USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The majority of rubber in the Congo came from vines, which eventually died off. In order to increase the supply of rubber being produced, agents insisted that women and children gather rubber as well. In order to avoid exploitation and hardship, some rubber gatherers destroyed the vines on purpose.

Detailed explanation-2: -Congo rubber was a commercial rubber exported from the Congo Free State starting in 1890, most notable for its forced harvesting under conditions of great human suffering, in the Congo Free State, detailed in the 1904 Casement Report.

Detailed explanation-3: -In 1890, the year Conrad traveled in Congo, the state exported a modest 133, 666 kilograms of rubber. By 1896, it exported ten times as much (1, 317, 346 kilos), enough to be the biggest rubber producer in Africa. Profits from rubber sales surpassed those of ivory on the Antwerp exchange, netting 6.9 million francs.

Detailed explanation-4: -Most African colonies at the time, including the Congo Free State, were created primarily for the economic exploitation of natural resources and labor. The major exports from the Congo region included ivory, rubber, and precious minerals, all of which were highly profitable and in great demand in Europe.

Detailed explanation-5: -King Leopold II’s personal rule of the vast Congo Free State anticipated the horrors of the 20th century, argues Tim Stanley. Detail from a Punch cartoon of King Leopold II of Belgium as a snake entangling a congolese rubber collector.