King Leopold's Conquering and Exploitation of the Congo Adam Hochschild vividly tells the story of how King Leopold conquered and exploited the Congo in the novel King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. The book is written in third person telling the story from the time Henry Morton Stanley was born to time of Congo claiming their independence. Hochschild discusses the horrific things that happened in Congo at the hands of King Leopold and how Henry Morton Stanley played a role in King Leopold being able to conquer the Congo in the first place. Henry Morton Stanley was born as John Rowlands in Denbigh, Wales on January 28, 1841. He never knew his father and he was abandoned by his mother and relatives and ended up working as a butcher's delivery boy. Stanley ended up in New Orleans where he changed his name
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He portrays him as someone with selfish motives who wanted to be seen as a hero to gain power and attention within the international community, his focus was to gain fame and prestige as an explorer. Although he didn't commit the crimes Leopold did, he is a factor in the conquering of Congo in the first place. He killed natives on his exploration and supported Leopold's economic ventures instead of making them known to the public. Hochschild highlights how Leopold was a greedy man who wanted to increase his own wealth at any costs. He was able to manipulate the public into believing that his reasons for conquering the Congo were purely philanthropic. He was also able to use Henry Shelton Sanford who persuaded US President Arthur that Leopold's conquering of the Congo was purely altruistic. They also promised to allow American goods to be imported into Congo without any duties and that America could buy land in the Congo. Leopold and Sanford were able to win the president's approval and diplomatic recognition of
He portrays him as someone with selfish motives who wanted to be seen as a hero to gain power and attention within the international community, his focus was to gain fame and prestige as an explorer. Although he didn't commit the crimes Leopold did, he is a factor in the conquering of Congo in the first place. He killed natives on his exploration and supported Leopold's economic ventures instead of making them known to the public. Hochschild highlights how Leopold was a greedy man who wanted to increase his own wealth at any costs. He was able to manipulate the public into believing that his reasons for conquering the Congo were purely philanthropic. He was also able to use Henry Shelton Sanford who persuaded US President Arthur that Leopold's conquering of the Congo was purely altruistic. They also promised to allow American goods to be imported into Congo without any duties and that America could buy land in the Congo. Leopold and Sanford were able to win the president's approval and diplomatic recognition of