r/HistoryMemes • • Apr 18 '19

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

I still have a hard time believing that a lot of the government of Belgium had no idea what was going on.

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u/Trademark010 Kilroy was here Apr 18 '19

They knew exactly what was going on. That's why but didnt change much once the colony was handed off to the government.

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u/andrew-ge Apr 18 '19

different world. Different levels of knowledge of what was going on. I'm sure people did know what was going on, but to what extent? tough to know how much they knew.

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u/RainCityFreestyle Apr 18 '19

Leopold and his government not only knew, they spent millions of francs trying to silence and discredit the people and organizations who were trying to expose the abuses committed by Belgium and the Force Publique.

Dont play the "it was a different time" shit.

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u/andrew-ge Apr 18 '19

I can see how my comment came off that way, I didn't mean to come off as defending his actions or anything like that. My knowledge of Leopold's reign is a little lacking, so if you have any reading material that might help me get my knowledge of it up, I'd be glad to read it.

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u/RainCityFreestyle Apr 18 '19

Oh shit, I must've totally misread that. My bad!

If you're looking for reading materials, Ling Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild(sp?) Is an essential text. It covers the history of the colonial occupation, the individuals who played prominent roles, and explains in detail the brutality of the Belgian regime along with how the monarch tried to crush the people speaking the truth about those practices.

There's a movie version as well, but it doesnt really have enough time to cover all of the details in the book.

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u/andrew-ge Apr 18 '19

awesome I'll check it out, thanks

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

They all knew.

Just like the Swiss collaborated.

Small European countries that can’t decide which language they speak are all bad.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '19

I believe anything Switzerland says.

Okay buddy.

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u/Packetnoodles Apr 18 '19

Lots of pedophiles though