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Democratic Republic Of Congo Civil War

The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Civil War is rooted in history. Hundreds of years before their civil war, many people were kidnapped and forced into slavery. Ensuring a safe place aboard their own ships from disease and illness, European slave traders would employ the help of local tribal leaders to find people to be slaves and bring them to the coast. Slaves were usually traded for weapons to be used in conflicts with neighboring tribes. The Congo region learned early on that their inhabitants and their resources could be subject to exploitation. This is the example that was given when King Leopold II of Belgium gave as he took control the Congo Region and exploited its natural resources for personal gain.
Called the Congo Free State, King Leopold II of Belgium was the sole shareholder and chair of the African International Society, a dummy non-governmental organization that ruled over the Congo region. King Leopold’s rule over the Congo Free State is a classic example of kleptocracy in Central Africa, exploiting the people and natural resources for personal gain. King Leopold used the inhabitants of the Congo region as slave workers to extract the resources that naturally occurred in their region. One of the major naturally occurring resources was the rubber tree. Many Congolese people were enslaved in the harvest of this plant. King Leopold’s rule over the Congo region oversaw the deaths of approximately 10 million people; he is commonly paired with Attila the Hun in his viciousness of slaughtering millions of people. The harsh rules of King Leopold II, tethered with the abduction and forced slavery by European traders, are clear examples how the Congolese people were bred in a mindset of “take matters into your own hands.” This type of thinking is what fueled the civil war almost a hundred years later.
In 1960, a difference in leadership style emerged between Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and President Joseph Kasa-Vubu. To keep control...