King Leopold's Ghost: Bloodbath Of The Congo

Admitted in the Memoir of Ndansi Kumalo, “Well, the white men have brought us some good things. For a start, they brought us European implements - plows; we can buy European clothes, which are an advance. The government has arranged for education and through that, when our children grow up, they may rise in status.” The Europeans admittedly brought many great things to the Natives of the countries they conquered; better technology, education, and overall help were given to the natives. In the beginning, Europeans tried as much as they could to prop up the natives to a better, civilised stature. However, as their power and grasp on the region increased, as did their greed. According to Richard Harding Davis in Leopold, The Janitor from the Congo and the Coasts of Africa, “The Charges brought against Leopold II, as King of the Congo, are three: (1) That he has made slaves of the twenty million blacks he promised to protect. (2) That, in spite of his promise to keep the Congo open to trade, he has closed it to all nations. (3) That the revenues of the country and all of its trade has retained to himself.” Such imperialism allowed far away kings to exploit their populaces of Native Africans as if they were just toys to the crown. Leaders would force their powerless and technologically underdeveloped subjects into fruitless

In the 1880s, as the European powers were carving up Africa, King Leopold II of Belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of the Congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and ultimately slashed its population by ten million--all the while shrewdly cultivating his reputation as a great humanitarian. Heroic efforts to expose these crimes eventually led to the first great human rights movement of the twentieth century, in which everyone from Mark Twain to the Archbishop of Canterbury participated. King Leopold's Ghost is the haunting account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions, a man as cunning, charming, and cruel as any of the great

He uses different perspectives to convey the different moments throughout the book, albeit some are biased toward the European imperialism (opposing Hochschild’s thesis). The diverse reference points throughout the story make for an effective support for Hochschild’s argument because he cross-applies these sources and justifies why one may be more reliable to use. Hochschild even uses the evidence which appears to controvert his thesis to give an explanation for why the imperialism occurred in the first place. He quotes Leopold when the Belgian king was still looking to receive the Congo, reciting “We… wishing to secure for Our beloved fatherland the fruits of the work which, for many long years… have been pursuing on the African continent… declare by these presents, to bequeath and transmit… all Our sovereign rights over [the Congo Free State]” (Hochschild 95). Hochschild then writes, “There was one added twist. When the king made public his will, it was backdated, so that his bequest looked like an act of generosity instead of part of a financial bargain” (Hochschild 95). By exposing Leopold’s actions, Hochschild convincingly allows the reader to understand the moral flaws in Leopold’s imperialism. Additionally, Hochschild backs up these claims with eyewitness accounts of the Congolese peoples who had suffered. One report explains the natives hatred for one general,

European powers began to take over territories throughout the continent of Africa during the 19th century. Historian Adam Hochschild’s depiction of King Leopold of Belgium was written in 1998 and titled, King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Hochschild talked extensively about the greed for money and slavery resulting in the genocide of the Congo and the protests of humanitarians that followed the King’s exploitation of Africans. In his thesis, the author stated that “[t]his is the story of that movement, of the savage crime that was its target, of the long period of exploration and conquest that preceded it, and of the way the world has forgotten one of the great mass killings of recent history.”

King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild explains the lead up to and the establishment of the Congo Free State under Belgium. Hochschild does so through many accounts of the life going on inside the Congo during the exploration of the Africa and the beginning of an established government in the Congo. The death toll during Leopold’s reign could have reached over 10 million before the Belgium government would take the Congo away from the out of control Leopold. This could make the Leopold’s Congo one of the worst genocides in human history. Unfortunately there was no basis for recording the murders by Leopold’s officers, so we will never know the exact figure of the death toll.

The rule of King Leopold II instilled disturbing methods of ruling. He enslaved the people of The democratic republic of Congo (Congolese) to gather him resources that would only benefit him. He was willing to do whatever it took to gain resources, even if it meant enslaving the people. “ King Leopold II nearly enslaved many of the Congolese people in order to gain wealth, and to bring power” (Citation) imperialism had a negative impact on the country, it had a long lasting impacts on the country because he depleted them of their resources which means they don't have much to export as a country now. King Leopold II used the people as slaves to gather their resources due to the danger of the work, which resulted in many casualties and injuries. He wanted to rule the country as he wanted rather than what was right for the people. He lied to the Belgian government in order to gain power of the country, by saying that his

Throughout the book Hochschild shows the dedication of Morel, and major roles that characters played to shape the history of the Congo like Stanley, and William Sheppard (who was one of the most outspoken out of all American Congo missionaries.) The author examined the Congo because it shows how extreme colonialism is and what it was like for people that were under a colonial rule. I think this book has a clear meaning and thesis, Hochschild wanted to expose what happened in the Congo because he felt like it had been covered up and he wanted to paint the readers a picture that they would never forget. My theory is I don’t believe that King Leopold was there for the greater good and to better the Congolese people. I think it’s obvious from

King Leopold’s actions were appalling, even to his own people and as a result he was removed from the throne and the land was annexed by Belgium. Another result was several countries taking notice of Leo’s exploits, and the “Scramble for Africa” Began.

King Leopold’s Ghost is a nonfiction book about Imperialism in Africa written by Adam Hochschild. Hochschild was born in New York in 1942 and graduated from Harvard in 1963 with a B.A. degree in history and literature (Interview with Adam Hochschild). He worked as a reporter for a daily newspaper for two years and then he went on to writing and editing magazines. In 1986 he wrote his first book, and then twelve years later he wrote his second: King Leopold’s Ghost. Hochschild said he writes about subjects he’s interested in. In the introduction to King Leopold’s Ghost he states that he knew nothing about the history of the Congo until he noticed a footnote in a book (Hochschild 3). Hochschild said that when you come across something striking, you remember where you were when you read it. In this particular experience he was in an airliner crossing the United States. He read a quotation by Mark Twain about the caliber of what happened in the Congo and was startled (3), this sparked his interest in the Congo and inspired him to start researching to see if the mass murders he read about were true.

Morel was one of the bigger people that helped end King Leopold's reign over the Congo. He was employed by Elder Dumpster to supervise the arrival and departure of ships coming to or from the Congo. Just like Sheppard and Williams he saw the atrocities that Leopold was doing to the territory. He did dabble with freelance writing which he then used to write about what he saw. Elder Dempster did try keep him quiet, but Morel decided to devote his life to exposing Leopold’s plans.

In the Congo he saw polished ivory, tactile rubber, and an abundant workforce. Leopold, as the explorer Henry Morton Stanley would say, “had the ‘enormous voracity to swallow a million of square mills with a gullet that will not take in a herring’” (Hochschild, 191). Hochschild, after describing the king’s bounty (worth almost 200 million francs), details all of the superfluous and lavish monuments, palaces, and projects Leopold planed

In the first part of Hochschild’s book, he describes the actions and desires that led King Leopold to seize the Congo Free State, the rules he broke and how he manipulated the nations with his righteousness of combating slavery- even though figured such as George Williams and ____ began speaking out against him. Hochschild describes King Leopold II as rude, revolting and awkward as he was growing up. His characteristics only began to drift towards persuasive and cunning when he discovered his curiosity in the colonization of new land. Conveniently, many European countries had no interest in colonization. When Leopold gained power, and searched for his lovely colony, their ambivalence resulted in him creating a colony on his own account.

The book, Congo: The Epic History of a People by David Van Reybrouck, bring this idea of colonialization, which mean forcing ideas on people, reorganized of the world, a fantasy that has to be inforce, conquering territories and changing the culture and life of the people. It is very clear in the book that author focus more into the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo through the Belgian colonialism and the decolonization process.

Leopold was pretty young when he became the king of Belgium. His father described his as "subtle and sly" as well as compared him to a fox on page 34. King Leopold didn't much care for studies yet he did fairly well with military training. He was "very odd" as Queen Victoria had said about him. He married Marie-Antionette even though they loathed each other and had two daughters. One day he got interested owning a colony after reading "How to Manage a Colony." From the beginning of his rule, Leopold was ambitious for colonies. He wanted to compete with other European powers that were amassing wealth from their colonies. He kept that goal all throughout the book. Leopold began to develop his rationale for conquest of Africa by using the common

Aside from the Book’s clear and detailed picture of the colonial era, one of the other basic strengths that form in the text are the images of key players in the Congo-Leopold tale. Although Hochschild extensively covers Leopold, he also gives critical attention to other characters such as Morel and Morton Stanley. Morton was the face of Leopold in Congo, a person that Hochschild exposes his cruelty and rage. Most of Morton’s character is linked to his childhood, more so the inner wounds, he must have lived and experienced. Through the life of Morton, Hochschild successfully depicts the economic explanation of imperialist expansion. Yet, there is also the psychological aspect, such as Morton’s upbringing, which may have also affected Leopold.