Introduction
The book King Leopold’s Ghost is written by Adam Hochschild and details the exploitation of people in Congo State between 1885 and 1908 by King Leopold II, the ruler of Belgium. The book aims at bringing to light by way of a detailed account of the commitment of excesses by white rulers in the African continent. King Leopold’s Ghost is a moving account of the atrocities meted out at the hands of King Leopold on the people of Congo State. Leopold is portrayed as a charming, cruel and cunning villain who ruled the region with the qualities of a maniac of gruesome magnitude. The book is instrumental in deeply affecting the human psyche in appreciating the efforts of a few brave travelers, missionaries and idealists who took upon themselves the task of bringing relief to the people of this region from the extremes committed by Leopold. The author describes in the book how King Leopold, who was greedy and obsessed with the desire for annexing colonies, misused his position by keeping his allies in the dark and in the name of philanthropic causes, and by using political manipulations and corrupt practices, is able to win the support, of Henry Morton Stanley, a great explorer, as also that of other powerful countries. To further his ambitions he tactfully achieves a formal recognition of his annexation of Congo by using his diplomatic skills at the Berlin Conference and won the support of other countries in this regard. The book goes on to detail how Leopold gradually takes the entire lot of the Congo population in his grip, by making it in the nature of his private fiefdom to keep them in a virtual state of slavery with the result that within forty years of his establishing supremacy in the country, the population was reduced by half from twenty million people to only ten million.
Main body
The author has made heroes out of the people who opposed Leopold. These were the people who played a major role in making the world know of the cruel policies and despotism followed by Leopold. The world came to know the reality of the Congo State through the efforts of such people. George Washington Williams who was a renowned historian and politician and an African American, was the first to have made it possible for the world to know of the extreme atrocities of Leopold in making the life of the Congo people miserable. William Henry Sheppard, who was a missionary and also an Afro American, played an important role in providing required testimony in regard to the excesses being committed. A dominating example of humanitarian service was set by E D Morel, a shipping agent and journalist from Britain, who discovered from commercial documents that while loads of ivory and rubber was being exported from Congo the only commodities going into the country were arms and chains, thus providing basis for the conclusion that there was rampant slavery prevalent within the country. Credibly, Morel devoted the remaining part of his life in efforts to remove this practice. It was Sir Roger Casement, a British Diplomat who made hectic efforts in bringing international support for the cause of the Congo State. He was able to throw the diplomatic might of his government in diverting world opinion from British colonial aspirations to this deplorable state of affairs in the Congo State at the hands of the Belgians. At his instance the Congo Reform Association was formed to hasten the process of bringing back normalcy in the country.
A chapter in the book is devoted by Hochschild in explaining how a sea captain named Joseph Conrad who was in charge of a steamer ship during the early years of colonization by Leopold, played a very vital role in conveying to the world about the ordeals of the Congo people. Hochschild delves into the details of how Conrad, via his book ‘Heart of Darkness’, is able to psychologically convey a realistic picture of the circumstances prevailing in the Congo State during that period. The main character of this book is Kurtz who is much inspired by the profound power and influence of the state functionaries detailed in the book. ‘Heart of darkness’ has been described as being one of the most researched novels in the 20th century since its moral and psychological truths have had far reaching effects in covering up the factual situation in Congo State.
Hochschild has got immense praise for this work from all angles. His work has been highly appreciated by historians of African studies in narrating the historical facts accurately and in right context with the right appeal in favor of removing the atrocities against the people of Congo State. The author has also been highly praised by Nadie Gordimer, the South African Nobel Laureate. The book has revealed the truth in bringing all the characters alive into bringing about the moral dimensions that explicitly show the picture of the atrocities as also the crusades of people in highlighting the cause of the Congo people. The author has however been criticized for his comparison of Leopold with notorious leaders such as Stalin and Hitler, because such critics believe that he did not go to such an extent and that whatever he did in Congo was in keeping with the aspirations of rulers to expand their territories, in support of which they quote the case of the British Empire. Some historians believe that Leopold was not an extreme despot as alleged by Hochschild, and his narrations have been challenged by Barbara Emerson, who has authored a biography of Leopold, in saying that “Leopold did not start genocide. He was greedy for money and chose not to interest himself when things got out of control.” Some historians allege that Hochschild wrote the book by compromising on historical facts to attract the attention of the Afro American people.
Conclusion
Undoubtedly the narrative in the book is very gripping in making the novel indeed so dense in being full of plots and subplots that show in advance, several instances that indicate the intensity of the chaotic conditions and extreme bloodshed that is prevalent in the country in the present times also. The book is a true revelation of the slavery and unimaginable cruelties that were inflicted on the people of Congo State on such a large scale. Hochschild wrote in his book about his intention to narrate the incidents in “a way that brings characters alive, that brings out the moral dimension, that lays bare a great crime and a great crusade.” Sure the main villain of the book is King Leopold II of Belgium who conducted the affairs in Congo as a personal enterprise while benefiting from the natural resources of the country. He made huge profits from the region and was responsible for the death of ten million natives of Congo, while not having visited the region even once. The book by Adam Hochschild is full of fascinating characters, some who are heroic for their braveries and for speaking out for the rights of Congo’s inhabitants, and some who are so cruel that they take the breath out of people who imagine their misdeeds. Several intellectuals have opined that the book would have been an extra enjoyable reading had it not been for the horrible truths narrated in the book.
References
- Luc Sante, KING LEOPOLD’S GHOST, 1998, San Francisco Chronicle
- MICHIKO KAKUTANI, ‘King Leopold’s Ghost’: Genocide With Spin Control,1998, The New York Times