King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild Book Analysis

In King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, the author, Adam Hochschild conveys his argument that King Leopold and European Power in the Congo led to many deaths, was excessively brutal, and had lasting harmful effects. To do this Hochschild uses many primary sources throughout his work, including Belgian newspapers such as Le Courrier de Bruxelles, and novellas, namely Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and many more. By Hochschild making use of these sources, he is able to solidify his argument as these are first-hand accounts of what occurred. 

To summarize Hochschild’s novel, he describes the Congo in the 1890s which was under European imperialism, and to be more specific, King Leopold. Hochschild chronicles the many atrocities of the king and his brutal forced labor on the Congolese to benefit Belgium. King Leopold is able to do this after deceiving the Congolese for land and then covering his brutality and excessive work from other countries. Soon, journalists start coming to the Congo and witness how Leopold is harming the Congolese and they try to alert everybody else about the truth about what is happening in the Congo. The novel comes to an end when Leopold dies, however, this does not mark the end of terror in the Congo, as he left an abundant amount of money that was given to the Belgian government and his terror remained. 

Throughout the novel, Hochschild defines and supports his thesis with first-hand accounts from journalists, newspapers, and many other sources. One case where Hochschild utilizes these sources is by using Conrad’s Heart of Darkness which he states as “one of the most scathing indictments of imperialism in all literature”(Hochschild 146). Hochschild illustrates Conrad’s voyage to the Congo and his six months of studying and writing about the Congo. Heart of Darkness, which in short is a fictional story about James Marlow, Conrad’s alter ego,  who is a sailor that is assigned a task from a Belgian trading company to sail to Africa. It is there where Marlow beholds the King’s severe forced labor and unrestrained brutality. Marlow is taken aback by the violence, mentioning several severed hands and heads of the Congolese. By mentioning Conrad’s work Hochschild is able to solidify his argument as he interprets an author's work who was in the Congo during that time. 

However, this is not the only time Hoschild utilizes primary sources. He mentions E.D. Morel, a British journalist, politician, and human rights activist. Morel was one of the first to become aware of slavery in the Congo. Hochschild walks through Morel's journey and how he noticed something strange with importation going in and out of the Congo. Morel recognizes that considerable amounts of rubber and ivory were being exported from the Congo, but only weapons and ammunition were being imported. From there, Morel suspected that the Congo was using slaves for the King and Belgium’s benefit. Morel then posted articles to alert everyone of the terror in the Congo. As the story goes on, like Conrad, Morel notices the severed hands and the King’s ruthless brutality   As a result of both Morel’s and Conrad’s work and writings historians have a close idea of what occurred during that time in the Congo. This gave Hochschild the ability to closely relate his story to the truth and prove his argument.

To conclude. By Hoschild using these sources and his powerful imagery in his writing, he is able to successfully convey his argument. Through the story, Hochschild is continually defining his thesis about the terror and violence in the Congo while also revealing it to the reader with his use of primary sources and dynamic writing. As the primary intended audience for this book is the general public instead of professional historians, Hochschild does a great job of persuading the reader of his argument.