Review of King Leopold s Ghost. In King Leopold s Ghost, the use of company rule in the Congo by the Belgians is

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1 Collins 1 Jeanna Collins HIST 220: African History Professor Onyeji November 13, 2006 Review of King Leopold s Ghost In King Leopold s Ghost, the use of company rule in the Congo by the Belgians is discussed along with the brutality associated with company rule. The author, Adam Hochschild, discusses the actions of the Belgium ruler, King Leopold II in the Congo and his real reasons for acquiring the Congo. Hochschild gives accounts on the cruel and inhumane treatment of the Africans under King Leopold s supposedly philanthropic vision for the Congo. The author explores the experiences of a variety of characters to depict what really took place in the Congo and the reasons why. The author s main objective was to portray the greed, cruelty, and inhumanity that occurred in the Congo under King Leopold s rule as well as the heroic efforts made to defy King Leopold s rule. Adam Hochschild ultimately wanted to let people know want really occurred in the supposedly Congo Free State. Adam Hochschild depicts the African traditional practices and institutions to give the readers a sense of the impact colonial rule had on the changes in African History. I feel that this information is very significant to understanding contemporary history in Africa. I believe Hochschild s objective was to illustrate that Africa already had established societies and was on its way to greater development just like Oluadah Equiano illustrated in The Life of Olaudah Equiano. The societies that existed in Africa consisted of peoples that were as diverse as the land (Hochschild 72). There were

2 Collins 2 kingdoms with a formal structure of government to forest dwellers who lived in small bands without chiefs or a formal structure of government. These societies with kingdoms selected their chiefs through a council of elders. Also, religion in African traditional societies was more open than Islam and Christianity about the boundaries between this world and the next and what Hochschild referred to as the world of humans and world of beasts. Hochschild stated on page 74 that the most striking thing about the traditional societies of the Congo was their remarkable artwork. This is no longer surprising to me after learning about traditional societies in Africa throughout this class. The inhabitants of the Congo specialized in woodcarving, but made other things as well such as baskets, mats, and pottery. Cubism already existed in African traditional societies through certain pieces of their art. African art influenced European artists such as Braque, Matisse, and Picasso. Olaudah Equiano also describes on page 12 how Africa was highly developed and talented in the arts. However, the Europeans only saw Africa as a source of raw materials to aid the Industrial Revolution and not a developing country. This shift in industrialization from high cost in colonial powers to low cost in less developed countries led to high levels of exploitation in Africa. Khapoya in The African Experience states on page 113 that Africa was referred to as the Dark Continent and held a lot of mystery for European explorers. Africa was also seen as a source of slaves or cheap labor for the colonial plantation economy. The industrial labor force created this need for cheap labor because as the cost of labor goes down the profit goes up.

3 Collins 3 King Leopold decided that he needed a colony in Africa to maximize his profits. However, King Leopold soon realized that a colonial push of his own would require a strong humanitarian push due to the cruelty described in the Arab slave trade. Hochschild states on page 42 that Leopold talked about curbing slave trade, moral uplift, and the advancement of science as supposedly his aims, but did not mention his real aim of making profits. In 1876, Leopold hosted a conference of explorers and geographers to further establish his image as a philanthropist and to ultimately advance his African ambitions. Leopold soon learned that no colonies were for sale and he would have to conquer his own. He owed a lot of thanks to the International African Association in successfully establishing his philanthropic image. Another important figure in the exploration of Africa was Henry Morton Stanley. Stanley had a strong internal urge to become important that caused him to elaborate on his stories to make them seem more exciting. I believe that England ignored his discovery of the Congo because Stanley was known for exaggerating the truth. Since, Stanley felt unimportant to England this led to his initial interest in Leopold s offer of working for him. Leopold knew about Stanley s need for approval of the powerful and he used this to his advantage. Leopold first instructed Stanley to set up a base near the mouth of the Congo River and then construct a road. Stanley and his officers were instructed by Leopold to get the Congo basin chiefs to sign treaties. The chiefs did sign Leopold s treaties, but did they understand what they were signing? I believe that there are at least three reasons that support that the chiefs did not fully understand what they were signing. First, there was the issue of the language barrier between the chiefs and the Belgiums. Second, in African traditional society land was the major means of production in an

4 Collins 4 agrarian based society. So, land in turn can become the major source of conflict. Hochschild points out on page 72 that the idea of a treaty of friendship was familiar to the chiefs, but the idea of signing over one s land to someone one on the other side of the ocean was unconceivable. Third, these traditional societies were not of violent nature and therefore took the opportunity of friendship with these people with advanced weaponry. These were the conditions under which the chiefs signed away not only their land, but also their manpower. Stanley had successfully finished his work for Leopold in June of 1884, and then the Scramble for Africa begun. This led to the Berlin Conference which was hosted by Bismarck on November 15, The seven countries that participated were Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. The Berlin Conference helped to decide what would become of the African land, but no African leader was even invited to the conference. It was not a surprise to me that no Africans were present at the conference since the Europeans did not even consider the Africans as natives. However, the Berlin Conference was very beneficial in Leopold gaining power to the Congo, which he ironically called the Congo Free State. Two major implications of the boundaries set up by the Berlin Conference was that colonial rule brought groups together that once governed themselves and separated groups that were otherwise together. Leopold continued to fool everyone into thinking that he was developing the Congo to fulfill his Christian duty to the poor Africans when in reality it was only to gain him money. George Washington Williams even bought into this facade at first. After Williams sailed the African continent he was horrified by the conditions he saw. Williams helps to shed some light on what was actually happening in the Congo through

5 Collins 5 the Open Letter. The Open Letter showed the reality of the occurrences in the supposedly Free Congo State. William s discovery in the Congo led other men like Conrad, Shepherd, and Morel that were so horrified by what was going in Africa that they made many publications as well to illustrate the cruelty in the Congo. The historical evidence provided throughout this book by Adam Hochschild helped me to realize how the foreign power of Belgium came to claim a land that was not theirs. I also came to see the effects that colonization had in the shaping the current African society. The major effects that took place due to colonialism were depopulation, deculturization, and the underdevelopment of Africa. Depopulation is shown by the fact that the Europeans killed at least 10 million of the Africans in the Congo. I saw that deculturization occurred since the foreign companies were in their native land and had taken over their resources making the Africans dependent on western ways for survival. A lot of the African traditional practices and beliefs were not allowed under colonial rule. I also saw that underdevelopment occurred because colonialism put a stop to the development that was taking place in Africa before the Europeans arrived. King Leopold s Ghost opened my eyes to the horrific events that really took place in the Congo under Leopold s rule. This book helped me get a better grasp of the effects of colonial rule on the Africans. After exploring this book, I am more aware of the capabilities and influence that one human being can have. This made me realize the importance in establishing moral values and human rights, the rights one has simply because one is a human being. I feel that we need to ultimately learn from our past and make a vow to never let something like this happen again.

6 Collins 6 Works Cited Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold s Ghost. Boston: Houghton Mufflin Company, Khapoya, Vincent. The African Experience: An Introduction. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1998.

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