Genocide in the Congo

11/28/2022

The Power of images and photos can change history and expose human atrocities. In 1905, missionary Alice Harris took photographs with her Kodak camera exposing the horrific mutilations of the Congolese people by the Belgium Government. King Leopold's rubber slave trade killed twelve million people in the Congo, while thousands of survivors were left with mutilated limbs. The photographs were published in newspapers around the world and helped to end King Leopold's reign of the Congo.
1. Discuss the power of photographs and smart phones in present society? What examples of injustices can they expose?
2. What effect do these images have on your thoughts regarding imperialism in Africa, specifically the Congo?
3. What connections can you make between the Industrial Revolution and Imperialism in Africa? How do they connect?

7 Comments

Samantha Gutierrez P4

12/5/2022 08:05:06 pm

1. Photographs and smartphones have a lot of power, because that's where a lot of people find out what's happening, whether it's fake or real. In addition, they can expose what people are doing. For example, with the power of smartphones, we found out about happened to George Floyd when he was murdered by police. This caused a movement for police brutality to end and for equal rights. In addition, they helped spread what was going on in Iran, when people are asking for freedom.
2. These images get me mad and sad, because Europe colonized a lot of countries and people didn't have freedom and were scared for their lives. In addition, nothing good happened when they colonized, because a lot of innocent people died and people lost loved ones.
3. Industrial Revolution and Imperialism in Africa, have a lot in common, because thought it was a good thing, when really it just made things worse. For example, people during the Industrial Revolution became poor and lived in bad conditions and got diseases. In addition, kids had to go to work, instead of school in order to provide for their families. Also, there were no labor laws, so people would be working for long hours and doing hard work. Then in the Congo, people were forced to get tree sap and had to get a certain amount, or else they would be tortured or killed.

Yixuan Gao (Sophia) P.3

12/5/2022 09:34:31 pm

1. Photographs and smartphones are very significant when documenting inequalities and exposing actions. Photography is often taken of violent racial injustices that would otherwise be covered up and brushed off as false. Photography and social media can raise awareness on inequalities and unfairness in society and inspire people to take action. During the early 1900s, photos were taken of children working in cotton mills to show how cruel child labor was and how dangerous the machines were. One of the famous photographers was Lewis Hine, with one of his famous photographs being of Sadie Pfeifer in a South Carolina cotton mill. Seeing the children next to the gigantic machines really shows how dangerous and inhumane child labor can be. This was one of the first times that photography was used as a way to inspire social change.
2. These images have shown me just how cruelly people were being treated during the time of Imperialism in the Congo in Africa. They make me feel terrible for the Congolese people and angry at the Belgium government. If it was not for Alice Harris’s photography, King Leopold’s horrific actions would not have been exposed and the people involved in the slave trade would still be suffering for years and years to come. These photos have affected me because I now know how much the Congolese people had undergone and how inhumane the Belgium government was.
3. The Industrial Revolution and Imperialism in Africa are connected by the fact that the Industrial Revolution had convinced Europeans to increase the areas that they had control over. They now want more land to be under their control so that they can find more resources (ex. raw materials, new markets) to build up their economy. Another similarity is that while both had their benefits, they also had their consequences. Although the Industrial Revolution led to great economic growth, it also caused child labor and poor families becoming poorer while wealthy families became richer. On the other hand, while Imperialism in Africa had its benefits, it also led to extreme abuse and the Congolese people being forced to work in order to get tree sap to create rubber.

Liyah Reguerra period 1

12/5/2022 10:14:25 pm

1. The power photographs and smart phones hold is one of the monumental feats of modern technology. The significance of having that much power in your hands on a day to day basis, is something we should think about more often. It has made it easier for crimes to be caught on video and make the world more aware of the evil that takes place everyday. It has shone light on police brutality, and has made society aware of how often these cruel events were happening.

2. These images have shown the negative effects of imperialism, and how hard it hit the people of Africa, specifically the Congo. These photos show the sinister acts that occurred during these times and represent how harmful imperialism was to the people in Africa. They depict the hardships and painful events that ensued long ago. These negatively affected my thoughts on imperialism, and has made me see it as something that isn't beneficial or ethical to society.

3. These two ideas are connected because the revolution is what led to imperialism in foreign lands. The revolution helped the Europeans gain the power needed to create these acts of imperialism. It also created the need to go out and collect natural resources from foreign lands. All of these events that took place after the revolution, caused imperialism to occur, connecting these to major historical events.

Kristopher Velasquez Per.3

12/5/2022 10:31:44 pm

1. Photographs present day play a big role current day. With the growing popularity of phones it seems that almost everyone has a camera in their pocket. Photographs are being shared more and more and their effect grow more and more. The fact is these photographs are powerful, and though some are faked they can still have a devastating effect. Photographs present day represent so much. Pictures are evidence, proof, a way to spread your message and show what is going on through your eyes, something that use to not be possible. These pictures can be used to show anything from racial fights, violence, police brutality and other forms of injustice. They do present day, with numerous examples showing this.
2. The images shown make me sick. They make my thoughts on imperialism in Africa(specifically the Congo) negative. These images showed me the abuse and torture many Africans were facing just for money hungry people. The fact that limbs were cut just for rubber is sickening. Poor kids shown in photographs missing a limb or multiple! These images just show me how imperialism was awful, how it was a man genocide out of greed. These pictures show the cruel and inhuman outcome of imperialism.
3. The industrial revolution and imperialism in Africa are connected and almost serve as a sequence of events. The industrial revolution was huge. This showed many people what could be done and lead to the creations of many machines to make life ultimately better. The issue that arises however is the lack of land for these machine and the fact that these machines need materials. This lead to the search for land, and when Europeans(among others) found that African was loaded with materials, this lead into imperialism. Everyone wanted the needed materials like rubber which were abundant in Africa. The want for things like iron, copper and rubber is ultimately what lead to imperialism in Africa.

Melanie Recalde P.3

12/5/2022 10:57:03 pm

1. Technology plays a huge role in everyday life because almost everywhere you look people have technology in their hands. Just like technology, taking photographs is a really big part of society. Digital footsteps can never be erased just like historical photographs depicting such horrific events in the congo still exist today. Although technology is a huge help for our growing society it can also pose a threat that causes many injustices. Misinformation about various topics could be spread in less than a minute. Although it is very helpful with showing the truth on different cases like for example what's really going on in the police department. It exposes the truth of things like police brutality and protests.
2.These images made me feel angry and disappointed in society because if it wasn't for Alice Harris none of these horrific truths would have been discovered. It mainly makes me feel mad because how could people do this to people who are obviously very vulnerable, and what makes matters worse is that the government knew and they didn't do anything to stop it.
3. The Industrial Revolution and Imperialism in Africa are linked in a way because the Industrial Revolution persuaded Europeans to expand the areas under their control. They now want more land under their control in order to find more resources. So both of these events are connected because they have the same goal which was to expand and make a profit.

Jordan Chian Rivera P1

12/5/2022 11:10:34 pm

1. The power of photographs and smart phones is vastly significant in present society as almost everybody has a smart phone on themselves. Because of how common it is to have a phone, things can get passed easily throughout the internet. Brutality has been captured by photography countless times to spread awareness. This includes acts of injustice such as the police brutality of George Floyd. If people the tragedy wasn’t recorded on a smartphone, there wouldn’t be physical proof of the unfortunate event.
2. The images really show how inequitable the imperialism is in Africa. The amount of pain and unfairness in the photos are boundless which makes me feel disgusted towards the government. The shrivels you get when seeing how some people with cut off limbs is horrific. I feel thankful that Alice Harris took these pictures to spread the awareness of the human rights abuse towards the people in the pictures.
3. Imperialism in Africa and the Industrial Revolution are connected in multiple ways because Imperialism wouldn’t have happened in Africa if the Industrial Revolution didn’t occur. As more and more use of materials for the new inventions, Europeans land and materials begin to scarce. Africa to the Europeans were a gold mine and began Imperialism there with all of their power. These two things also share their benefits and its drawbacks. As Industrial Revolution brought a great advancement in technology, Imperialism brought its infrastructure advancements. However the two had its huge downsides with Imperialism with the unfair treatment of African societies and the child labor and terrible working condition of workers from the Industrial Revolution.

Lisbeth Sanchez per.4

12/5/2022 11:24:16 pm

1. Discuss the power of photographs and smart phones in present society? What examples of injustices can they expose?
The power of photography and smart phones can be seen in the news Balenciaga was recently exposed for their inappropriate, sad, horrific photos of children in their campaign ads. Not only were the pictures depicting inappropriate sexual content but also showed documents in the background referring to child pornography. Instantly these photos were share on social media and brought attention world wide of what this company was doing in their advertisements.

2. What effect do these images have on your thoughts regarding imperialism in Africa, specifically the Congo?
The images that were taken to expose the genocide in the Congo made me feel mad, heart broken, terrified and disgusted. Although many lost their limbs and their lives, I am glad that pictures were taken and shown in the news to bring attention to this injustice.

3. What connections can you make between the Industrial Revolution and Imperialism in Africa? How do they connect?
I think the connections made in the Industrial Revolution and Imperialism in Africa are resources being met at the sacrifice of lives being lost. In Congo, Ms. Harris did as much as she could to help the people in the villages. Lives were lost at the cost of the greed for rubber. Exposing them through photography has changed peoples minds as to how injustice can occur. Mr. Flemming discovered the most valuable antibiotic, penicilin, which would save lives. Although many people died of bacterial infections, his break through in science has changed our lives for forever.

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