Imperialism builds an empire. Europe being a powerful nation expands onto less powerful nations to benefit their own colonial expansion. Looking at The Tools of Empire by Headrick and King Leopold’s Ghost by Hochschild; both are very informative of the interest about European imperialism in the nineteenth century, but are written very differently. Hochschild focuses on people in his text. There are very important characters in the text,such as Stanley, Leopold, William Sheppard, Morel, and etc who all play a crucial role in imperialism. Headrick focuses on on how technology enabled Europeans to explore and conquer nations. While Headrick focuses more on facts and Hochschild writes in a narrative tone, the two texts relate to one another.
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The purpose for Hochschild to write his text was to inform readers on the cruelty of natives by European powers in the 19th century, specifically focusing on King Leopold and his control over the Congo. Before King Leopold was taken down he began to burn all physical/written records on what he did to the people in the Congo, so Hochschild 's text is extremely important for readers to read in order to get enough information about this tragedy, because many have not even heard the cruel ways of Leopold and he was just as bad as Hitler; who is well known. Headrick supports Hochschild’s argument because he goes more into detail on how imperialism is possible due to the technological tools used by the Europeans in the 19th century. While he does not focus on individuals and has no emotional affect in his text, he provides facts for the reader. Reading The Tools of Empire and the reading King Leopold’s Ghost helps you better understand what happened in the Congo under Leopold’s rule because you receive background …show more content…
Hochschild’s work made me aware of the atrocities committed in the Congo, while making the read interesting because it is a narrative read. Throwing in the characters helped me better understand what was going on and who was involved with what. Reading the text tapped into my emotions. I was empathetic towards the natives who were forced into labor, had their rights and home taken away, children turned into slaves, and much more. His text made me more aware of the negative effects of imperialism. Headrick’s text did not have this emotional aspect to it, nor did it make me aware of what imperialism does to natives. His text gave me the background knowledge on how it is possible to build an empire. Without the technological tools Leopold would have not had control over Congo, and Headrick discusses these advances
The purpose for Hochschild to write his text was to inform readers on the cruelty of natives by European powers in the 19th century, specifically focusing on King Leopold and his control over the Congo. Before King Leopold was taken down he began to burn all physical/written records on what he did to the people in the Congo, so Hochschild 's text is extremely important for readers to read in order to get enough information about this tragedy, because many have not even heard the cruel ways of Leopold and he was just as bad as Hitler; who is well known. Headrick supports Hochschild’s argument because he goes more into detail on how imperialism is possible due to the technological tools used by the Europeans in the 19th century. While he does not focus on individuals and has no emotional affect in his text, he provides facts for the reader. Reading The Tools of Empire and the reading King Leopold’s Ghost helps you better understand what happened in the Congo under Leopold’s rule because you receive background …show more content…
Hochschild’s work made me aware of the atrocities committed in the Congo, while making the read interesting because it is a narrative read. Throwing in the characters helped me better understand what was going on and who was involved with what. Reading the text tapped into my emotions. I was empathetic towards the natives who were forced into labor, had their rights and home taken away, children turned into slaves, and much more. His text made me more aware of the negative effects of imperialism. Headrick’s text did not have this emotional aspect to it, nor did it make me aware of what imperialism does to natives. His text gave me the background knowledge on how it is possible to build an empire. Without the technological tools Leopold would have not had control over Congo, and Headrick discusses these advances