Question

Talk of the lazy native accompanied the entire european land grab in africa, just as it had been used to justify the conquest of the americas. to an american reporter leopold once declared, "in dealing with a race composed of cannibals for thousands of years it is necessary to use methods which will best shake their idleness and make them realize the sanctity of work." according to this passage, how did leopold justify his treatment of the congolese people? a. the congolese were an inferior race who needed harsh treatment to learn how to work. b. the congolese had too many resources and had become lazy because of their wealth. c. the congolese were not treated harshly, compared to the american indians. d. the congolese people could never learn how to work, so they must be punished.

Answer 1

a. the congolese were an inferior race who needed harsh treatment to learn how to work.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to this passage, Leopold justified his treatment of the Congolese people by claiming that they were an inferior race who had been cannibals for thousands of years, and therefore needed harsh methods to "shake their idleness and make them realize the sanctity of work". He believed that the Congolese needed to be treated harshly in order to be taught the value of hard work and productivity. This justification is racist and dehumanizing, and it was used to justify the exploitation of the Congolese people and their resources by European colonizers.