King Leopolds Ghost
From the late 1800’s until after the turn of the 20th century, a Belgian ruler known only as King Leopold II had control and ownership over the Congo. Similar to other chronicles in history, great acts of atrocity occurred because a single ruler was consumed by greed; eventually costing millions of lives. A great deal of misguiding and deception took place in order for Leopold to keep building upon his power. Leopold knew how to control and manipulate people in powerful political positions, and hastily used this maneuvering as a way to cause very little investigation. Fortunately, there were those who could see through the fraudulent image of King Leopold and ‘his’ Congo. The efforts and witness of Edmund Morel, George Washington Williams, Reverend William Sheppard, and Roger Casement helped to expose the actual facts of the Congo occurrences to the public. “Although they failed to end forced labor, the Congo reformers for roughly a decade were spectacularly successful in keeping the territory in the spotlight” (279). In particular, both George Washington Williams and William H. Sheppard had a change of opinion after being appalled by the acts of white residents in the Congo.
Both George Washington Williams and the Reverend William H. Sheppard were educated African American men who originally bought into Leopold’s fake appearance. Ultimately through their separate experiences, they became appalled at what they found and spent much of their lives refuting the Leopoldian system. Although they may never have seen the extent of their influence in breaking down King Leopold’s structure, they certainly accomplished this. Joseph Conrad said that he “was so horrified by the greed and brutality among white men he saw in the Congo that his view of human nature was permanently changed” (142). I personally believe that this statement perfectly sums up how visitors to the Congo during Leopold’s reign felt about the conditions there. Though the crimes in the Congo often go unnoticed, they mark a low point in the history of the world regardless of what the standards of the time were. Fortunately, people such as Sheppard and Williams were ahead of their time and understood that immense amounts of crimes against humanity were taking place with few people taking action against it; so they did. Regrettably, King Leopold’s ghost still haunts the continent of Africa today. Leopold left a lasting mark because he wanted as much money and power as possible. It is unlikely that the damage caused can ever be repaired. George Washington Williams adjusted his stance and viewpoint on King Leopold and the Congo after he became aware of how truly miserable the Congolese were. This transformation occurred specifically after he spent the six months there, where he could see firsthand the extent of disregard for human life. “Although few w
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Approximate Word count = 1129
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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