IMPACTS OF LEOPOLD’S RUBBER TRADE

Rubber Trade (Click to watch a video)

Rubber Trade Boom

The demand for rubber skyrocketed in the late 19th century. The popularity of the bicycle led to high demand for rubber to make bicycle wheels. The expansion of the automobile industry in 1900 only increased the demand for rubber even more (“What is Rubber”).

While natural rubber was imported into Europe through countries like Brazil and Malaysia, the high costs of labor and transportation made the rubber industry a costly investment. However, the rubber boom coincided with Western European imperialism, which Belgium’s King Leopold tapped into, demanding more and more rubber from its colony (Zephyr).

The rubber trade required the use of forced labor in the Congo region. Leopold used Congolese men as forced labor to collect wild rubber, which was then sold to Europe. The rubber trade was even more profitable because it did not require much training and Leopold forced the native peoples to harvest the rubber (Lowes and Montero).

Hands Equal Bullets

Economic and Demographic Impacts

The people of the Congo region could no longer engage in the economic activities, such as subsistence farming that they had been involved in once Leopold II took over. The economic damage that occurred affected the region permanently, with lasting impacts even into the 21st century (Johnson).

Furthermore, colonization led to a huge population decline partly due to the detrimental health impacts caused by colonial mistreatment of the Congo people. Though there is no agreement on how many Congolese died after Leopold’s colonization of the Congo, approximately 10 million, or half the population, may have died from 1885 to 1908. Not only did they die due to the murderous punishments for not meeting the rubber quotes, but they lacked adequate food supplies, making them vulnerable to diseases, such as smallpox and sleeping sickness, which often ended in death. Physical exhaustion from harvesting rubber to walking incredibly long distances also weakened the people’s health, which made them susceptible to various diseases (Johnson).