Today Is Tax Day, And It Seems An Appropriate Day To Know Who "History’s 10 Most Bloodthirsty Rulers" Are!
History’s 10 Most Bloodthirsty Rulers
Unfortunately, the worst of humanity is often exhibited by those with the most power. Whether their reign is passed down through bloodlines or it’s obtained through violent uprisings, half of the ensuing battle is maintaining control and ensuring no further changes are made — hence the need to create a personality cult. When that fails, civilians can be faced with years-long civil wars, mass murder or genocide, and if such humanitarian crises occur, they can only pray outside intervention quells the bloodshed. The fact of the matter is, although society has evolved at a rapid rate in recent centuries, we’re still prone to reverting back to our primal desires for power and security. The 10 bloodthirsty rulers below are proof of that.
Mao Zedong, 1st Chairman of the Communist Party of China: It’s difficult to imagine that someone who may have been responsible for up to 80 million deaths is held in such high regard in his native land, but that’s what happens when you successfully forge a personality cult. There are a few infamous instances in which Mao caused the demise of scores of Chinese, most notably with his first political campaign, the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries, along with the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. The Great Leap Forward, an effort to modernize China’s economy, resulted in an estimated 40 million deaths. The Cultural Revolution, a social movement intended to squash capitalist elements, was facilitated after the failure of the policies of the Great Leap Forward, and only worsened the death toll.
Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union: Another power-drunk communist leader, more reckless policies. Stalin assumed the role of General Secretary in 1922, and immediately consolidated power and implemented his economic plan, which entailed industrialization and resulted in the greatest famine in human history (1932 and ’33). In 1937, he oversaw the Great Purge, in which he ridded the government and the rest of Soviet society of suspected saboteurs and traitors. Memorably, the costliest theater of World War II occurred in the Soviet Union and much of the damage was done after Germany violated their non-aggression pact — it took about 24 million Soviet deaths to stave off the Nazis.
Pol Pot, Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea: Pol Pot ascended to power in Cambodia during America’s involvement in the region. Also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, he cleansed the countryside in an effort to start anew, killing up to 2.5 million people, 21 percent of the country’s population, due to starvation, extremely arduous labor, primitive medical care and the killings of enemies and suspected enemies. His ill-conceived agrarian socialism plan, which forced urban dwellers to work in the countryside, only further crippled the economy and limited the length of his reign of terror.
Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer of Germany: With an ideology that led to the world’s greatest war and tens of millions of deaths, Hitler is perhaps the most despised man in human history. His ideology of Aryan superiority and mission to obtain a region exclusively for the race to reside, Lebensraum, resulted in the killing and enslaving of Slavs and an attempt to systematically exterminate the Jews. The Holocaust eliminated two-thirds of the European Jewish population — most people starved, died while participating in intense labor or were executed in structures such as gas chambers and ovens. Seventeen million deaths occurred under his reign — such inhumanity in the Western world is difficult to imagine today.
Leopold II of Belgium, Ruler and Owner of Congo Free State: Crooked rulers tend to choose titles that indicate the opposite of what’s true. Leopold II privately owned and oversaw the inappropriately named Congo Free State, and treated it as his own possession, using its resources to expand his personal wealth. He ignored conditions established at the Berlin Conference that called for the free trade and the natives to be modernized. Instead, he forced the natives to work as his personal slaves in the formation of a profitable rubber industry. The number of people who died as a result is hard to measure, but some have estimated the figure is 15 million.
Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister and Army Minister of Japan: Executed as a war criminal after Japan’s unconditional surrender in 1945, Tojo waged unnecessary wars and caused millions of deaths in China, Indochina and the Philippines. As the Prime Minister of Japan and Army Minister, among several other titles, he supported militarism and nationalism and advocated eugenics. In America and much of the West, he’s remembered for authorizing the mistreatment and killings of tens of thousands of Allied POWs. Some historians consider him responsible for five million deaths.
Ismail Enver, General and Minister of War of Ottoman Empire: Enver’s quick rise to power came as a result of his ability to organize and lead his military. However, he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Russians in the Armenian Highlands after allying with the Central Powers in World War I. Subsequently, he oversaw the systematic destruction of the Armenian population with massacres and forced deportations that led them into areas where they had no chance to survive. The event gave birth to the term genocide, and is often overshadowed by the more costly Holocaust. More than one million Armenians died.
Kim Il-sung, President of North Korea: Father of modern day Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-Il , Kim Il-sung was the original leader of communist North Korea. He initiated the Korean War, which led to the split of Korea, and strengthened his control over the nation by winning the trust of his people and claiming the U.S. spread diseases through the country’s population. In addition to lying, he conducted purges like Stalin did in the Soviet Union in order to forcefully ensure he was supported, putting suspected saboteurs and traitors in prison camps. His leadership resulted in more than a million needless deaths.
Mengistu Haile Mariam, Chairman of the Derg and Head of State of Ethiopia: As the leader of the Derg, a communist militia, Mengistu notably fought resistance from the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party and other revolutionaries in the Red Terror by systematically murdering them in 1977 and ’78. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians died during the period, including thousands of children. Overall, during his reign, hundreds of thousands were killed due to internal and external conflicts.
Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of Sudan: The recent conflict in Darfur, which has taken up to 400,000 lives, has been well-documented, and al-Bashir has been in the middle of it. In 2010, he was accused by the International Code Council (ICC) of "genocide by killing, genocide by causing serious bodily or mental harm and genocide by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction." Still in power, one can only hope he doesn’t inflict further significant damage.
Unfortunately, the worst of humanity is often exhibited by those with the most power. Whether their reign is passed down through bloodlines or it’s obtained through violent uprisings, half of the ensuing battle is maintaining control and ensuring no further changes are made — hence the need to create a personality cult. When that fails, civilians can be faced with years-long civil wars, mass murder or genocide, and if such humanitarian crises occur, they can only pray outside intervention quells the bloodshed. The fact of the matter is, although society has evolved at a rapid rate in recent centuries, we’re still prone to reverting back to our primal desires for power and security. The 10 bloodthirsty rulers below are proof of that.
Mao Zedong, 1st Chairman of the Communist Party of China: It’s difficult to imagine that someone who may have been responsible for up to 80 million deaths is held in such high regard in his native land, but that’s what happens when you successfully forge a personality cult. There are a few infamous instances in which Mao caused the demise of scores of Chinese, most notably with his first political campaign, the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries, along with the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. The Great Leap Forward, an effort to modernize China’s economy, resulted in an estimated 40 million deaths. The Cultural Revolution, a social movement intended to squash capitalist elements, was facilitated after the failure of the policies of the Great Leap Forward, and only worsened the death toll.
Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union: Another power-drunk communist leader, more reckless policies. Stalin assumed the role of General Secretary in 1922, and immediately consolidated power and implemented his economic plan, which entailed industrialization and resulted in the greatest famine in human history (1932 and ’33). In 1937, he oversaw the Great Purge, in which he ridded the government and the rest of Soviet society of suspected saboteurs and traitors. Memorably, the costliest theater of World War II occurred in the Soviet Union and much of the damage was done after Germany violated their non-aggression pact — it took about 24 million Soviet deaths to stave off the Nazis.
Pol Pot, Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea: Pol Pot ascended to power in Cambodia during America’s involvement in the region. Also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Kampuchea, he cleansed the countryside in an effort to start anew, killing up to 2.5 million people, 21 percent of the country’s population, due to starvation, extremely arduous labor, primitive medical care and the killings of enemies and suspected enemies. His ill-conceived agrarian socialism plan, which forced urban dwellers to work in the countryside, only further crippled the economy and limited the length of his reign of terror.
Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer of Germany: With an ideology that led to the world’s greatest war and tens of millions of deaths, Hitler is perhaps the most despised man in human history. His ideology of Aryan superiority and mission to obtain a region exclusively for the race to reside, Lebensraum, resulted in the killing and enslaving of Slavs and an attempt to systematically exterminate the Jews. The Holocaust eliminated two-thirds of the European Jewish population — most people starved, died while participating in intense labor or were executed in structures such as gas chambers and ovens. Seventeen million deaths occurred under his reign — such inhumanity in the Western world is difficult to imagine today.
Leopold II of Belgium, Ruler and Owner of Congo Free State: Crooked rulers tend to choose titles that indicate the opposite of what’s true. Leopold II privately owned and oversaw the inappropriately named Congo Free State, and treated it as his own possession, using its resources to expand his personal wealth. He ignored conditions established at the Berlin Conference that called for the free trade and the natives to be modernized. Instead, he forced the natives to work as his personal slaves in the formation of a profitable rubber industry. The number of people who died as a result is hard to measure, but some have estimated the figure is 15 million.
Hideki Tojo, Prime Minister and Army Minister of Japan: Executed as a war criminal after Japan’s unconditional surrender in 1945, Tojo waged unnecessary wars and caused millions of deaths in China, Indochina and the Philippines. As the Prime Minister of Japan and Army Minister, among several other titles, he supported militarism and nationalism and advocated eugenics. In America and much of the West, he’s remembered for authorizing the mistreatment and killings of tens of thousands of Allied POWs. Some historians consider him responsible for five million deaths.
Ismail Enver, General and Minister of War of Ottoman Empire: Enver’s quick rise to power came as a result of his ability to organize and lead his military. However, he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Russians in the Armenian Highlands after allying with the Central Powers in World War I. Subsequently, he oversaw the systematic destruction of the Armenian population with massacres and forced deportations that led them into areas where they had no chance to survive. The event gave birth to the term genocide, and is often overshadowed by the more costly Holocaust. More than one million Armenians died.
Kim Il-sung, President of North Korea: Father of modern day Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-Il , Kim Il-sung was the original leader of communist North Korea. He initiated the Korean War, which led to the split of Korea, and strengthened his control over the nation by winning the trust of his people and claiming the U.S. spread diseases through the country’s population. In addition to lying, he conducted purges like Stalin did in the Soviet Union in order to forcefully ensure he was supported, putting suspected saboteurs and traitors in prison camps. His leadership resulted in more than a million needless deaths.
Mengistu Haile Mariam, Chairman of the Derg and Head of State of Ethiopia: As the leader of the Derg, a communist militia, Mengistu notably fought resistance from the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party and other revolutionaries in the Red Terror by systematically murdering them in 1977 and ’78. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians died during the period, including thousands of children. Overall, during his reign, hundreds of thousands were killed due to internal and external conflicts.
Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of Sudan: The recent conflict in Darfur, which has taken up to 400,000 lives, has been well-documented, and al-Bashir has been in the middle of it. In 2010, he was accused by the International Code Council (ICC) of "genocide by killing, genocide by causing serious bodily or mental harm and genocide by deliberately inflicting on each target group conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s physical destruction." Still in power, one can only hope he doesn’t inflict further significant damage.
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posted by KYJurisDoctor at 2:02 PM
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