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Léon Rom
Léon Auguste Théophile Rom (2 April 1859 – 30 January 1924) was a Belgian military officer and colonial administrator. His role in atrocities in the Congo Free State have led some to speculate that Rom served as an inspiration for the character of Kurtz in Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella ''Heart of Darkness''. Life Léon Auguste Théophile Rom was born on 2 April 1859 to a poor family in Mons, Belgium, and joined the Belgian Army at the age of 16. He subsequently worked as a customs officer before leaving Belgium for the Congo Free State in 1886 as one of the few hundred whites working in the colony's administration. Receiving a series of rapid promotions, Rom commanded the station at Stanley Falls and was eventually promoted District Commissioner of Matadi. He later transferred to the colonial military, the ''Force Publique'', where he served as a captain. He was praised for his conduct during the Congo Arab War (1892–94) in which he personally negotiated the surrender of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mons, Belgium
Mons (; German and , ; Walloon language, Walloon and ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV, Count of Hainaut, Baldwin IV of County of Hainaut, Hainaut in the 12th century. The population grew quickly, trade flourished, and several commercial buildings were erected near the Grand-Place. In 1814, King William I of the Netherlands increased the fortifications, following the fall of the First French Empire. The Industrial Revolution and coal mining made Mons a centre of heavy industry. In 1830, Belgium gained its independence and the decision was made to dismantle the fortifications, allowing the creation of large boulevards and other urban projects. In 1914, Mons was the location of the Battle of Mons. The British were forced to withdrawal (military), retreat by a numerically superior German force and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gallows
A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks of grain or minerals, usually positioned in markets or toll gates. The term was also used for a projecting framework from which a ship's anchor might be raised so it is no longer sitting on the seabed, riverbed or dock; "weighing [the] anchor" meant raising it using this apparatus while avoiding striking the ship's hull. In modern usage the term has come to mean almost exclusively a scaffold or gibbet used for execution (legal), execution by hanging. Etymology The term "wikt:gallows, gallows" was derived from a Proto-Germanic word ''wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/galgô, galgô'' that refers to a "pole", "rod" or "tree branch". With the beginning of Christianization, Ulfilas used the term ''galga'' in his Gothic language, Gothic T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Trophy Collecting
The practice of human trophy collecting involves the acquisition of human body parts as trophy, usually as war trophy. The intent may be to demonstrate dominance over the deceased (such as scalp-taking or forming necklaces of severed ears or teeth), to humiliate or intimidate the enemy (such as shrunken heads or skull cups), or in some rare cases to commemorate the deceased (such as the veneration of the relics of saints). It can be done to prove one's body count in battle, to boast of one's prowess and achievements to peers, or as a status symbol of superior masculinity. Serial killers' collection of their victims' body parts have also been described as a form of trophy-taking. While older customs generally included the burial of human war trophies along with the collector, such items have been sold in modern times. History Archaeologists discovered human skull cups dating to 14,700 years ago in Gough’s Cave, in Somerset, England; these skulls were modified in ways in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congo Free State Officials
Congo or The Congo may refer to: * Congo River, in central Africa * Congo Basin, the sedimentary basin of the river * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, sometimes referred to as "Congo-Kinshasa" * Republic of the Congo, the smaller country to the northwest, sometimes referred to as "Congo-Brazzaville" Places Africa * Congo Canyon, a submarine canyon * Kingdom of Kongo (1390–1914) * Kingdom of Kakongo (15th century–1885) * Congo Free State (1885–1908) * Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) or Congo-Léopoldville (1960–1971) * People's Republic of the Congo (1969–1992) * M'banza Congo, capital of Zaire Province in Angola * Kongo, Ghana, town in Ghana * Kongo, Liberia, small town in Liberia Former colonies * Belgian Congo (modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) * French Congo (modern-day Republic of the Congo) * Portuguese Congo (modern-day Kabinda, Angola) United States * Congo, Alabama * Congo, Missouri * Congo, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
19th-century Belgian Military Personnel
The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was Abolitionism, abolished in much of Europe and the Americas. The First Industrial Revolution, though it began in the late 18th century, expanded beyond its British homeland for the first time during the 19th century, particularly remaking the economies and societies of the Low Countries, France, the Rhineland, Northern Italy, and the Northeastern United States. A few decades later, the Second Industrial Revolution led to ever more massive urbanization and much higher levels of productivity, profit, and prosperity, a pattern that continued into the 20th century. The Catholic Church, in response to the growing influence and power of modernism, secularism and materialism, formed the First Vatican Council in the late 19th century to deal with such problems an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
People From Mons, Belgium
The term "the people" refers to the public or common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. In contrast, a people is any plurality of persons considered as a whole. Used in politics and law, the term "a people" refers to the collective or community of an ethnic group or nation. Concepts Legal Chapter One, Article One of the Charter of the United Nations states that "peoples" have the right to self-determination. Though the mere status as peoples and the right to self-determination, as for example in the case of Indigenous peoples (''peoples'', as in all groups of indigenous people, not merely all indigenous persons as in ''indigenous people''), does not automatically provide for independent sovereignty and therefore secession. Indeed, judge Ivor Jennings identified the inherent problems in the right of "peoples" to self-determination, as i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1924 Deaths
Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in China holds its 1st National Congress of the Kuomintang, first National Congress, initiating a policy of alliance with the Soviet Union and the Chinese Communist Party. * January 21 – Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, The Earl of Athlone is appointed Governor-General of the Union of South Africa, and High Commissioner for Southern Africa.Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices: South Africa: Governors-General: 1910-1961 (Accessed on 14 April 2017) * January 22 – R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1859 Births
Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia are united under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire. It would be a principal step in forming the modern state of Romania. * January 28 – The city of Olympia is incorporated in the Washington Territory of the United States of America. * February 2 – Miguel Miramón (1832–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * February 4 – German scholar Constantin von Tischendorf rediscovers the '' Codex Sinaiticus'', a 4th-century uncial manuscript of the Greek Bible, in Saint Catherine's Monastery on the foot of Mount Sinai, in the Khedivate of Egypt and arranges for its presentation to his patron, Tsar Alexander II of Russia at Saint Petersburg. * February 14 – Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state. * February 12 – ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atrocities In The Congo Free State
From 1885 to 1908, many atrocities were committed in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of Belgium. These atrocities were particularly associated with the labour policies, enforced by colonial administrators, used to collect natural rubber for export. Combined with epidemic disease, famine, mass population displacement and falling birth rates caused by these disruptions, the atrocities contributed to a sharp decline in the Congolese population. Estimates of up to 13 million have been suggested, though some of the highest estimates were later retracted. A demographic study from 2020 concludes that a population decline outside the range of one to five million is improbable. At the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, the European powers recognized the claims of a supposedly philanthropic organisation run by Leopold II, to most of the Congo Basin region. Leopold had long held ambitions for colonial expansion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz (; born 4 October 1956) is an Austrian and German actor. Primarily active in the United States, he gained international recognition for his portrayal of villainous and supporting roles in English-language films. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Critics' Choice Movie Awards in addition to nomination for an Emmy Award. After a substantial career in German television and theatre, Waltz's American breakthrough role came in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film ''Inglourious Basterds'', in which he played Hans Landa, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Award. He collaborated with Tarantino again in '' Django Unchained'' (2012), for which he earned his second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, this time for his performance as a bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz. He has also starred in '' Carnage'' (2011), ''T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Legend Of Tarzan (film)
''The Legend of Tarzan'' is a 2016 adventure film directed by David Yates. Based on the character Tarzan created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the film stars an ensemble cast including Alexander Skarsgård, Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie, Djimon Hounsou, Jim Broadbent, and Christoph Waltz. The story follows John Clayton (Tarzan), who, after moving to London, is convinced by George Washington Williams to return to his former home in the jungles of Africa, to investigate claims of slavery. It is the final film to be produced by Jerry Weintraub before his death in 2015. Principal photography began on June 21, 2014, at Leavesden Studios in the United Kingdom and wrapped four months later. The film premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on June 29, 2016, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 1, 2016, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It grossed $356.7 million worldwide against a budget of $180 million and received mixed reviews from critics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.About.com, Literature: Contemporary "Antagonist." Online. 18 October 2007. * Retrieved 25 March 2015. * Retrieved on 27 March 2015. * Retrieved on 27 March 2015. * Retrieved on 27 March 2015. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, rival," which is derived from ''anti-'' ("against") and ''agonizesthai'' ("to contend for a prize").Types Heroes and villains The ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
