King Leopold’s Ghost:

By; Adam Hochschild

Page Number: 416

Originally published: 1998

“To have sat still… would have been temperamentally impossible”

Colonizer and the colonized

Criminal and the victim

Abuser and the abused

This book, King Leopold’s Ghost, is a true story of the colony of Congo from 1884 to 1960 that caused the death of 10 million Africans.

10 million lives lost in the last two centuries, with little to no recognition from the world.

In his eloquent writing style, Hochschild answers the following questions:

How did the Congo Free State come to be?

Who were the major contributors to the construction of such horrific governance?

How was Leopold II able to hide the atrocities from the world for that long?

How was the Congo Reform Association created, and who were the main actors in its creation?

Do the US, France, and Britain stand as “humanitarian” nations in this story, or do their humanitarian efforts last long as their interests go?

How did the US and French involvement after the freedom of Congo in 1960 affect the country?

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The unfamiliar conditions of inner Africa, with diseases unknown to Europeans of the 19th century, wild animals roaming around, the harsh weather, rainforests and rivers that held unknown figures, and a dark-skinned exotic population, seemed to the European explorer's eyes a place of fictitious characters, a mythical land of monsters, a “Dark Continent”.

There have been multiple unsuccessful attempts in the 1800s to go up through the Congo River to explore inner Africa, the part that was untouched by the European powers due to its long distance from the shore. Around 1880's, an American with an upsetting past, Henry Morton Stanley, became one of the first to go through the river, survive the trip to go back to Europe, and share his discoveries. Stanley, in the later chapters, becomes the founder of Leopold’s État Indépendant du Cong.

Another important figure who created the basis upon which Leopold’s cruel regime could be built was of the name Henry Sanford, an American who worked for a long time in Belgium and had strong ties with the Belgium royals. By presenting to the US Congress and President Arthur the fallacious cover-up story that Leopold was using, Sanford became one of the key players in legitimizing the Congo State under Leopold's rule in the United States.

With the help of Stanley and Sanford, Leopold built the cornerstones of a nightmarish regime that used forced labor and exploited the rich natural resources of inner Africa, unlike anyone before him. Leopold // set up an army of mainly Belgium officers called Force Publique who used blackmail, abuse, rape, imprisonment, and threats of murder and torture for labor. Hand severing and the use of Chicotte, a dried-up whip, were the two most frequent methods of torture.

During the peak of Leopold's inhumane regime, the circumstances of the Congolese people began to be an international issue with the efforts of many, but mainly four brave souls: Edmund D. Morel, Roger Casement, William H. Sheppard, and George Washington Williams.

Edmund D. Morel was the leader of the Congo Reform Association. Initially employed at a Liverpool-based company called Elder Dempster, Morel uncovered three facts about the state. First was the vast amounts of weaponry that were sent to Congo. The second was the presence of an unknown figure who received all of the surplus that came from ivory and rubber. Lastly, there was no trace of commercial dealing, meaning when imports and exports were to be compared it became obvious that there was an imbalance of the goods. Thus, Morel concluded that in order to contain the oppressive regime of Leopold who was the unknown figure claiming all the profits, which must be obtained by forced labor, there must be violence toward the natives in Congo. With this, Leopold had gained his biggest enemy. A man of dignity, honor, and honesty, Morel courageously stood up against Leopold, both in times of international support or without it, he became a voice of humanity.

In 1914, during the stimulation of war in Britain, Morel was the only anti-war voice who called for a need for diplomatic discussions, instead of throwing millions of lives in the trenches. For his bravery to speak the truth and his exceptional support for the Congolese people, Morel is an exemplary model of a fiery human rights advocate.

Roger Casement, who was a close friend of Morel, was another figure who spent many years in hopes of publicizing the barbaric environment of Congo. Sent to Congo under British order, bafflingly, in a few decades, Casement was also imprisoned and later hanged by the British Parliament. Seeing the harsh realities of colonialism, both in Congo and later in Brazil, Casement put aside his affiliation with England and told the truth and only the truth. In one of his letters to Morel he writes, “I do not agree with you that England and America are two great humanitarian powers, they are materialistic first, and humanitarian only a century after”. As an Irishman, amid the Irish uprising, he joined the secret deal with the Germans to gain their independence. Thus, due to his involvement in the independence riots of Ireland, his bare honesty about the realities of colonization, and his disapproval of the British, US, French, and German control over what are supposed to be self-governing states, Casement was ordered hanged by Britain.

William H. Sheppard, who was an African American missionary, had been one of the first to record the truth about Congo and the king’s rule. Before Morel and Casement were even in the picture, Sheppard was able to write a book titled “Presbyterian Pioneers in Congo” on the untouched society in further inner Africa called Kuba. He was a charismatic man, who was loved both by white and black folks and showed excellent intelligence and social skills during his stay in the state. Although the book did not start a reform act against Leopold, it nevertheless stays as a sensational resource for Congo. Sheppard’s writings and activist work contributed greatly to the Congolese people, and his name is undeniably written down in history as a hero.

George Washington Williams, the fourth figure in the list, was a writer who recorded the circumstances of the natives in Congo. Openly detesting the king, he faced a lot of criticism and backlash. However, his perseverance in his fight to bring forth the truth on Congo, despite Belgium’s propaganda is a showcase of his exceptional courage and determination.

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When the current political atmosphere is described, there is a common belief that the European powers, especially the US and Britain, are nation-builders, civilizers, educators, and humanitarians. Although many go along with this narrative, when the discussion is taken a step further, and the beginnings of colonialism, and still ongoing neo-colonialism are analyzed, one can argue otherwise.

In the book, it was rather shocking to see how detrimental the once “protagonists and saviors” of the story, the US and Britain, became after the departure of Belgium from the Congo state. Right after Congo gained its independence and chose a promising leader, Patrice Lumumba, the US assassinated him because he was not fit for its standards. Lumumba was a leader who stood for the rights of his people, who wanted the economic limitations set by the European powers to be seized, and who turned to the Soviet Union for help to stay away from the white men who have been evil to his country for so long, and he was murdered. The US placed in his place a puppet dictator, a tyrant, a man not much different from Leopold himself, Joseph Desire Mobutu.

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Covering one of the worst humanitarian crises of history, the book raises important questions relating to international affairs. It questions the actions of the United Nations' big six who claim to be humanitarian.

In the case that history is silenced, the resolutions we ought to draw for contemporary issues will be inadequate.

To solve today’s mystery, we must turn our heads and look back...

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King Leopold’s Ghost_ A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa - Google Do.

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personal rating of the book: 9/10