69 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 11 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 4/30/13

Conquerors from The Congo to The Jordan

By       (Page 2 of 4 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   No comments
Message James Wall
Become a Fan
  (19 fans)

The 19th century colonization of the Congo basin did, indeed, lead to the establishment of a series of Belgian colonies, "countries" on a map drawn by King Leopold. The area of the Congo basin, if placed on the map of the United States, would cover the area east of the Mississippi River.

Across that large expanse, two power-hungry men -- a king and his conniving journalist-explorer partner -- established the groundwork for "a confederation of free negro republics" along the Congo River.

The use of the term "free," of course, as Hochschild writes, was "merely a prop to be removed as soon as the curtain closed." The deceit and deception were easily employed during a period when racism and ignorance shaped the public's understanding of the mysterious continent of Africa.

As one of Leopold's subordinates wrote Stanley:

"There is no question of granting the slightest political power to negroes. That would be absurd, the white men, heads of the stations, retain all the powers."

In a final message to Stanley, King Leopold (left) confirmed the true narrative behind Stanley's journey. He wrote:

 Leopold II crop

"I take advantage of a safe opportunity to send you a few lines in my bad english ... It is indispensable you should purchase ... as much as you will be able to obtain, and that you should place successively under ... suzerainty ... as soon as possible and without losing one minute all the chiefs from the mouth of the Congo to the Stanley Falls ... If you let know you are going to execute these instructions without delay I will send you more people and more material. Perhaps Chinese coolies."

Deception is an essential ingredient in the steady march of conquerers. As he wrote his "suzerainty" note to Stanley, Leopold "piously" assured the British minister in Brussels that his venture in Africa "had no commercial character; it did not carry on trade."

In an ominous precursor to the current success of the Zionist invasion of Palestine, the King concluded his message to Stanley:

"I also recommend you to establish barriers and tolls on the parts of the road you have opened. It is but fair and in accordance with the customs of every country."

The evil that men do lives after them in the actions of those who follow knowingly, or unknowingly, a formula of conquest that has worked in other centuries and in other lands.

photo crop from chasfreeman.net  posted by buzzfeed

Which brings me to the ongoing work of a modern prophet, Chas Freeman (above), whose books and lectures provide a rare voice against Zionism's unrestrained conquest of Palestine.

Freeman was an early Obama administration appointee whose forced withdrawal from a post for which he was clearly highly qualified, was an early indication that President Obama would be overly sensitive to Zionists in his administration when he made appointments and considered plans deemed unacceptable to Israel and its American AiPAC-led agents.

I wrote about that early period of disappointment with Obama and the Zionist influence in his administration, for Link, a publication of Americans for Middle East Understanding (AMEU). A pdf of that essay is available here. 

Next Page  1  |  2  |  3  |  4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

James Wall Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

James Wall served as a Contributing Editor of The Christian Century magazine, based in Chicago, Illinois, from 1999 through 2017. From 1972 through 1999, he was editor and publisher of the Christian Century magazine. Many sources have influenced (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Does Israel Interfere in US Elections?

New York Times Flacks for Jewish Groups Against 15 Major Christian Leaders

How Iran Could Be The Next Neocon Target

Ten Swing States Could Decide the 2012 Election; Obama Leads in Nine of Them

White Evangelicals Stifle Values For Trump

What Protestants Could Learn from Ron Paul

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend