Essays on King Leopold's Ghost

As a student it is my job to ingest and marinate in new information of all forms, prior to reading King Leopolds Ghost my knowledge regarding the Congo, Belgium and their history was slim to none. With this book being my first exposure to their horrid history I was able to view what happened in a different sort of context that I am used to. The author, Adam Hochschild, told the story in a way that seems more relatable to…

King Leopold II of Belgium was keen on securing his country as an imperial power and sought for colonization in Africa. He succeeded, but at what cost? The lives of ten million Congolese people were ended and the trauma of Leopold’s reign of terror is still felt by their descendants today. Disguised by his charisma, King Leopold succeeded in convincing the world that his atrocities in the Congo were actually humanitarian efforts and economic investments, completely dismissing the decimation of…

At the beginning of the 18th century, Africa became a target of European imperialism. Prior to the said period, Africa only served as trading post for ensuring the flow of goods to Europe. It was also one of the chief sources of slaves. The Portuguese established small settlements on the Cape of Good Hope and Eastern Africa. The Spaniards colonized some parts of Western Sahara and Morocco. During this period, much of Africa was still unknown to the Europeans. It…