Amazing History Of The Congo
There was no other African nation-state, kingdom, empire, or institution that fought foreign incursions as successfully as the people who lived in what is now the Congo. In the 14th century CE, a confederacy of distinct geographical domains that had previously been independent came together to form a single political structure known as “The Congo.” This structure was the kingdom of Congo.
The Portuguese sailed to the Congo in the 16th century with the intention of engaging in commercial activity within the kingdom. However, once they had established themselves, they started kidnapping locals along the coastal pathways so that they might sell them in Europe. Around the year 1603, the queen of the Congo drove all Portuguese out of the country, destroyed all structures belonging to the Portuguese, and abolished all of their ways in order to restore an African Renaissance. As a result, the Congo grew in both wealth and influence.
A small number of Dutch people and some Portuguese settled there once more in the 18th century CE. This time, they made an appearance wearing white robes and declared that the pope had appointed them to teach a path to Paradise, which we now refer to as heaven. The queen has decided not to purchase it, but she has agreed to give the Europeans land on which to construct their forts.
Slavery on a massive scale was instituted in the Congo at this time, and Europeans also began their systematic looting and destruction of the country at this point. The nations of Europe got together in Berlin in 1884 and conducted a conference.
During the conference, they divided African kingdoms and shattered empires into their preferred entities, as it suited their agenda. The result of the meeting was the nations of Africa that are known today. Leopold, King of Belgium, moved swiftly to seize control of the Congo and immediately began looting the kingdom in order to provide food for Belgians and lift his country out of the abject poverty in which it had been mired at the time.
Those people, whether they were men, women, or children, who were unable to produce the required amount of grain to feed the Belgians had their hands hacked off and were sometimes put to death. This caused the deaths of more than 10 million people in the Congo.
In spite of the fact that Europe had learned the art of making gunpowder from the Mongols since the 11th century CE, particularly during the time that Kublai Khan invaded Europe from Mongolia, the majority of African rulers had ignored gunpowder, which was one of the things that made this feasible.
Also Read: Slave Trade: How The ‘CHURCH’ and “Islam” Became The Driving Force Of Slavery
