Analysis of King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild - Essay Example

King Leopold’s Ghost Adam Hochschild published the book ‘King Leopord’s ghost in 1998, retelling a story that the world knows. However, he narrates the story from a new perspective. In this new perspective, he highlights king Leopold’s legacy by revisiting the world’s history in order to gain a better understanding of the happenings of the 1980s. The story reveals what transpired in an era when Europeans explored Africa with diverse intentions at heart. For Leopold, he saw Congo as an opportunity and set out to draw a strategy of exploiting this opportunity. This paper will analyze the book and highlight what it reveals about Leopold’s venture into the African Congo. Overview Hochschild tells the story from an international perspective. He builds a connection between the activities happening in three continents during that time. Europeans from Belgium and other countries intended were making advances of exploring other continents. There had been a strong wave of civilization in the European sphere. In addition, an industrial revolution had taken place in Europe and most of the countries were making advances in economical development. Moreover, Christianity had spread to dominate the entire Europe. On the other hand, Africa was a vast land of undiscovered land. Europeans had the zeal to discover what lay in other continents. On realizing that the African continent existed without any form of civilization, they intended to spread the wave of civilization to the new regions (Hachschild 12). Most of the Europeans considered Africa as a land where they could exert influence to make something out of the emptiness that existed. Others intended to spread Christianity in these new regions. After the industrial revolution in Europe, capitalism had taken its roots in the majority of European countries. Merchants were zealously seeking new business avenues with the drive to amass wealth for their mother countries. The map in the initial pages of the book depicts the European perception of Africa. In this map, Congo was an unoccupied that the Europeans could exploit. In addition, the novel introduces the gap that existed between Africa and the entire world. The Europeans believed in numerous tales of the medieval era that said scary things about life in Africa. The construction of sailing vessels by the Portuguese opened up an avenue to explore the unknown continent (Hachschild 17). Moreover, the Europeans wanted to establish the source of the Nile River. The first chapter of the book opens the reader of the realities of 1897, towards the end of the 19th century. The author introduces the reader to Morel, who was working in a ship company. Over time, Morel observed that they ferried raw materials from African countries and specifically the Congo Free State. It was surprising for him to realize that the Europeans brought nothing to Congo despite the numerous goods emanating fro m Congo to Europe. Through this observation n, he woke up to the reality that there was virtually no trade between the Europeans and Congo. The deal was one-sided. Morel reasoned that production of such was impossible without the availability of cheap labor. He realized that the only explanation for what was happening was the application of slave labor in Congo. In addition, the author introduces the reader to Leopold who apparently was in control of Congo. From the onset, the author highlighted that Leopold was the only European exercising control in the Congo region. However, the author revealed that European world knew a different version of Leopold’s intention and activities in Congo. Leopold had led everyone into believing that he was in Congo for humanitarian courses. He received appraisal from Europe for being a man who devoted his time and resources in promoting development in Congo. He allowed missionaries into the Congo Free State as strategy to keep his true intentions under cover. However, many other individuals had noticed the oppression Leopold was causing in Congo and tried to expose him, but without success (Hachschild 22). The Transatlantic Trade The author provides details of the transatlantic trade that connected three different continents. The trade relied on the suitability of tides in the Atlantic Ocean that determined whether ships could sail from one destination to the other. The Europeans had just discovered the new world and established colonies that practiced agriculture. The dark side of this trade was the fact that Europeans bought slaves from Africa and them to offer free labor in colonies in the new world. As the Europeans established more colonies, the need for slaves increased. Congo was a strategic joint in this trade because it acted as a collection point of captured slaves awaiting shipping to the new world. For a long time, this trade had been robbing Africa of its people (PinkMonkey.com). Congo before the arrival and after of Europeans Congo existed as an independent and structured kingdom. A monarch existed, with a king who exercised supreme control on the kingdom. Although the people held extreme respect for the king of the Congo kingdom, the king administered justice in the region and the people were peaceful. However, the king allowed the entry of the Portuguese into the region, hoping that people would reap benefits from the white man’s civilization. He did not realize that the whites were seeking opportunities to exploit Africans through the creation of colonies. A relationship that seemed to benefit the people at first ended up frustrating the Congo natives. Entry of Leopold into Congo Just like any other any other European during that time, Leopold intended to own a colony in Africa. However, he intended to use tactics to exercise control in the colony. He used deception in preparation towards acquisition of the colony. At that time, Arab traders took advantage of the situations in Congo. Being aware of this fact, Leopold seized this as an opportunity. He tactfully proclaimed that he would save the Congo people from the Arab havoc. The author gives background information concerning King Leopold. Before venturing into his ambition, he was the king of Belgium after the death of his father. However, events that surrounded his life made him dissatisfied wit life. He reasoned that acquiring a colony would improve his well-being in the future (Hachschild 17). Although he was a king, he was well aware of the fact that the Belgians would not support his selfish ambitions and he decided to handle the venture individually. In 1876, he made further moves in order to increase his chances of gaining a colony. He established contacts with explorers, a move that put him a position to blind them to his advantage. He related to them the objectives of introducing civilization in the new territories. Leopold initiated the formation of international African association, and he managed to become its president, an additional advantage to his interests. Coincidentally, Stanley had gained popularity as the most influential explorer of the time. This prompted Leopold to seek association with him and use his popularity to his advantage. Stanley accepted to collaborate with Leopold and as part of their initial plan, Stanley ventured into opening up Congo to world trade markets. On his part, Leopold formed an additional organization the international Association of the Congo, released publications depicting how noble his organizations were, and how they targeted to affect the lives of the Congo people positively. In addition, Leopold sought allies from Americans who had the intentions of sending ex-slaves back to Congo. He worked on establishing allies because he realized that this would add value to his ambitions. His dream of owning a colony turned a reality in 1884-1885 during the famous scramble for Africa venture (Hachschild 25). During this conference, Leopold gained full control of the Congo Free State. He determined to offer other European countries free market policies in the territory. Leopold led other European countries that his actions in the region would seek to improve the livelihood of the Congo basin people in terms of civilization and spread of Christianity. Congo under Leopold Leopold established control over the colony immediately after he seized it. His initial activities included the exploitation of Congo’s natural resources. His main target was rubber and ivory. The colony was immensely wealthy in terms of resources. In addition, the colony had vast land that he could exploit fully through agriculture. He introduced new land ownership policies that dictated privatization of land. This was against the people’s culture. In addition, he introduced currency that for use by the indigenous people. However, the currency was of minimal value to the people (Hachschild 24). The low value was not the only setback because those natives could only conduct exchange services of the currency in premises owned by Belgians. Moreover, Leopold instituted a military unit. The Leopold government ensured that all the natives handed in any rubber that they managed to collect after every two weeks. The arrival of William to the Congo state stirred early signs of reform. After realizing that Leopold oppressed the people in every sense, he sought to popularize the conditions in Congo to the American government. In addition, he wrote to the king concerning the inhumanity in the region. However, Leopold made efforts of defaming William to counter the claims against the oppression existing in the colony. The death of William brought then reform trigger to an end. The military force instituted by Leopold served to enforce his rule over the Congo. It consisted of blacks but its officers were whites of different nationalities. This military force emphasized on the trade monopoly policies through collection of rubber from the natives. The military was cruel and indulged in merciless killing for those defying Leopold policies. In addition, the military force indulged in other serious atrocities against the natives. At times, they captured harassed and raped women and children. Moreover, whipping became part of the daily experiences for the people. However, the irony remained evident, because Leopold earned more irrespective of the prevailing conditions of the people. With time, missionaries gained entry into Congo. Although for some time these missionaries concealed the reality of matters in Congo, after they witnessed ted worsening of the inhumanity, they decided to voice out their observations (PinkMonkey.com). Morel, mentioned in the overview, emerged into the picture and would eventually change the course of things in Congo, challenging Leopold. He worked a shipping company and realized that something was amiss in Congo. He indulged in getting to the depth of matters and unearthed the activities of Leopold. He started out with the publishing of articles describing the scandals in Congo. With time, he quit his work in the shipping company to devote his entire life in redeeming the people in Congo after his realization that Leopold was making huge profits through exploitation of the people. Over time, morel had gained journalism skills that enabled him to write impressive articles concerning the Congo region. At twenty-eight, he ventured into journalism full time. Morel exposed the illegal trade conducted by Leopold and supported his allegations with statistics. Morel raised an international concern about the situations in Congo. However s, although Morel had actively been challenging Leopold since 1900, the dictator managed to get away with all the accusations. However, in 1903, the British House of Commons decided to give the issue attention. The house sent a representative to the Congo to assess the conditions. Casement received the important assignment and embarked on the three months journey faithfully. On his return, Casement presented a detailed description of the real situations in Congo. In addition, Casement felt that Europe had viewed the case against humanity so blindly for a long time. He presented detailed descriptions of the devastation in Congo, giving a statistical overview of the gross reduction in population in the region. He updated the house on the detrimental effects of Leopold’s rule on towns, people, and animal populations. Casement felt that the condition in Congo needed immediate action. However, he realized the limitations of his position in government and sought the help of Morel. The collaboration between Morel and Casement led to the formation of the Congo reform association. This organization targeted to establish a free market trend in Congo. The organization was the pioneer of organizations pursuing humanitarian courses. Morel persisted in his publishing activity. However, with the formation of the organization, he wanted to create an international awareness of the situations in Congo and did his publication with vigor. He produced thousands of brochures on an international front highlighting the evil that prevailed in the region. Morel worked hand in hand with missionaries who offered to join forces against Leopold. The international community rose against the Leopold. In addition, Morel adopted a different role in the whole issue. He ceased to be a journalist but adopted and adopted the role of a humanitarian. Morel had personal attribute that suited for the new role. He had a great measure of faith in himself and he had calculated moves into the venture. He had the courage and confidence required him to approach higher authorities and express his claims. In addition, he had dedicated himself to the cause and nothing standing his way proved strong enough to stop from reforming Congo. He had respect for the African culture that was valueless to other white men, making him different from other players in the reform. Morel collaborated with the missionaries who wanted to preach the good news to the natives of Congo. Morel succeeded in his venture against Leopold. The entire Europe disregarded him and the international community rose against him. Morel organized a committee that probed into the Congo conditions. However, in 1908, Leopold decided to present the colony to Belgium and his death occurred a year later. At the time of his death, he had the worst reputation seen in Europe (Murunga 1). The available evidence concerning the conditions that prevailed in Congo is from the whites. Very few documents present the grievances of the Congo people in their opinion. However, all the available evidence reveals that the situation in Congo were extreme. The ordeal resulted to the death of a great number of people. Morel described Leopold as the worst dictator in history. He lacked any respect for humanity, a fact that caused him to leave the worst legacy left behind by any human being. Hochschild’s book illustrates the worst of the scenarios that occurred as Europeans struggled to establish colonies at the rise of capitalism. The book highlights the events that transpired in the Atlantic world involving three continents. The trans-Atlantic trade resulted to slaves imports from Africa to colonies in the new world. After the description of Africa by explorers, Leopold, the then king of Belgium, sought to gain a colony for himself. He prepared himself to qualify for a colony. He employed deception in most of his dealings and managed to acquire Congo during the scramble for Africa venture. After gaining the colony, he exposed the colony to high degree atrocities and inhumane conditions. However, Morel managed to expose his inhumanity to the international front. Work Cited Cheadle, Don. KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST. Web 30 October 2012. Hachschild, Adam. King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Central Africa. Macmillan, 1999, vol. 21(7) 14-15. Hachschild, Adam (a). King Leopold's Ghost. New York: Pan Macmillan, 2011. Print. Hachschild, Adam (b). King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1999. Print. Murunga, Godwin. KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST: A STORY OF GREED, TERROR, AND HEROISM IN COLONIAL AFRICA. Web 30 October 2012. PinkMonkey.com. King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild. Web 30 October 2012. Read More