Main themes
The Greed of Colonialism
Hochschild shows King Leopold’s greed when he sent the explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley to collect signatures from the tribal leaders handing over their land to him, by taking advantage of their ignorance. They did not consider that the people living in Africa had their way of life and already had their own forms of government. The European colonizers did not consider the misery and pain they would be putting Africans through with their plans to take over their land. They considered Africa empty and the inhabitants primitive and uncivilized. This was not true. Africa had rulers and kingdoms and also had many craftsmen who produced textiles, sculptures and tools. The fact that they did not have governments which were similar to those of the Europeans made them not to consider consulting with their authorities before taking over their land. Many tribes in Africa did not live in permanent settlements and were viewed as passing through the land or camping out on it, since their system did not include land ownership.
What Europeans came to call the “Scramble for Africa” refers to the thought that the continent of Africa was one of the remaining unexplored and unmapped places on earth for Europeans to take over in the nineteenth century. They had already taken over countries such as the Americas, India, Australia, and the Pacific islands. They considered Africa to be mysterious, and dangerous, but news of its wealth had attracted settlers from places like Portugal, French and Germany. The industrialized countries needed raw materials for their factories and these could be found in Africa. The continent was rich in rubber, ivory, diamonds, gold and many other minerals. At the Berlin Conference, they did not consult the Africans or the natives when they decided on who could have which country. Leopold had spent a large portion of his adult life trying to acquire a colony for Belgium. He even researched on the subject by reading the book by J.W. Money, “How to manage a colony”. He sent explorers with the pretext of philanthropic or scientific motives. They considered everything in Africa in terms of how much money it could bring them.
Slavery and Racism
Leopold had a very strong negative opinion of other races. He believed that the Dutch had the right to use the natives as slave laborers. He considered it as a way of civilizing them and helping them understand the sanctity of work. It is surprising Europeans considered the natives lazy for the reason that they did not wish to be enslaved doing other people’s work. The colonial masters regarded the rebellion of the people against cruelty as laziness and idleness. They believed that the Africans had a lower intellectual capacity than the whites and this justified their ill treatment. Leopold used the pretext of protecting them from slave traders while in reality he was setting up his own form of slavery.
Henry Morton Stanley was also notorious for racism and even announced it openly in his writings. He despised his porters and described them as lazy, lying thieves. People knew him for his cruelty towards Africans. He did not believe that Africans deserved to be free to head their republics. He advocated for white men to retain all the powers in each station.
Desire for Power and fame
During the colonial period, African explorers received celebrity status. Whenever they went to Africa they would return with interesting stories which they published in books and newspapers. Many of them made a fortune this way. This also encouraged other Europeans to get themselves colonies or participate in the colonial system one way or another. Those who went to Africa more often had more stories for the newspapers and this gave them a higher celebrity status. Going to Africa had the effect of completely changing a person’s life from average citizen to celebrity status, for example, Stanley. He was a child born out of wedlock and brought up in a workhouse in Britain, and had no place in the English society. He later became a soldier in America and would often pass himself off as an American citizen as a way of hiding his identity. In the Congo, people considered him a big man and had the support of a king. He was also the tyrant of every expedition he led. His role in the scramble for Africa helped him rise to the very top of British society. This was also the case for the agents at the ivory stations. Many of them were powerless and of no repute and found themselves becoming rich and having complete power and control over the native people in Africa. They learnt that they did not have to follow the rules and regulations back at home and were free to behave and treat people in any way they liked. Some of the agents could casually kill the locals and shrink their heads which they used for their garden fence. They used this formula in abusing Africans far away from eyes that could condemn them back home.
Power was King Leopold’s major motivation. His greatest desire was a colony which could compete with the other European nations. He believed that his country was too tiny and too new in the colony business to be taken seriously by the other countries. He aspired to have colonies just like Britain. Unlike in his homeland, Leopold could exercise unlimited power over his subjects in Congo.
Moral Responsibility and Human Rights
In the second half of the book Hochschild focuses on the human rights campaigners against Leopold’s many abuses in the Congo. Here Hochschild tries to provide a fair picture of human nature. For every act carried out due to of evil or ignorance, there were always people who stood up and tied to stop it. Some of them even put their well-being at risk in so doing. These included E. D. Morel, George Washington Williams, Roger Casement, Rev. William Sheppard, Rev. John and Alice Harris, Mark Twain, and Rev. E. V. Sjˆblom.
One of the biggest campaigners for the rights of the people of the Congo was E. D. Morel, who was then in his twenties. He suddenly had the realization that cargo that was produced at the Congo was by means of slave labor. This was quite a traumatizing realization, and it bothered him for many years long after this experience. He swore to take action and this brings out the difference between the heart of light and the heart of darkness.
Morel was not the only one who noticed the evils that were taking place in the Congo. There were two African-Americans who saw this inhumanity firsthand and spoke up. These were Rev. William Sheppard and George Washington Williams. George Washington Williams was a well-educated and well-connected man. He had been a preacher, lawyer, soldier, and also a historian. He had gone to the Congo to research on the history of black Americans. It shocked him to see the condition of the Africans in the Congo at a time when slavery had already been abolished by the civilized countries. He wrote an open letter to King Leopold which was published and reprinted all over the world for the reformers. He is believed to have coined the term “crimes against humanity.” Leopold used the fact that he was black to attack him in this matter.
Rev. William Sheppard also saw firsthand his African friends tortured and even killed so as to produce rubber. He published how they were maltreated and testified against Leopold. He was persecuted and barely got away with his life. Both he and Morel spent some time in prison for other human rights causes which the British public was not willing to embrace. Another very successful reformer was Alice Harris, who was the wife of a missionary. She took photographs of Africans who had been maimed and chained women being held hostage until their husbands are able to fill the given rubber quota. These images shocked and enraged Morel’s audience. Leopold was finally forced to withdraw his claim to the Congo region.
Relationship to public relations
The book Leopold’s ghost demonstrates several international relations theories. These include realism, dependency theory and game theory.
Realism
Political realism believes that nation- states are singular actors who are geographically based in an international system which is anarchical, and in which there exists no authoritative world government. Sovereign states are the main actors in this system and are in competition with each other. Each state looks out for itself and will attempt to get hold of resources for itself. A state’s level of power is determined by its economic, military and political capabilities. This theory sees international politics as a power struggle between countries which are only out to serve their own interests. No state should rely on any other for its survival.
This is clearly seen in the book Leopold’s ghost. In the scramble and partition of Africa, each nation considered only its interests and tried to get hold of as many colonies as possible. They did not consider the interests of the other nations or of the people they were going to colonize. Even when human rights activists cried out concerning Leopold’s inhuman acts, no one took speedy action. This was because there was no central government that governed all those countries. It took years before Leopold finally agreed to let go of the Congo colony. No country could oblige him to act speedily because there was no central governing body.
Liberalism
This theory found its roots in idealism. According to this theory, a state should strive to make its main internal philosophy the main goal for its foreign policy. For example, a state that wishes to end illiteracy at home should also put efforts in ending illiteracy abroad. According to liberalists, a state’s behavior is determined largely by its preferences rather than its capabilities. These preferences vary and are influenced by the economic system, culture, and type of government. They argue that interaction between the different states is not only limited to high politics. It also includes the economic and cultural aspects. This provides opportunities for interaction and cooperation. It also argues that cooperation can bring about absolute gains and at the same time achieving peace. It also argues that the liberal democracies do not go to war against each other and also have much fewer conflicts between themselves.
This is not so in this book. During the colonial era and the years before this era, many of the countries did not consider the interests of the other nations. It was every country for itself. This is how King Leopold ended up being left behind in the acquisition of colonies. He had to work hard and get himself colonies like other nations.
Dependency Theory
According to this theory, third world or developing countries were not always poor. They became impoverished because of colonization. Forced incorporation into an economic system that they were not familiar with and colonial domination forced them into their current situation. They became accustomed to these economies which were like those of their colonial masters as opposed to their former economies which catered to their needs.
This is seen in the book Leopold’s ghost. The people in the Congo already had their own economic system which adequately catered to its people before the interference of King Leopold. They lived in peace and had a working social and cultural system. The coming of the Europeans only served to disrupt their lives and reduce their economic developments. They did not stand to benefit anything from that arrangement and the damages that were caused during that era were never compensated. This ensured that they could not easily get back on their feet.
According to this theory, this relationship of dependency continued long after the colonial era had ended. They never became fully independent of their colonial masters. They now face a global economy rather than a regional economy, and this economy is dominated by the wealthy industrialized countries.
Game Theory
This theory assumes that different states are in a competition where there must be losers and winners. Each participant tries to maximize on the gains and minimize on losses under conditions which are uncertain and have incomplete information. They are supposed to work out the various probabilities and preferences and also discern the likely reaction or action of every other participant. It is also possible for both parties to lose. This theory is used to try and find a way through which collaboration between many states which are in competition can be made possible. Some countries may choose not to collaborate with any other nation due to fear of taking chances. Competition in such situations is usually very high.
In the colonial era, most of the countries competed for the limited number of colonies and none was willing to collaborate with another. It was a situation in which countries tried to maximize on the number of colonies they can get hold of even if it was at the expense of other nations. The result of this was high competition and high tension between countries. The relationships between countries were based on competition and not trust.
Leopold’s Foreign Policy
Leopold came up with the idea of the Congo Free State, with him its Sovereign. The name suggested economic, individual, and religious freedoms. He began his publicity crusade in Great Britain, and drew attention to the slavery records of Portugal so as to distract critics. He volunteered to drive slave traders away from the Congo basin. He also promised Otto von Bismarck that he would not favor any nation ant that he would welcome the Germans. He lied to the USA that his interest in the Cong was purely humanitarian and that his intention was to end slave trade. He also promised to open free trade in the region. This convinced the US Congress to hand over the Congo to Leopold. He ensured that all other nations of the world believed that his intentions for the Congo were good. He used lies and diplomacy to achieve his goal. They then set out to share out the continent of Africa among themselves without giving any consideration to the African themselves or the natives of the land.
Critique
One of the greatest strengths of this book its being a fact filled book rather than just another pointless story. Hochschild goes into much detail in explaining the horrors of Leopold’s reign. The book is so detailed that it makes it impossible for the reader not to get the picture. He gives the facts and does not try to sugarcoat the matter. This makes it a very insightful read. He goes into details in explaining the events and their different consequences as opposed to merely stating the facts. This makes it very interesting. The book is rich in characters and is able to capture the different emotions. The horrors in the book see to it that at the end of it the reader feels a sense of relief for not having been part of those experiences. The story leaves no room for any additions or deductions. This makes it a success. It also acts as a guide for the future, and encourages people to be courageous enough to fight for what is right.
Works Cited
Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in
Colonial Africa.Houghton Mufflin, 1998. Print.
Viotti, P. and M. Kauppi. International Relations Theory. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Company, 1987. Print.
