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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page book review that summarizes the Adam Hochschild's account of reign of terror instituted by King Leopold of Belgium in the Congo beginning in the nineteenth century and continuing to World War II. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khhorkl.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
himself in the heart of the Congo. In his account of his era King Leopolds Ghost, historian Adam Hochschild relates the audacity, cruelty and greed of what is undoubtedly some
of the worst excesses of European imperialism. In December of 1865, Leopold II ascended to the throne of Belgium, succeeding his father, Leopold I. From the beginning as his
reign, Leopold II was not satisfied with the size of his realm and cast longing eyes on the wealth and power that other European countries were enjoying due to their
overseas possessions and colonies. Leopold experienced a series of abortive attempts to establish a Belgium influence in the Fat East, South America and elsewhere before his greedy intentions became focused
on sub-Saharan Africa, which was--at that time--unclaimed by any European power. Possessing more than 1500 miles of navigable waterways and blessed with an abundance of natural resources, such as ivory,
rubber, timber, spices, gold and copper, Leopold realized that the Congo was a prize ripe for the picking. However, early on, Leopold realized that he would have to move
cautiously and endeavor to garner international support for his ambitions. Therefore, in the early 1880s, Leopold set about convincing the United State, as well as other European countries, to recognize
his rights to the Congo--his personal rights. The region only became known as the Belgian Congo and was ruled by the Belgian government in 1908. Prior to that point, Leopold
had total freedom to do with the Congo as he pleased, and what pleased him was to amass an incredible fortune, built on the exploitation of the native inhabitants.
Nevertheless, Leopold enthusiastically argued to the world that his intentions in Africa were of a purely philanthropic nature. Using the standards rationalization of European imperialism, the conquest of the Congo
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