Nationalist Movement Of The Belgian Congo

Nationalist Movement Of The Belgian Congo Belgian Congo represents todays Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The country got her first name, Belgian Congo, from her colonizer, Belgium, which was headed by Ling Leopold II. This event took place in November 15, 1908. Belgium Congo remained under the Belgians rule till June 30, 1960 when she gained her independence (Absolute Astronomy, par. 1).This paper is aimed at digging deeply into the events that took place in the Belgian Congo under Leopold IIs rule which eventually led to the formation of the Nationalist Movement of the Belgian Congo. Overview Belgiums control over Congo dates back to 1885 when King Leopold II used the help of Henry Morton Stanley who was an explorer to fulfill this interest. No other European monarch had expressed interest in Congo and this made Leopold II the first one. Among the things that attracted him to Congo included slave trade, rubber and minerals for which he made a gold mine. Congo remained under his control until 1908 when the Belgian government took over. Belgian remained powerful over Congo for 52 years until she got her independence in 1960. Patrice Lumumba made a great impact in Congos history as he headed Congos first nationalist party. When Congo gained her independence, Lumumba was appointed Prime Minister. In the same breath, two provinces which were rich in resources pulled out due to regional conflicts. Military struggles were rampant in Congo at the time and Joseph Mobutu who was an army chief betrayed Lumumba. Lumumba was seen as a threat and this led to his kidnap and eventual mur der in 1961. Those involved in his murder included foreign emissaries (Greenholt, par. 1). King Leopold IIs rule Leopold II ruled with an iron hand and he fought hard to control this very profitable nation. He was the sole executive chairman and shareholder of the Belgian Congo. He was making huge money from sales of copper, rubber among other minerals not forgetting that he had capitalized on the lucrative slave trade which was prominent in many parts of the world. Under Leopold IIs rule, the natives were subjected to brutal mistreatment. The natural resources were also plundered and thus benefited very few people. International scandals were also on the rise. In 1903, 122 Congolese natives were brutally murdered during a rubber collecting mission (Ankomah, par. 1). This event brought about unrest and Roger Casement of the British Consul filed a report that victimized white officials under Leopold II. This report was taken seriously and the perpetrators of this heinous crime were thoroughly punished upon arrest. The report filed by Roger Casement went ahead to pin point the leading causes of depopulation in Leopold IIs era. These he listed as indiscriminate war, tropical diseases, starvation and a reduced number of births. Some of these conditions were dehumanizing and this led to their exposure to the world. This was done by the United States and Europeans press. Leopolds rule came under much pressure from diplomats and the general public. This led to an end of his rule and Congo was now considered as a Belgiums colony (Ankomah). Life in Congo after Leopold IIs rule After king Leopolds rule hit a snag, the Belgium government took over power. This led to reformation of Leopolds shortcomings and the situation improved. This new government came with its recommendations which were geared at giving the Congolese natives a better life. On 18th October, 1908, a Colonial Charter was put in place and its Article 3 clearly stated that forced labor would no longer be exercised. This harmony brought about increased production in cotton and palm oil which increased the revenue. An education system was installed and the natives were even taught native languages like Swahili. Political administration was under the Belgian government where the King of Belgians remained the president. The Congolese natives were however not happy about this arrangement as racial segregation was rampant. The blacks could not mingle with the whites and they were not welcome in places where whites dominated. Only whites were allowed in the city centers and this pushed the blacks to the less glamorous reserves. This segregation also affected the employment sector where blacks were only given the low ranks. A curfew that restricted their movement was operational. They were not allowed out of their houses at particular times (Ankomah). Nationalist Movements of the Belgian Congo Nationalist movements were in place during Belgians rule but they looked down on them thus they went on unnoticed. Some religious and regional groups were opposed to these nationalist movements and formed their own. These movements pressurized Belgium to grant them independence as they were opposed to her rule. Belgian was not comfortable with this arrangement because she felt that this would evict her from her richest colony. A movement by the name ABAKO was formed in 1950 and this represented the ethno-religious groups (Breuilly 200). In 1956, the Nationalist Movement of the Belgian Congo was formed. It was otherwise known as the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) headed by Patrice Lumumba. This partys main agenda was to turn Congo into a self government. It gained popularity among the Congolese natives and spread widely to six provinces. Due to internal pressures within the party, a splinter group led by Albert Kalonji departed. This party took the title Mouvement National Congolais Kalonji. This split however did not affect the Lumumbas party which was now referred to as Mouvement National Congolais Lumumba. It proved to be very influential in the politics of Belgian Congo. It was seen as a threat to the Belgian government because they could smell their downfall. March 1959 saw national-wide riots which were dubbed Leopoldville. This move further terrorized the Belgian government which saw to the legalization of the national movements which had been formed so far. This was a mighty revolution and the political parties formed an alliance (Absolute Astronomy, par.8). Factors that led to the rise of Nationalism Belgian saw Congo as a tribal country that was only kept together through their rule. Patrice Lumumba was a unifying leader and worked hard to change this perceived attitude of the Congolese citizens by Belgians. He sought to bring them together by sowing in them seeds of unity and harmony against the Belgians who were typical racialists. He was not afraid to speak his mind before the Belgians whenever he had a chance. He publicly talked about the abuse the Congolese natives got from the government in power. He talked about the hard labor they were subjected to, the beatings and the taunts they suffered in the hands of the Belgians. All this they got because of their skin color; they were black. He referred to them as mes freres du race meaning my brothers of race. This was supposed to signify the bond brought about by the stance they took against racial discrimination. Lumumbas calls for nationalism were not taken kindly by the Belgian government. The least they would have wanted was rebellion from the people who gave them the layout they needed for their exploits. This landed Lumumba jail terms every now and then but he was not about to give up. He and his co-fighters would be charged with sedition. The key Nationalist Movement of the Belgian Congo led by Lumumba aimed at ensuring that the Belgian government lived to their promise of granting Congo independence with no strings attached. The movement also planned to boycott all the elections organized by the Belgian government. This they would use as a leeway to gain control over police, the armed forces and the colonial apparatus which were already in place. Their plan had been well made and they saw themselves ridding Congo of the Belgian rule with time. They looked forward to end the dominance that Belgium had over Congo (Greenholt, par.2-4). The movement also looked at empowering the Congolese citizens by ensuring that they benefited from the countrys natural resources. This would raise their living standards and put them at par with other developed nations of the world. This movement was peace loving and saw this whole transition as peaceful. This did not thereby necessitate the formation of armed forces. Lumumba was a dedicated leader who was determined to empower his people. He was a passionate speaker and in one of his speeches he said the following; Mistakes have been made in Africa in the past, but we are ready to work with the powers which have been in Africa to create a powerful new bloc. If this effort fails, it will be through the fault of the West (Greenholt). This showed that his movement was more determined than ever to work out a clean deal with the colonizers not unless they were hard-hearted. Belgium honored her promise to grant Congo independence which came with so many strings attached. They saw Lumumba and his nationalist party as a threat to their plan and embarked on a war against him. This saw the Belgian bureaucrats vacate the offices with all records, files and telephones as they paved way for Lumumbas government. They were working hard literally to sabotage him (Revolutionary worker, par. 5). Impact of the Nationalist Movement of Belgian Congo to Congos politics The people of Congo had eagerly waited for this day when they would finally rid themselves of the colonialism demon which had chocked them for the longest time. These people had not known peace and hope did not exist in their vocabulary. They had been exploited and tormented by the Belgian colonialists. They had not lived to enjoy the fruits of their hard labor which benefited a few in the society. They worked tirelessly to fatten these colonialists bank accounts with proceeds from their rich heritage. They had someone to thank specially for this dream of freedom come true. This was none other than Patrice Lumumba. He takes much credit for the revolution that brought immense change in Congo (Revolutionary worker). Congos Independence Day was long awaited for and a Belgian King by the name Baudouin I had to show up in person to hand over the independence hat to the people of this nation. The independence ceremony took place in Leopoldville. Joseph Kasavubu was sworn in as the President and Patrice Lumumba as the Prime Minister. King Baudouin I came with the hopes that he would still be closely associated with this nation and somehow continue the exploits which his country, Belgium had enjoyed over the years (Revolutionary Worker). One Lumumba saw this coming and was not happy at all. This Prime Minister could not be hoodwinked just like that. It was with this spirit therefore that he addressed all the people who had assembled. He revisited the hardships and abuse that the Congolese natives had suffered under the Belgian governments rule. He went ahead to lay down his portfolio on the future and the hopes he had for his beloved people and country, Congo. This speech was a bitter pill for King Baudouin I to swallow and Lumumbas coalition partners were shocked. They had not seen this coming. This became Lumumbas most famous speech. In this speech he mourned the distress and the problems that they had to go through as the natives of Congo under the Belgian colonialism but celebrates that at least now the leadership of the country was under the natives (Revolutionary Worker). All that, my brothers, we have endured. But we, whom the vote of your elected representatives have given the right to direct our dear country, we who have suffered in our body and in our heart from colonial oppression, we tell you very loud, all that is henceforth ended. The Republic of the Congo has been proclaimed, and our country is now in the hands of its own children (Revolutionary Worker). This speech was so powerful and greatly moved the audience. The wounds they had suffered under the colonialists were now fresher than ever. The pain they felt was deep and they felt used. Their eyes were opened once more to the atrocities that had been committed to them in their own country by these selfish people. What they overlooked was that Belgian still had control over their country through the military. The Belgians had under their arms Congos police force and army safely tucked. The countrys wealth was still under Belgians mineral corporations. Her strategy was to ensure that the country was in the hands of imperialists who they would manipulate to ensure that their stakes remained productive for their own selfish gain (Revolutionary Worker). Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was therefore a stumbling block to this move. This prompted the imperialist agents to assassinate him on 18th January 1961, soon after he was sworn in as Prime Minister at a tender age of 35. This was after he underwent a lot of injustices and mistreatment which included a house arrest, brutalization and torture in the hands of Colonel Mobutus men. Mobutu had been played a key role in ensuring that the Belgian government stakes were safeguarded. He was their informer and they manipulated him to gain their ground. He was their puppet (The Internationalist, par. 1). Lumumbas assassination came as a great shock to the people he fought for relentlessly. It also served as an eye opener to them that it would take shedding of blood to gain total liberation from the colonialists. The people of Congo had viewed him as their savior and in fact saw him as a black Christ who had sacrificed his life for the sake of his people. So many people were enraged at his death that numerous paintings were done depicting him as a great hero. One of such paintings was that of his portrait inside the map of Congo. Another painting shows him breaking off the chains off his arms and at the same time raising the flag of Congo (The Museum of Arts). A week before his assassination, Lumumba wrote a letter to his wife, Pauline Lumumba. This is what the letter dated January 1961 had; No brutality, mistreatment, or torture has ever forced me to ask for grace, for I prefer to die with my head high, my faith unshakable, and my confidence profound in the destiny of my country, rather than to live in submission and scorn of sacred principles. History will one day have its say, but it will not be the history that Brussels, Paris, Washington, or the United Nations will teach, but that which they will teach in the countries emancipated from colonialism and its puppets (Revolutionary Worker, par. 6). Conclusion The nationalist movements of Belgian Congo worked hard to redeem a people who had been oppressed. The Congolese people had been subjected to hard labor, slavery, racial discrimination, starvation, murders and all sorts of mistreatment. These movements enlightened the people of Congo on the evils of the colonialists. Their aim was to get their country back, their freedom and their dignity, all which they had lost to the Belgian government. There was a price to pay and they were not afraid. Patrice Lumumba paid with his life but the struggle did not end there. He had indeed fought a good fight that led to the liberation of his people from this dehumanizing rule initiated by King Leopold II. Were it not for the nationalist movements of Belgian Congo, these atrocities would have continued and independence would have been a far away dream for the Congolese people.

Illuminating The Path Of Progress :: essays research papers

Illuminating the Path of Progress Thomas Alva Edison is the most famous inventor in American History. Edison designed, built, and delivered the electrical age. He started a revolution that would refocus technology, change life patterns, and create millions of jobs. He became famous for his scientific inventions, even though he was not a scientist. His real talent was his ability to clearly judge a problem and be persistent in experimenting. He was the master of the trial and error method. Thomas Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio. He was the last of seven children born to Samuel and Nancy Edison. Edison's early life was spent in Ohio near the nation's busiest grain port. He spent time exploring the canal and played near his father's shingle business. When Alva was a child, he had scarlet fever. The fever damaged his hearing and delayed his entrance into school. Edison was curious about the world around him and always tried to teach himself through reading and experiments. Alva spent three years in home schooling. He was taught by his mother. He later returned to school but left at age twelve to get a job and help support his family. Edison got his first job selling newspapers and snacks to the passengers on the train between Port Huron and Detroit. Edison bought a used printing press in 1862 and published the Grand Trunk Herald for passengers. It was the first newspaper published on a train. When Edison was fifteen, he was taught Morse code and became a manager of a telegraph office. Edison got the idea for his first invention from working here. His first inventions were the transmitter and receiver for the automatic telegraph. At 21, Edison produced his first major invention, a stock ticker. In 1869, when Edison was twenty-two, he patented his first invention and advertised that he would devote his time to bringing out his inventions. The first patent received by Edison was for a vote recorder. Years later Edison's design was put in use by state legislatures for use by the public in general elections. By the age of twenty-three Edison owned two factories to manufacture telegraphic equipment and had money to pursue his research. On December 25, 1871, Edison married Mary Stilwell. They had three children. Two of his children were nicknamed Dot and Dash after the Morse code. In 1880 Edison made a discovery in science. He noticed that when a metal plate was inserted into a light bulb, the plate became a valve and the current could be controlled. This discovery is known as the "Edison Effect.

Compare a product(beer) in two different brand Essay

Introduction In order to understand the purpose and significance of the integrated communication process, it is useful to compare to brand within the same product category. This report seeks to provide an understanding of the effectiveness on campaign strategies. In doing so, a critique of the contrasting creative strategy and communication objectives will be attained. An insight on target market and market partitioning approach comes into the scope of this report. Product Category The product category chosen is food/drink product, especially on beer product. The following two brands are both from foreign market, with high reputation in Asian and Europe respectively. Our Tiger Beer campaign was â€Å"Discover the tiger† sourced from The Face (February 2003) (See Appendix A). The competing brand for comparison will be the â€Å"Reassuringly Expensive† campaign from Stella Artois done by BBDO, which was an award-winning ad on several advertising ceremony. (See Appendix B) Communication Objectives Since Tiger Beer is unfamiliar to Western market, the objective here mainly focuses on brand awareness to the target customer. Encouraging consumers who have never try our brand to try it by using a creative headline. In this sense, our brand is informing target customers the existence of our brand, try to penetrate into the Western market. We aimed to change the target market’s image of Asian brand and move consumers through to purchase. In fact, Asian beer brand are rarely advertised on Western countries magazines, Tiger Beer wish to differentiate itself from other foreign competitors through the message â€Å"Discover the tiger†. Which achieve a high awareness by leaving a question mark to most of the reader. The communication objectives for Stella Artois include brand attitude and brand recognition. As this beer has been on the market for a long time, advertising has moved from brand awareness to brand recognition, it wants consumers to associate the brand with their lifestyle. Stella Artois’s objective is to ensure its premium beer position in the market by matching the good quality beer with â€Å"well quality people†. Since they well understand their target market’s need, the campaign theme is to form a positive attitude towards the brand. As you can see in the ad, the communication message is aim directly to a specific group and the idea is outstanding amount competitors. In more situation, potential buyers become aware of more than one brand in a given product category (Rossiter 1997). Therefore, Stella Artois has used an effective visual message on this campaign to evoke viewers ’emotion and increase the percentage of consumers in the target market who associate specific features or lifestyle with their brand. Target market Based on the communication objective, it is clear that two advertisements have distinctly different target markets. From the Tiger Beer advertisement, we can infer that the target market is comprised of young male between the ages of 18-25, due to the fact that the advertisement was advertised in The Face. This magazine has a readership comprised predominantly of young male between this age group. This group of people may have already heard of Tiger Beer, and are looking for more confirmation from reference group. They are likely to try new thing, social connections and quality of the beer are important factors in the decision-making process. In a certain extent, this group is favourable brand switchers. Their awareness may change over time and causes less-frequent purchase of our brand, unless we can provide a moderately favourable attitude towards the brand (Rossiter 1997). While Stella Artois was aimed at brand recognition, they have an established customer basis, which can be described as brand loyal (Rossiter 1997). They  have strong favourable attitude toward our brand, they look forward to purchasing a premium lager, which delivers quality and satisfaction. Stella Artois is simply about quality, not price; drinkers will pay a premium price for Stella Artois due to its commitment to quality. Certainly, Stella Artois is affordable to them as they are in middle or high-income group. From the above, the following table summarises and contrasts the target markets characteristics. Tiger Beer Stella Artois Age 18-25 25 or above Social status Middle income classAsian backgrounds Higher incomeHigher education level Purchase behaviour Brand switching Brand loyalty Lifestyle Young irreverentSocial activities Quality lifestyleStyle society Factors influenceDecision-making Reference groupFinancial statusCulture/social class SituationEmotionPast decision Market Positioning It is obvious that both company have differentiated their brands from others in the minds of the target market. It would be significant, as a link needs to be established between the brand benefits and the target consumer to create a positive brand image in relation to competing brands. Both of the ads have positioning strategies that focus on the consumer rather than the competitor. Ø Repositioning Tiger Beer adopts this strategy due to the recent acceptance by Western  countries and targeting it to a new market segment. Since they have previously built up a good reputation in Asian countries with value, quality and taste. Tiger Beer has chosen to direct it’s advertising to younger who prefer adventure. Moreover, it was positioned itself as a mystery Asian flavour instead of sportive and excitement image with their sport sponsorship campaign. (Belch & Belch 2001) Ø Positioning by product attributes and image Stella Artois is positioned on the basis of particular characteristics that differentiate it from its competitors. The slogan â€Å"Reassuringly Expensive† has been used since the 80’s. The key benefit stressed here is the quality, prestige image and value, which is the basic category need for a premium beer. Such elements are usually started at the top of the partitions; Stella Artois was well planned for it’s customers to evaluate these elements in their decision-making process. Creative Strategies & Tactics This involves several elements to bring out the central message for the advertiser to achieve their desire outcome. The stronger the idea, the more effective the ad can communicate to consumers. As both of the companies have adjusted the communication objective to fit for target market, we can see that both companies have effective use their budget to shift away from traditional beer advertising. Ø Advertising Appeals Both of the ads are using an emotional appear as a basis. For the Tiger Beer, we see an Asian woman in the centre of the picture. The woman looks straight at the reader of the ad and holding a small kerosene lamp, burning. Next to her is a rickshaw with a bottle of Tiger Beer in the seat. The street was extremely dark and silent with some Chinese glim at the end of the street. The advertisement tries to attract the reader with the notion of the mystical and strange. (See appendix A) Stella Artois uses a remainder advertising approach on their latest campaign. The campaign background is luxurious, elegant furniture such as a designer chair or a piano, which is being damaged with an opened cap putting on it. The ad appears to be simple but hard to understand, unless viewers of the ad have some ideas on the brand. For the target market point of view, it was highly associated with the Stella Artois brand image. And leave a strong curiosity to the viewer. (See appendix B) Ø Headlines and Visual elements The Tiger Beer using a question in Chinese at the top right hand corner to enhance the Asian feeling. The meaning of that heading is: â€Å"Do you have gut?† Which implies that Tiger Beer is an Asian mystery to western countries, try this beer if you are brave enough. It hopes to generate an answer of â€Å"Yes, I do, I will try the beer.† Secondly, there is a sub-heading at the bottom of the ad: â€Å"Discover the tiger†. So what is the connotation of this advertisement? Firstly, it tells the reader that when he or she drinks this beer, they will â€Å"discover the tiger†. There are several connotative meanings represented in it. It depends on the view the reader takes. For example, we can assume that the woman represents the tiger. She is the one to appear strong, to control the situation. The black hair and black lipstick and dark eyes give her a mystical and dangerous appearance. Moreover, the content of appeal are of sexual nature, which is effective in gauging the attention of its target market. Stella Artois continues to use the â€Å"Reassuringly Expensive† as sub-heading at the bottom of the ad. The wording is small as for the conclusion after reading the visual elements. Which encourage the target customer to believe that Stella Artois is a good quality beer, it is worthwhile to open up the bottle on the edge of the furniture immediately without looking for the bottle opener. This slogan can build up a resonance with the target audience and has adopted across all of its advertising to reinforce the perception that this is a premium beer. The overall picture was simple and clear, nothing else. It would be enough to convey a sense of premium quality. (Paul  Messaris 1997) Ø Advertising Media Both advertisements were found in fashion magazines. As magazines have narrow exposure levels, niche magazine such as The Face and I-D have directly targeted to the intended audience. Generally, an effective communication campaign relies on budget. Tiger Beer has trade-off between reach and frequency. In this case, what Tiger Beer doing is reaching a few people a lot of times. Tiger Beer has used several advertising appeal and spent the same budget in only one media, such as magazine; therefore, a much smaller number of people will be exposed to the advertising, but they will be exposed very frequently. In contrast, Stella Artois scattering their budget across a number of different media. According to a research in UK, it allocates the largest slice of spent on TV commercial, followed by magazine and billboard. The reason is that Stella Artois use other communication channels such as magazine to make to campaign stronger and gives the overall communicate program a greater synergy. (AdNews 28/2) Bibliography 1. Rossiter, John & Larry Percy, Advertising, Communications & Promotions Management, 1997, McGraw-Hill. 2. George E. Belch & Micheal A. Belch, Advertising and Promotion, An Integrated Marketing Communication Perspective, 2001, Fifth edition, McGraw-Hill. 3. Paul Messaris, Visual Persuasion, The role of image in advertising. 1997, Sage Publications. 4. AdNews 28 February 2003 5. Asia Pacific Breweries LTD (Annual Report 2001) http://www.apb.com.sg/report/01-brews.html 6. Tiger Beer Corporation www.tigerbeer.com/main 7. Stella Artois Homepage www.stellaartois.co.uk

Analysis Of Ray Bradbury s The Sound Of Thunder

Technology plays a large roll in society today. Ray Bradbury uses technology in many of his stories to show what types of effects technology can have on society. Whether it be with dinosaurs, nurseries, or smart homes, Bradbury always manages to convey a common theme across many of his stories. This common theme that Bradbury focuses on is the adverse effects that technology has, or may have in the future, on society. One story where the theme of the effects of technology is evident is â€Å"A Sound of Thunder†. In this story Bradbury uses a time machine to show the types of problems that could occur when people abuse technology that they do not fully understand. In the story, the character Eckels takes a trip back in time to hunt dinosaurs. During his trip he speaks with his guide Travis about why they take such precautions and he responds with â€Å"We don’t want to change the future. We don’t belong here in the past† (Bradbury 3). With this response Br adbury shows how he feels that technology could be used in ways it should not be. As technology advances society needs to be careful on how it is used, as access to powerful technology, such as a time machine could be dangerous. Another thing the guide said to Eckels was â€Å"Who knows? Who really can say he knows? We don’t know. we’re guessing. But until we do know for certain whether our messing around in time can make a big roar or little rustle in history; we’re being careful† (Bradbury 4). This is another fear of Bradbury. One dayShow MoreRelatedMy Analysis About a Sound of Thunder961 Words   |  4 PagesMy Analysis about A Sound of Thunder --By Lillian ( Class:2, No:2) A Sound of Thunder is a short story written by Ray Bradbury which belongs to the genre of science fiction. The story set in A.D.2055 when time travel is possible, this is the story of a travel agency, Time Safari Inc., that arrangeed hunting trips back in time to hunt dinosaurs. It is also a futuristic story about how changing a small thing can result in a huge change somewhere down the timeline