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The story of the Congo
Hochschild describes Lйopold as a man of greed who, obsessed by the desire for a colony, hides his real intentions under “philanthropic” purposes. With a complex scheme of political intrigue, corruption and propaganda, he wins the assistance of one of the greatest explorers of the time, Henry Morton Stanley, as well as that of public opinion and of powerful states. Through the Berlin Conference and other diplomatic efforts, he finally obtains international recognition for his colony. He then establishes a system of forced labour that keeps the people of the Congo basin in a condition of virtual slavery.
The heroes of the book (as much as a book of non-fiction can be said to have heroes) are Lйopolds enemies, those who made the world aware of the reality of the Congo Free State. These include:
George Washington Williams, an African American politician and historian, the first ever to report the atrocities in the Congo.
William Henry Sheppard, another African American, a Presbyterian missionary who furnished direct testimony of the atrocities.
E. D. Morel, a British journalist and shipping agent who understood, checking the commercial documents of the Congo Free State, that while millions of dollars worth of rubber and ivory were coming out of the Congo, all that was going back was rifles and chains. From this evidence, he inferred that the Congo was a slave state, and devoted the rest of his life to destroying it.
Sir Roger Casement, British diplomat who put the force of the British government behind the international protest against the Belgians. Casements involvement had the ironic effect of drawing attention away from British colonialism, Hochschild reports. The Congo Reform Association was formed by Morel following Casements instigation.
Hochschild