A Conversation for Not Quite Christmas

King Leopold 11 and The Belgian Congo

Post 1

PeterCee


An interesting picture into the Imperial race for possessions in Africa by the European countries.
BUT the conclusions remain in the 19th Century.. We all now live in a different world.I am at a total loss to comprehend the thoughts of the author in equating events of Hitler's Holocaust and Stalin's collectivisation drive of the 1930's.Why did he not slide further back to the 17th, 16th, 15th centuries for an analogy.
Colonial excesses!!! Indeed in the 18th and 19th Centuries they were abundant. Are we in an era "where nationalism is still a driving dorce"? God Forbid.!!
Tell me where "jingoistic rhetoric is still heard"???
Any Imperialistic enterprise in Africa was usually overtaken by another more despotic form of governance. Uganda received its Independance.. One only has to loopk at the resuly... Idi Amin.. what a disaster.
My interest is in the settlement of Australia. Another "furphy" is put forward that the present generations of white Australians owe a debt of apology for invading the land of the indigenous peoples. Here to-day we live side by side.. equal opportunities and yet there are problems. Today, in Australia,we have stirrers, dissidents etc who claim Aboriginal blood. Some are blue-eyed, fair haired citizens!!!
I doubt that the problem of Reconciliation between White Australia and Aboriginal Australia cannot be resolved at the present.. we are working towards it, but it wil take another generation or to come to fruiyion.
But we still have to confront these "do-gooders" who continually push to the fore an outdated pseudo-intellectual point of view.
May I say that I am not a racist.. I am a proud 5th generation Australian on mixed blood.
PeeCee


King Leopold 11 and The Belgian Congo

Post 2

echomikeromeo

Hi PeterCee Why don't you have another look at the entry? You'll notice that some of your comments have been addressed, due to the fact that they were made by others in the Peer Review forum. The way to make constructive comments about an entry in Peer Review is to click on the Peer Review link in the black sidebar to the right of the entry, or to follow this link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/F48874?thread=600411 . We must view the 19th and 20th century occurences in the Belgian Congo with a 21st century eye, because we belong to the 21st century. We must have a way of shifting past events into perspective and seeing things in a way that makes them more comprehensible to us. Examples from earlier centuries would not be as useful. Think about the US's interest in 'spreading democracy' worldwide. This is very much like the ambition of the 19th century Europeans, who saw it as their duty to advance 'civilisation' to other areas of the globe. One might say we are living in a modern age of Manifest Destiny. Unfortunately, Australia isn't relevant to this entry, which is strictly about the Congo. Why don't you write an entry about it?


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King Leopold 11 and The Belgian Congo

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