Hochschild places King Leopold among the great tyrants of history. It is hard to say what the actual death toll under his reign was, both because accurate records were not kept and because Leopold deliberately destroyed many of the existing records shortly before the government of Belgium took the Congo out of his hands. According to Congo historians, Wm. Roger Louis and Jean Stengers, the earliest population and mortality estimates are "wild guesses". In the novel, many subsequent lines of inquiry conclude that the early official estimates were essentially correct: roughly half the population of the Congo perished during the Free State period.
This book documented the acts of torture and violence against protestants, and would therefor be highly critical of those in high positions, such as More. More evidence of More’s lack of compassing and cruelty is that during his chancellorship, six people were burned at the stake. This brutal and common method of executing heretics showed More’s lack of compassion, especially towards those who did not believe in his faith, such as protestant reformer, Martin Luther. In a letter to Luther, More said “throw back into your paternity’s sh*tty mouth, truly the sh*t pool of all sh*t, all the muck and sh*t..”.
Have a little read: ... A Bloody Revolt: The Kikuyu Reaction to Colonization In 1895, the British made their way through Africa in an attempt to find and control the source of the Nile. In order to do this, they marched through Kenya all the way to Uganda. Along the way, the British came along, and colonized, the Kikuyu, a fairly prosperous African tribe that lived in the central highlands of Kenya. The British transformed the Kikuyu society and way of life, imposing, rather than introducing, western ideas and technology onto them. The result of this was a bloody and prolonged revolt, from which no one benefitted.
Set in the palaces and boardrooms of Europe and in the villages of central Africa, it tells the story of the tragedy that took place during Leopold's so called rule, a tragedy that is so familiar to African-Americans, being told of our African brothers residing in the homeland. This horror story is just in fact that, a horror story, giving and revealing the utter most secrets of the respected King Leopold. Allow me to take you on a journey, pointing out the King's determination and, reasoning for what he'd done and the scars he left deep within the heart of the Congo. In the introduction I stated that Morel was the character that I considered to be the hero of this story, now the main question behind that would be, why? Along with, Who is Morel?
Typically, when one thinks of Great War, they think of extensive fighting in Europe but in reality the Great War had numerous battles in the colonized states where there were clashes between Triple Alliance and the Allies. Particularly, in Africa and in Ottoman empire where the clashes would lead to hundreds and thousands of fatal deaths and injuries. The Great War brought devastation and thousands of losses to both Ottomans and the Africans and caused a severe decline in economies but the Great War brought an end to Ottoman empire however Africa would still remain colonized. Furthermore, Since thousands of lives were constantly being lost so their was shortage of men so Great Britain and France brought soldiers from their colonies in Africa to fight for them in Europe. In addition, the war caused severe damage to economy since their were less men to work for in the fields and more Raw material was needed for the War.
Furthermore, motivations of benevolence and malevolence are often inextricably linked, identical even. This philosophy of dark absurdity prevalent to the human condition pervaded Conrad’s time and even his writing. The style and outlook owed itself partially to the era of the composition; Conrad published the majority of his literature during the years 1880-1920 (Matin xix). These were troubled times that brought to light the awesome imperialism and greed of West Europe. Prominently, King Leopold II of Belgium usurped the Congo territory in which he wreaked horrible atrocities (Gondola).
Cheadle’s convincing portrayal of Paul Rusesabagina in his desperate and problematic situation carries the film to its conclusion very well. The Tutsis (whom the Hutus call cockroaches) are of higher social status than the Hutus this inferior social status of the Hutus was forcibly fixed ' by the Hutus themselves in an eruption of massive slaughter. In a very short time (100 days) about a million people, both Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered by extremist Hutus. The movie adequately portrays the horror, the torment, and the despair experienced by the persecuted people of Rwanda, but fails to adequately address why the violence and genocide occurred in the first place. There is only a brief explanation about the origins of the Hutu-Tutsi conflict in the movie.
This is conveyed through the use of dialogue. " You strike me as a particularly icy and remorseless man. It chills my blood just to look at you." For this he is given two life sentences. Other examples of injustice that give rise to feelings of despair and alienation include Red's futile attempts to be given parole.
“The genocide was calculated to exterminate them; the hateful vitriol used against the Tutsi in the press and on radio broadcasts illustrated this thought process” (citation 1). Because Hutu people were not educated enough, they did not have independent thought and followed the instructions from their leaders. They became crazy to kill Tutsi people in revenge for the long-time conflicts and venom. Their deference to government and blindness
What started off as greed for colonial territory, escalated into greed for wealth which included enslavement and abuse of human rights. Mineral resources of the Congo were the driving economic force. Initially, the the sale of ivory was popular which later changed to the sale of rubber, since rubber was in high demand at the time. Upon being a greedy, manipulative and deceitful ruler, he is also one of the most cowardly men of his time. He tactfully used his agent Henry Morton Stanley to resolve any issues in the Congo that were a cause for concern.