Conference of Berlin, in which that august assembly of Sovereign States reserved to themselves the right to introduce into it later and by common accord the modifications or ameliorations, the utility of which may be demonstrated experience. Upon the arrival of the survivors in the Congo they are set to work as labourers at one shilling a day; as soldiers they are promised sixteen shillings per month, in English money, but are usually paid off in cheap handkerchiefs and poisonous gin. I cannot deal with the dimensions of these prisons in this letter, but will do so in my report to my Government. . TWELFTHThe agents of your Majestys Government have misrepresented the Congo country and the Congo railway. This letter was accessed through the website blackpast. THIRD.Your Majestys Government is guilty of violating its contracts made with its soldiers, mechanics and workmen, many of whom are subjects of other Governments. 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. This was, however, an unusual case of generosity and clemency; and there is only one post that I know of where there is not to be found children of the civil and military officers of your Majestys Government abandoned to degradation; white men bringing their own flesh and blood under the lash of a most cruel master, the State of Congo. were being abused in the home country and he wanted there to be changes in the country Public domain image. within the next 4 years and I would like to use information like this when I do begin my 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. Would you buy the story of finding the kings letter in a bible ? put together I went to their home page. Just some are. There are instances in which they have brought the heads of their victims to their white officers on the expeditionary steamers, and afterwards eaten the bodies of slain children. Such criticism will come with more grace from some Belgian statesman, who may remember that there is no constitutional or organic relation subsisting between his Government and the purely personal and absolute monarchy your Majesty has established in Africa. After much begging the black brother aims the gun at his white brother, pulls the trigger, the gun is discharged, the white man stoops .
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