Case Study #2
Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC)
Outline
 Geography
 History
 Dictators
 Civil
War
 Conflict Minerals
Geography
Brainstorm:
What do you think the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) looks like?
Geography
Geography
Second largest
country in Africa
¼ the size of the
USA
Geography
Located on the equator
Midpoint between the poles
Average temperature: 25 ° C
Geography
Congo River
• Deepest river in the
world
• 3rd largest river in the
world
• 9th longest river in the
world
Geography
Mt. Nyiragongo
• Active volcano in the
DRC
• One of the most
active in the world
• One of the least
studied because of
the constant warfare
in the region
History
Before we go into the history of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo… we need to go back and
review the history of globalization…
History
Phases of Globalization (Dominant Western Perspective)
Phase One (2,000 BC - 1400): The Spread of Trade
• Goods and ideas were spread by caravans, horses, & walking
• Rise of Asian power
• Land and sea routes are important (i.e. Silk Road)
Phase Two (1400 - 1950): Discovery and Expansion
• Helped by advances in shipping
• Started with Christopher Columbus sailing to the Caribbean
• Rise of European expansion & imperialism
• Widespread industrialization with the Industrial Revolution
Phase Three (1950 - present): Widespread Interconnectedness
• Includes economic, social, political
• Rapid growth of world markets
• Instant communications
• Rise of China and India as economic powers
History
Phases of Globalization (Dominant Western Perspective)
Phase One (2,000 BC - 1400): The Spread of Trade
• Goods and ideas were spread by caravans, horses, & walking
• Rise of Asian power
• Land and sea routes are important (i.e. Silk Road)
Phase Two (1400 - 1950): Discovery and Expansion
• Helped by advances in shipping
• Started with Christopher Columbus sailing to the Caribbean
• Rise of European expansion & imperialism
• Widespread industrialization with the Industrial Revolution
Phase Three (1950 - present): Widespread Interconnectedness
• Includes economic, social, political
• Rapid growth of world markets
• Instant communications
• Rise of China and India as economic powers
During this
second
phase, the
“Age of
Discovery,”
Europeans
started
exploring
Africa…
History
ACTIVITY
Draw three scenes – one for each of the phases of
globalization.
Draw the symbols, people, landscapes, and
anything else you think you might see/have seen
during each of the phases of globalization
History
The Scramble for Africa
During the Age of Discovery, we saw Europeans
establish settlements and trade posts along the coast
of the African continent but there was little interest in
the interior of Africa for many years….
What Changed? Why did people go to the interior?
History
The Scramble for Africa
Trade
• Increased European demand for raw materials unavailable in
Europe, especially copper, cotton, rubber, cocoa, diamonds,
and tea
• As trade increased, Africa offered cheap materials, limited
competition, and abundant raw materials
Industrial Revolution
• Industrialisation brought about rapid advancements in
transportation and communication, especially in the forms of
steam navigation, railways, and telegraphs
Medical Advances
• An effective treatment for malaria enabled vast expanses of
the tropics to be accessed by Europeans
Strategic Areas
• Gathering strategic military bases and trade route access
(often good bargaining items)
The Suez
Canal
The first
interior
place to be
thoroughly
explored
History
The second place to be
thoroughly explored…
THE CONGO
History
Exploring the Congo
King Leopold II of Belgium
• King Léopold II of Belgium sparked the
scramble for Africa
• Why? He wanted more resources
• Went to Africa and claimed the Congo
region
• Why? Rich in ivory and rubber – needed
rubber for increasing amounts of tires…
• Brutal ruler – villages had quotas for
production and if they didn’t meet them,
they would get their hands cut off
• Used Propaganda - did not let knowledge
of his atrocities get out and bribed
publishers to write positive stories
Is this Propaganda?
Propaganda
Things that are
used to persuade
people to
accept a cause
or a position by
presenting only
one side of an
argument
Congo labourers who
failed to meet rubber
collection quotas were
often punished by having
their hands cut off
Leopold is rumored to
have killed up to 16
million Congolese
Indigenous people
A father in the Congo looks at the severed hand and foot of
his five year old daughter
What do you think this cartoon is symbolizing?
What do you think this cartoon is trying to say?
Do you think Belgium was the ONLY Empire
that wanted resources from Africa…?
History
The Scramble for
Africa
Was a period of
invasion, occupation,
colonization and
annexation of African
territory by European
powers between 1881
and World War I in
1914
History
The Scramble for Africa
Berlin Conference (1884-1885):
A conference among the
world’s imperial powers to split
up Africa… no African
representatives were given a
voice… or territory….
History
Berlin Conference

Fake Reason: “Humanitarianism“
•
•
•

Real Reason: Establish Rules of
Competition
•
•

Condemnation of the slave trade
Prohibition of the sale of alcoholic
beverages and firearms in certain
regions
Expressed concern for missionary
activities
No nation was to stake claims in
Africa without notifying other
powers of its intentions.
No territory could be formally
claimed prior to being effectively
occupied.
Real Life
•
The competitors ignored the rules
when convenient
Why are we learning this?
History: Activity
 Mission:
Re-organize the classroom – what do
you think we should do?
 Rules:



Get into groups of five
Read your handout & follow the directions
Submit your proposal for the new classroom design
History: Activity
Debrief:

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How did you feel during this activity?
Why did you compete with the other groups to claim the
furniture?
Do you think this was a fair way to claim the furniture?
What might have been a better way?
If unclaimed furniture remains, who should get it?
Did anyone ask me how I thought the classroom should
be designed?
How does this activity compare to the Scramble for
Africa?
History: Activity
Reflection
The scramble for African territories among
European powers was like…
Create an analogy, finish the response, and create
a drawing of the analogy
MY ANALOGY!?!
Does it work?
 The
scramble for African territories among
European powers was like…
 A game of Hungry Hungry Hippos!
History: Worksheet
 In
groups of two, analyze the worksheet “The
Quest for Empire: Analyzing European Motives”
 For each source, determine the motivation for
empire building (Gold, Glory, God) and provide
an explanation for your choice
Dictators
After WWII, many imperial powers pulled out of
Africa…
This created a power-vacuum
In many African countries, imperialist powers were
replaced by home-grown dictators
WHY?
Dictators
Power Vacuum?
 After WWII, the United
Nations was created
 Maintain peace &
promote cooperation
 Created a charter
that did not fit with
imperialism and
owning nations…
Dictators
UN Charter:
“…To develop friendly relations among nations
based on respect for the principle of equal rights
and self-determination of peoples, and to take
other appropriate measures to strengthen
universal peace…”
Dictators


Independence
(June 30, 1960)
A President & PM were
put in place but there
was unrest…
Mobutu Sese Seko led a
coup financed by the
USA and Belgium (he
opposed communism
and they wanted to
stop the spread of
communism)
Dictators
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
Mobutu
Mobutu declared
himself head of state
Elections were held
where he was the only
candidate
Embezzled government
funds and took
international loans and
placed them in his
personal bank account
Dictators
Brainstorm!
What do you think the word “dictator” means?
What about “dictatorship?”
Dictators
Dictator: A ruler who has complete control over a
nation
Dictatorship: A type of government where a single
person rules with absolute power.
Civil War
 Rwandan


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Civil War: Tutsis v. Hutus
Tutsis were in control of the Rwandan government
1.2 million Hutus fled to the Congo – killed Tutsis in the
Congo
Rwanda and Ugandan armies invaded the Congo…
overthrew Mobutu and Laurent-Kabila was the new
leader
Civil war continued… Kabila was assassinated and his
son, Joseph Kabila took over
Joseph called for multilateral help from the UN
Civil War
Multilateral Assistance – United Nations

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Created a “United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (MONUC)”
Negotiated a cease-fire agreement
Oversaw the country’s first free and fair elections – Joseph Kabila
won
Fighting still continues as different forces (rebel forces, Rwanda,
etc.) try to gain control of the Congo’s rich resources
March 2013: The UN has given the peace-keeping organization
orders to “neutralize” and “disarm” rebel groups in the resourcerich east of the country…
To date, over 5 million people have died…
Conflict Minerals
What’s so valuable about Congo’s
resources?
Conflict Resources
Brainstorm!
What is everything you can think of that is
related to cell phones?
Conflict Resources
Brainstorm!
What is everything you can think of that is
related to guns?
Conflict Resources
How do you think these might be related?
Conflict Minerals
Conflict Minerals
Documentary: Blood in the Mobile
Conflict Minerals
Calculating the TRUE cost of a cell phone
Questions to Research & Answer:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How are our cell phones linked to minerals in the Congo?
Why are the Congo’s minerals called “conflict minerals?”
How have conflict minerals have damaged Congo’s environment?
Answer the following questions about life in the Congo:
a) Describe the life a mine worker in the Congo.
b) Where does the Congo rank on the Human Development Index?
Explain what this index is and why you think the Congo might have its
ranking.
c) How many people are killed each month in the Congo because of
conflict minerals?
d) How has rape been used as a weapon in the Congo?
5. Is there any legislation in place to protect the Congo and its people?
(Hint: Look into the Dodd-Frank law on conflict minerals)
6. Look up the term “sustainable prosperity.” Do you think the Congo’s
conflict minerals are an example of sustainable prosperity? Why or why
not?
Quiz Review
Terms to know:
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Phases of Globalization (Age of Discovery)
Scramble for Africa
Berlin Conference
Annexation
King Leopold
Rubber War
Propaganda
Humanitarianism
Dictator/Dictatorship
United Nations
Conflict minerals