Analysis and Commentary of Adam Hochschild´s King Leopold's Ghost

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Recommended: essays on imperialism and decolonization on congo from belgium

“‘I will give them my Congo,’ Leopold told Stinglhamber, ‘but they have no right to know what I did there.’”1
King Leopold’s Ghost is a historical analysis by Adam Hochschild, professor at Berkley, of Belgium’s King Leopold II’s orchestration of a private empire in the Congo at the end of the 1800s. During this particular time in history, the great political powers in the world set their eyes upon Africa as a prospect for exploration, annexation and exploitation. In King Leopold’s Ghost, Hochschild recounts the great human cost of Belgium’s imperial effort, and the willingness of the world to turn a blind eye to the blatant terrorization of a people. This book is an account of the atrocities which took place in the Congo at the bidding of King Leopold II, why they happened, why they did not stop, and most importantly why no one remembers what happened to those unfortunate peoples of the Congo as a result of imperialism and globalization.
Hochschild begins this tale with the extraordinary geographical efforts of those men which the world credits the discovery and mapping of the African continent: Diogo Cao, Captain Tuckey, David Livingstone, Lieutenant Cameron, and Henry Morton Stanley. It is thanks to the wooing of Stanley by Leopold that the Congo was trapped within the clutches of the Belgian king. On behalf of Leopold, Stanley surveyed the Congo area, made treaties with the natives consigning their lands to Leopold, and worked towards establishing an effective mode of transportation throughout its dense jungles. Hochschild reveals Leopold to be a deft man of business and cunning, tricking the world into accepting the many fronts for his operations in the Congo, and accepting his position as its sole ruler. Using his unwitt...

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... King Leopold’s Ghost, my understanding of African history, the Rubber Terror, and the Scramble for Africa was shaky at best. Upon its conclusion, my vision of world history, specifically the effects of imperialism has been greatly broadened. I have found this expose one of the most compelling works of the century and would gladly recommend it for any person interested in the truth of the world’s forgotten past.

Works Cited

Notes
1 Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold's Ghost: a Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 294
2 Hochschild. King Leopold’s Ghost, 259
3 "AC's Reviews > King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa." Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/478211737?book_show_action=true&page=1 (accessed February 15, 2014).
4 Hochschild. King Leopold’s Ghost, 33

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