King Leopold King Analysis

During the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century, King Leopold II of Belgium invaded the Congo and used it to procure more wealth for himself and his nation. In doing so, as many as ten million Congolese were decimated, and they faced unspeakable horrors. Hochschild argues in King Leopold’s Ghost that all actions taken by King Leopold II were done out of nothing more than sheer greed and selfishness, and he used any means necessary to get what he wanted, and manipulated others into following suit by exploiting their own greed and racism. The only way the brutality was combated, Hochschild further goes on to describe, was through the actions of the few with a higher moral character. Leopold was obsessed with colonialism, and was deeply

“Leopold had to recruit not just Belgians like Leon Rom, but young white men from throughout Europe, attracting them by such get-rich-quick incentives [...]” Much of the torture that Africans faced was due to either not producing enough rubber, killing the vine, or not being productive and efficient enough. “Although some whites in the Congo enjoyed wielding the chicotte, most put a similar symbolic distance between themselves and the dreaded instrument.” Hochschild used first-hand accounts from the very people who committed these atrocities in order to illustrate how desensitized they became, and how they saw it as nothing more than their obligation, that it was needed in order to be successful and prosperous.
It is obvious that it was not the forced labor in Congo that caused massive uproar among Europeans and Americans, as forced labor was part of their history for centuries, but the extreme brutality that occurred there. However, the blatant disregard for human life was not unique to the Congo, and was found in many other European and American colonies. Characters such as E.D. Morel and Roger Casement publicized the horrors of the Congo, and it was spread throughout various countries. This was the first time that the “common” people were aware of the extent of the brutality and exploitation endured by

Hochschild utilized a variety of resources to paint a very vivid picture of the Belgian occupation of the Congo. Particularly effective were the pictures he included. Although their placement seemed random, they showed a very stark, shocking reality that was needed to fully understand the crimes against humanity that the Congolese endured. Hochschild included background information on Leopold II himself, detailing his predilection for young girls, and an obsession with having a male heir and preserving his royal bloodline. Though it at time detracted from the story, it was, overall, necessary and helpful in comprehending the true greed of Leopold II. Hochschild was sure to place rightful blame on King Leopold, comparing him and the people who worked for him to nazis many times, making what happened in the Congo better understandable and more