Empire (65th of 90) -- The Scramble for Africa [audio 15min]

In 1855 Leopold II of the Belgians, took the Congo as his personal fiefdom and become one of the most despised men in African colonization. Leopold wanted the Congo's rubber, and anyone who objected to his methods was chopped -- literally. Right hands chopped off and thrown into tally baskets. Men beheaded. Slaughtered women and children piled in the form of a Christian cross. Much of the evidence is anecdotal, but the genocide under Leopold was greater than anything heard or seen during our times. Otto von Bismarck, the German chancellor, called a conference of 14 nations in Berlin in November 1884. Ostensibly, this was to find a peaceful way to settle the dispute over the Congo but, realistically, the Berlin Conference became known as The Scramble for Africa. ~Visit website to listen again to 5 most recent episodes, plus interactive maps and timeline, biographical dictionary, image galleries, listeners' comments, quizzes, sources and resources.