King Leopold's Ghost
Encyclopedia
King Leopold's Ghost is a best-selling popular history
book by Adam Hochschild
that explores the exploitation of the Congo Free State
by King Leopold II of Belgium
between 1885 and 1908.
The book aims to increase public awareness of crimes committed by European colonial rulers in Africa. It was refused by nine of the ten U.S. publishing houses to which an outline was submitted, but became an unexpected bestseller and won the prestigious Mark Lynton History Prize
for literary style. By 2005, some 400,000 copies were in print in a dozen languages.
The title is adopted from the poem The Congo, by Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay
. Condemning Leopold's actions, Lindsay wrote:
The book is the basis of a 2006 documentary film
of the same name, directed by Pippa Scott
and narrated by Don Cheadle
.
to make the Congo into a colonial empire. With a complex scheme of political intrigue, corruption and propaganda, he wins the assistance of one of the best-known 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 slavery.
The book places King Leopold among the great tyrants of history. The death toll in the Congo under his regime is hard to pin down, both because accurate records were not kept and because many of the existing records were deliberately destroyed by Leopold shortly before the government of Belgium took the Congo out of his hands. Although Wm. Roger Louis and Jean Stengers
characterize the earliest population and mortality estimates as "wild guesses", Hochschild cites many subsequent lines of inquiry that conclude that the early official estimates were essentially correct: roughly half the population of the Congo perished during the Free State period. Since the census taken by the Belgian government (after acquiring the Congo from Leopold) found some 10 million inhabitants, Hochshild concludes that roughly 10 million perished, though the precise number can never be known.
Hochschild profiles several people who helped make the world aware of the reality of the Congo Free State, including:
Hochschild devotes a chapter to Joseph Conrad
, the famous Anglo-Polish writer, who captained a steamer on the Congo River in the first years of Belgian colonization. Hochschild observes that Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness
, despite its unspecific setting, gives a realistic picture of the Congo Free State. Its main character, Kurtz
, was inspired by real state functionaries in the Congo, notably Leon Rom
. While Heart of Darkness is probably the most reprinted and studied short novel of the 20th century, its psychological and moral truths have largely overshadowed the literal truth behind the story. Hochschild finds four likely models for Kurtz: men who, like Kurtz, boasted of cutting off the heads of African rebels and sometimes displayed them.
Although few Africa scholars outside of Belgium seriously question that large numbers died in Leopold’s Congo, the subject remains a touchy one in Belgium itself. The country’s Royal Museum for Central Africa
, founded by Leopold II, mounted a special exhibition in 2005 about the colonial Congo; in an article in the New York Review of Books, Hochschild accused the museum of distortion and evasion.
Also in 2005, the American and British publishers of King Leopold’s Ghost reissued the book with a new “Afterword” by Hochschild in which he talks about the reactions to the book, the death toll, and events in the Congo since its publication.
and by the South African Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer
.
Hochschild has said that his intention was to tell the story in "a way that brings characters alive, that brings out the moral dimension, that lays bare a great crime and a great crusade." His choice was the basis of his success, but some Belgian critics deplored his comparison of Leopold with Hitler
and Stalin
.
The Belgian historian Jean Stengers
, whose works appear in the sources of King Leopold's Ghost, claimed in a newspaper article that Hochschild's moral judgements are "not justified in respect at the time and place" and that his conclusions about the scale of the mass murder are based on incomplete statistics. He advanced the suspicion that in Hochschild's book historical objectivity was affected by the desire to attract the attention of the public – especially the African-American public.
Hochschild replied to Stengers, accusing him of not accepting the implications of his own research, arguing that while Stengers was "a meticulous and talented scholar", he was biased by his colonialist views. Hochschild points out that the estimates about the reduction of the population of the Congo reported in his book are taken in part from Stengers' writing.
Hochschild was also criticized by Barbara Emerson, author of a biography of Léopold, who described Hochschild's book as "a very shoddy piece of work" and declared that "Leopold did not start genocide. He was greedy for money and chose not to interest himself when things got out of control." Hochschild has never called what happened in the Congo a genocide; he describes how these mass deaths happened as a result of a forced labor system.
Jules Marchal called Hochschild's book "a masterpiece, without even one error about the historical deeds related." He reminded people that Hochschild's conclusions were backed by his work on original sources. Several other Belgian experts on the period, such as anthropologist Jan Vansina
, have also backed Hochschild. Isidore Ndaywel è Nziem, a Congolese scholar whose Histoire générale du Congo was published the same year as King Leopold's Ghost, estimated the death toll in the Free State era and its aftermath at roughly 13 million, a higher figure than the various scholarly estimates Hochschild cites.
The Guardian
reported in July 2002 that after initial outrage by Belgian historians over King Leopold's Ghost, the state-funded Royal Museum for Central Africa
would finance an investigation into Hochschild's allegations. The investigatory panel, likely to be headed by Professor Jean-Luc Vellut, was scheduled to report its findings in 2004. The main result appears to be the museum exhibit mentioned above.
Popular history
Popular history is a broad and somewhat ill-defined genre of historiography that takes a popular approach, aims at a wide readership, and usually emphasizes narrative, personality and vivid detail over scholarly analysis...
book by Adam Hochschild
Adam Hochschild
Adam Hochschild is an American author and journalist.-Biography:Hochschild was born in New York City. As a college student, he spent a summer working on an anti-government newspaper in South Africa and subsequently worked briefly as a civil rights worker in Mississippi in 1964...
that explores the exploitation of the Congo Free State
Congo Free State
The Congo Free State was a large area in Central Africa which was privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Its origins lay in Leopold's attracting scientific, and humanitarian backing for a non-governmental organization, the Association internationale africaine...
by King Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
between 1885 and 1908.
The book aims to increase public awareness of crimes committed by European colonial rulers in Africa. It was refused by nine of the ten U.S. publishing houses to which an outline was submitted, but became an unexpected bestseller and won the prestigious Mark Lynton History Prize
Mark Lynton History Prize
The Mark Lynton History Prize is an annual award in the amount of $10,000 given to a book "of history, on any subject, that best combines intellectual or scholarly distinction with felicity of expression"...
for literary style. By 2005, some 400,000 copies were in print in a dozen languages.
The title is adopted from the poem The Congo, by Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay
Vachel Lindsay
Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. He is considered the father of modern singing poetry, as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted...
. Condemning Leopold's actions, Lindsay wrote:
- Listen to the yell of Leopold's ghost, / Burning in Hell for his hand-maimed host.
Hear how the demons chuckle and yell / Cutting his hands off, down in Hell.
The book is the basis of a 2006 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
of the same name, directed by Pippa Scott
Pippa Scott
Pippa Scott is an American actress who has appeared in movies and television since the 1950s. She was also married to a founding partner of Lorimar Productions, Lee Rich...
and narrated by Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
.
The story of Leopold's Congo
The story chronicles the efforts of King Leopold II of BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
to make the Congo into a colonial empire. With a complex scheme of political intrigue, corruption and propaganda, he wins the assistance of one of the best-known explorers of the time, Henry Morton Stanley
Henry Morton Stanley
Sir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands , was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley allegedly uttered the now-famous greeting, "Dr...
, as well as that of public opinion and of powerful states. Through the Berlin Conference
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–85 regulated European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power...
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 slavery.
The book places King Leopold among the great tyrants of history. The death toll in the Congo under his regime is hard to pin down, both because accurate records were not kept and because many of the existing records were deliberately destroyed by Leopold shortly before the government of Belgium took the Congo out of his hands. Although Wm. Roger Louis and Jean Stengers
Jean Stengers
Jean Stengers was a Belgian historian.A precocious and brilliant student, Stengers entered the Free University of Brussels in 1939, at the age of 17. He published his first scholarly article two years later in the Belgian Review of Philology and History...
characterize the earliest population and mortality estimates as "wild guesses", Hochschild cites many subsequent lines of inquiry that conclude that the early official estimates were essentially correct: roughly half the population of the Congo perished during the Free State period. Since the census taken by the Belgian government (after acquiring the Congo from Leopold) found some 10 million inhabitants, Hochshild concludes that roughly 10 million perished, though the precise number can never be known.
Hochschild profiles several people who helped make the world aware of the reality of the Congo Free State, including:
- George Washington WilliamsGeorge Washington WilliamsGeorge Washington Williams was an American Civil War veteran, minister, politician and historian. Shortly before his death he travelled to King Leopold II's Congo Free State and his open letter to Leopold about the suffering of the region's inhabitants at the hands of Leopold's agents, helped to...
, an African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
politician and historian, the first to report the atrocities in the Congo to the outside world. - William Henry SheppardWilliam Henry SheppardReverend William Henry Sheppard was one of the earliest African Americans to become a missionary for the Presbyterian Church. He spent 20 years in Africa, primarily in and around the Congo Free State, and is best known for his efforts to publicize the atrocities committed against the Kuba and...
, another African American, a PresbyterianPresbyterianismPresbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
missionary who furnished direct testimony of the atrocities. - E. D. MorelE. D. MorelEdmund Dene Morel, originally Georges Eduard Pierre Achille Morel de Ville was a British journalist, author and socialist politician. In collaboration with Roger Casement, the Congo Reform Association and others, Morel, in newspapers such as his West African Mail, led a campaign against slavery...
, a British journalist and shipping agent checking the commercial documents of the Congo Free State, who realized that the vast quantities of rubber and ivory coming out of the Congo were matched only by rifles and chains going in. From this he inferred that the Congo was a slave state, and he devoted the rest of his life to correcting that. - Sir Roger CasementRoger CasementRoger David Casement —Sir Roger Casement CMG between 1911 and shortly before his execution for treason, when he was stripped of his British honours—was an Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary, and nationalist....
, a British diplomat and Irish patriot, put the force of the British government behind the international protest against Leopold. Casement's involvement had the ironic effect of drawing attention away from British colonialism, Hochschild suggests. The Congo Reform AssociationCongo Reform AssociationThe Congo Reform Association exposed gross and rampant abuses of labor and by public servants in King Leopold II of Belgium's Congo Free State, leading to the annexation of Congo by Belgium in 1908. In March, 1904, Dr. Henry Grattan Guinness , Edmund Dene Morel, and Roger Casement founded the Congo...
was formed by Morel at Casement's instigation.
Hochschild devotes a chapter to Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
, the famous Anglo-Polish writer, who captained a steamer on the Congo River in the first years of Belgian colonization. Hochschild observes that Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...
, despite its unspecific setting, gives a realistic picture of the Congo Free State. Its main character, Kurtz
Kurtz (Heart of Darkness)
Mr. Kurtz is a central fictional character in Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness. A trader of ivory in Africa and commander of a trading post, he monopolises his position as a demigod among native Africans. Kurtz meets with the protagonist, Marlow, who returns him to the coast via steamboat...
, was inspired by real state functionaries in the Congo, notably Leon Rom
Leon Rom
Leon Rom was a Belgian soldier who became the district commissioner of Matadi in the Congo Free State, and later head of the Force Publique army....
. While Heart of Darkness is probably the most reprinted and studied short novel of the 20th century, its psychological and moral truths have largely overshadowed the literal truth behind the story. Hochschild finds four likely models for Kurtz: men who, like Kurtz, boasted of cutting off the heads of African rebels and sometimes displayed them.
Documentation and bibliography
Hochschild cites the research of several historians, many of them Belgian. He refers especially to Jules Marchal, formerly a Belgian colonial civil servant and diplomat who spent twenty years trying to break Belgian silence about the massacres. The documentation was not easy to come by; the furnaces of the palace in Brussels are said to have spent more than a week burning incriminating papers before Leopold turned over his private Congo to the Belgian nation. For many years Belgian authorities prevented access to what remained of the archives, notably the accounts given by Congolese to the King's Commission.Although few Africa scholars outside of Belgium seriously question that large numbers died in Leopold’s Congo, the subject remains a touchy one in Belgium itself. The country’s Royal Museum for Central Africa
Royal Museum for Central Africa
The Royal Museum for Central Africa is an ethnographical and natural history museum in Tervuren, just outside Brussels, Belgium. It was first built to show off King Leopold II's Congo Free State for the 1897 World Exhibition. It focuses mainly on Congo, Belgium's former colony...
, founded by Leopold II, mounted a special exhibition in 2005 about the colonial Congo; in an article in the New York Review of Books, Hochschild accused the museum of distortion and evasion.
Also in 2005, the American and British publishers of King Leopold’s Ghost reissued the book with a new “Afterword” by Hochschild in which he talks about the reactions to the book, the death toll, and events in the Congo since its publication.
Reviews and critics
Hochschild has been praised by critics for his skill in telling the story. While acknowledging that most of the facts illustrated in the book were already known (although appearing in books and documents not easy to find), most historians and Africa specialists appreciated his capacity to narrate the history accurately. Hochschild's book was praised by scholars of Africa such as Prof. Robert Harms of Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and by the South African Nobel laureate Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer is a South African writer and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature when she was recognised as a woman "who through her magnificent epic writing has – in the words of Alfred Nobel – been of very great benefit to humanity".Her writing has long dealt...
.
Hochschild has said that his intention was to tell the story in "a way that brings characters alive, that brings out the moral dimension, that lays bare a great crime and a great crusade." His choice was the basis of his success, but some Belgian critics deplored his comparison of Leopold with Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
.
The Belgian historian Jean Stengers
Jean Stengers
Jean Stengers was a Belgian historian.A precocious and brilliant student, Stengers entered the Free University of Brussels in 1939, at the age of 17. He published his first scholarly article two years later in the Belgian Review of Philology and History...
, whose works appear in the sources of King Leopold's Ghost, claimed in a newspaper article that Hochschild's moral judgements are "not justified in respect at the time and place" and that his conclusions about the scale of the mass murder are based on incomplete statistics. He advanced the suspicion that in Hochschild's book historical objectivity was affected by the desire to attract the attention of the public – especially the African-American public.
Hochschild replied to Stengers, accusing him of not accepting the implications of his own research, arguing that while Stengers was "a meticulous and talented scholar", he was biased by his colonialist views. Hochschild points out that the estimates about the reduction of the population of the Congo reported in his book are taken in part from Stengers' writing.
Hochschild was also criticized by Barbara Emerson, author of a biography of Léopold, who described Hochschild's book as "a very shoddy piece of work" and declared that "Leopold did not start genocide. He was greedy for money and chose not to interest himself when things got out of control." Hochschild has never called what happened in the Congo a genocide; he describes how these mass deaths happened as a result of a forced labor system.
Jules Marchal called Hochschild's book "a masterpiece, without even one error about the historical deeds related." He reminded people that Hochschild's conclusions were backed by his work on original sources. Several other Belgian experts on the period, such as anthropologist Jan Vansina
Jan Vansina
Jan Vansina is a historian and anthropologist specializing in Africa. He is the foremost authority on the history of the peoples of Central Africa.-Biography:...
, have also backed Hochschild. Isidore Ndaywel è Nziem, a Congolese scholar whose Histoire générale du Congo was published the same year as King Leopold's Ghost, estimated the death toll in the Free State era and its aftermath at roughly 13 million, a higher figure than the various scholarly estimates Hochschild cites.
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reported in July 2002 that after initial outrage by Belgian historians over King Leopold's Ghost, the state-funded Royal Museum for Central Africa
Royal Museum for Central Africa
The Royal Museum for Central Africa is an ethnographical and natural history museum in Tervuren, just outside Brussels, Belgium. It was first built to show off King Leopold II's Congo Free State for the 1897 World Exhibition. It focuses mainly on Congo, Belgium's former colony...
would finance an investigation into Hochschild's allegations. The investigatory panel, likely to be headed by Professor Jean-Luc Vellut, was scheduled to report its findings in 2004. The main result appears to be the museum exhibit mentioned above.
External links
- Hochschild discusses King Leopold's Ghost at the Miami International Book Fair, starting 4 minutes into this video
- CoBelCo.org French language site on Belgian Congo made with the consultation of Adam Hochschild and Jules Marchal.
- Review from the New York Times
- Interview with Adam Hochschild on AlterNet about King Leopold's Ghost
- Review from the San Francisco Chronicle
- Review from Africa Studies Quarterly