this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2024
239 points (96.5% liked)
A Comm for Historymemes
1344 readers
198 users here now
A place to share history memes!
Rules:
-
No sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, assorted bigotry, etc.
-
No fascism, atrocity denial, etc.
-
Tag NSFW pics as NSFW.
-
Follow all Lemmy.world rules.
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
.... This was Belgium, not a backwater shithole. It was one of the richest countries in the world, the illiteracy rate was already very low. The enlightenment was two centuries prior and Belgium was very much part of it.
The individual baker who never set foot in the Congo may not be personally responsible, but there definitely is a collective responsibility from the population. Like I said, this was reported on and I am sure that if you go back you will find all the major newspapers reported on it long before the Belgian government took back control. It was just politically convenient for most to ignore Leopold II's exactions.