It is also the deeply moving portrait of those who fought leopold. For the book i wrote after king leopolds ghost, i spent several years living, intellectually, in the company of the protestant evangelicals who played a crucial role in the british antislavery movement of 17871833. That experience made me think i had understated, in this book, the importance of the evangelical tradition in the appeal of congo reform to the british public. In the late 1890s, edmund dene morel, a young british shipping company agent, noticed something strange about the cargoes of his companys ships as they arrived from and departed for the congo, leopold iis vast new african colony. With an introduction by awardwinning novelist barbara kingsolver in the late nineteenth century, when the great powers in europe were tearing africa apart and seizing ownership of land for themselves, king leopold of belgium took hold of the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the congo river. The right hands, i counted 81 in all, william henry sheppard reported, after seeing the hands of africans that.
Listen to king leopolds ghost by adam hochschild at. I have just read king leopolds ghost and it is approximately 318 pages long, but extends to 376 with notes and works cited. King leopolds ghost is the haunting account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions, a man as cunning, charming, and cruel as any of the great shakespearean villains. Carrying out a genocidal plundering of the congo, he looted its rubber, brutalized its people, and ultimately. Williams then wrote an open letter to leopold laying out all of his grievances for these crimes against humanity. Get everything you need to know about william sheppard in king leopolds ghost. A tale far richer than any novelist could invent, king leopolds ghost is the horrifying account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions. I first learned about william sheppard while reading king leopold s ghost, sheppard is one of the heroes of that story for his work in exposing the autocracies committed by the belgians. This book is the story of a man that was so greedy even the pretext of humanitarian aims were summarily ignored during his rule. Hochschilds short book is simply one of the most powerful indictments of mass murder ever written, as well as a testament. Hochschild begins the story of king leopolds greed for the congo by sketching the earliest colonial history of africa.
One of the things i liked most about this book is that it deflates the hero status of people like. King leopolds ghost made me embarrassed to be human. The character of william sheppard in king leopolds ghost from. William henry sheppard and king leopolds congo free state.
Europeans were driven since the fifteenth century to explore, trade, conquer, and colonize the exotic lands they considered empty and up for grabs by westerners. Leopold instructed his allies to include belgium in a series of trade. Lapsley and sheppard arrived in the congo, along the kasai river, in may of 1890, and immediately began plans to build a mission station. I heard adam hochschild s interview on cbc and ordered the book. Hochschilds short book is simply one of the most powerful indictments of mass murder ever written, as well as a testament to how much influence even a single person acting on moral outrage over such an event can have. King leopolds ghost was a finalist for the national book critics circle award. 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 other congolese peoples by king leopold iis force publique. King s leopolds ghost was published in september 1998, by adam hochschild. The book details the genocidean estimated ten million lives were lost. George washington williams, a black american journalist and historian who interviewed africans, and william sheppard, a black american missionary who recorded scenes he witnessed in the congo. In the 1880s, as the european powers were carving up africa, king leopold ii of belgium seized for himself the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the congo river. In the late 19th century, king leopold ii of belgium decided that he wanted to make belgium a major empire by acquiring territory in africa. With an introduction by awardwinning novelist barbara kingsolver in the late nineteenth century, when the great powers in europe were tearing africa apart and seizing ownership of land for themselves, king leopold of belgium took hold of the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding. Incoming ships were crammed with valuable ivory and rubber.
Two courageous black americans, george washington williams and william sheppard, risked much to bring evidence of the congo atrocities to the outside. African rebel leaders who fought against hopeless odds and a brave handful of missionaries, travelers, and young idealists who went to africa for work or adventure but unexpectedly found. I first learned about william sheppard while reading king leopold s ghost, sheppard is one of the heroes of that story for his work in exposing the autocracies. King leopolds ghost is the book that reexposed the atrocities leopold committed against the congo between 1880 and 1910 atrocities that sank out of sight after they were finally stopped. King leopolds ghost by adam hochschild book resume. He wasnt a typical 19th century african explorer, for one thing he was black. Library of congress cataloginginpublication data hochschild, adam. King leopold s ghost was also awarded the 1998 california book awards gold medal for nonfiction. 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 other congolese peoples by king leopold ii s force publique. He was a presbyterian missionary from virginia who had a passionate desire to go to africa and help out, in a sense to return home.
A story of greed, terror and heroism in colonial africa 1998 is a. King leopold s ghost is the haunting account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions, a man as cunning, charming, and cruel as any of the great shakespearean villains. It is also the deeply moving portrait of those who defied leopold. Reverend william sheppard sounds like an amazing man, so too with e. Sheppard was born in 1865, and distinguished himself as a theological student and a minister.
William sheppard character analysis in king leopolds. Sheppard, presbyterian missionary, explorer, and the first outsider to visit. The king leopolds ghost community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Besides morel, there were others who helped to uncover leopolds terrorism in the congo. King leopolds ghost book saint paul public library. During his reign, he amassed enormous landholdings in the african territory surrounding the congo river. Example essay on king leopold s ghost book summary will inspire you. As adam hochschild, author of the novel king leopold s ghost points out, leopold was a master of spin control. Leopold, a king of a small country and a man with very limited powers, decides that he desperately needs to find a colony where he can reign supreme. The book succeeded in increasing public awareness of these belgian colonial crimes.
King leopold did not attend the conference, because, officially, the congo was under the control of the iac, which was a private society. Mar 29, 2020 introduction king leopolds ghost chronicles the horrifying and nearly forgotten crimes that took place in the congo in the 1800s. Adam hochschilds king leopolds ghost is a gripping account of a murder mystery a mystery made all the more horrific because it involves an estimated 10 million victims. Other individuals like william sheppard and roger casement followed the steps of williams. Morel is joined by a rich cast of human rights activists, among them william sheppard and roger casement. Belgium, as a small, relatively new european country, lagged far behind its rivals as an. An estimated ten million congolese died during that time. Adam was born in 1942 and is a historical writer known for king leopold s ghost along with slaves to fortune. Presbyterian pioneers in congo by william henry sheppard stbalbach.
At center stage was the black american missionary william sheppard. I picked up this book because i have always wanted to know what really went on in the congo with patrice lumumba back in the 50s, and why he was assassinatd in 1960. However, many of leopolds followers were present at the conference, including sanford acting as ambassador from america, and stanley. Morel, george washington williams, william henry sheppard and others, who worked tirelessly to bring about its end. King leopolds ghost by adam hochschild plot summary litcharts. King leopold s ghost a story of greed, terror, and heroism in colonial africa book. King leopolds belgium study guides and book summaries. One night in 2004, some anarchists sawed the hand off one of the africans to make the statue better represent, they said in an. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one.
The titular figure of the book and arguably its villain, king leopold ii was the longestreigning monarch in belgian history. King leopold ii of belgium, with all his austere regalia and severe beard, painted himself as the picture of beneficence for the little heard of territory along the congo river, setting up societies and companies dedicated to the elimination of the arab slave trade. Sheppard excerpted from king leopolds ghost by adam hochschild only two years after henry morton stanley hobbled down the cathedral aisle, another man accomplished a remarkable feat of exploration in the congo. William sheppard s outspokenness would eventually bring down the wrath of the authorities and one day vandervelde, an attorney, would find himself defending sheppard in a congo courtroom.
William sheppard was african american, and joined with samuel lapsley, a white man, as equal partners in the foundation of the mission work of the presbyterians in congo, today one of the largest denominations in that vast nation. Two courageous black americansgeorge washington williams and william sheppard risked much to bring evidence to the outside world. William sheppard character analysis william sheppard quotes in king leopolds ghost due to the missionaries, from the mid1890s on leopold had to deal with scattered protests, like sheppards articles, about severed hands and slaughtered africans. King leopold s reign in the congo was so vicious that even the other colonial powers of the day had to condemn him. George washington williams and william sheppard, risked much to bring evidence of the congo atrocities to the outside world. Historian adam hochschild developed the story using an abundance of sources that take up eleven pages in the books bibliography, with much reliance on the scramble for africa, by thomas pakenham, and the fourvolume history of the congo, by jules marchal. The king was angry, and began trying to undermine williams message. Morel, sheppard, williams, casement, and others boldly spoke out against the. The book also addresses the years leading up to leopolds acquisition of the congo and those. Unlike stanleys journeys, his was respectful and nonviolent. When newspapers published some of his letter, some of the public started to question leopolds intentions. Readers guide for king leopolds ghost published by houghton. Sheppard s book is discussed in king leopold s ghost. Introduction king leopolds ghost chronicles the horrifying and nearly forgotten crimes that took place in the congo in the 1800s.
William sheppard character analysis in king leopolds ghost. Leopold was an intelligent and ruthless man who wasnt afraid to lie or kill in order to expand belgiums power. King leopold s ghost by adam hochschild book resume. Michiko kakutani of the new york times called it an extraordinarily moving portrait of the complexities and confusions of familial love.
Washington williams, and william henry sheppard began to circulate news. William henry sheppard march 8, 1865 november 25, 1927 was one of the earliest african americans to become a missionary for the presbyterian church. But william sheppard seldom shows up in the annals of. I have just read king leopolds ghost and it is approximately 318 pages long, but extends to 376 with notes. Presbyterian pioneers in congo is a little known but fantastic book by an american missionary who traversed unexplored areas of the congo in the 1890s. One of the earliest to attempt to bring attention to leopold s personal colony of what he termed the congo free state an ironic name considering that forced labor was the rule, rather than the exception in the colony was a presbyterian missionary from the united states, william henry sheppard.
Outbound ships carried little more than soldiers and firearms. In the late 1880s, he started a petition to travel to africa as a missionary. Exhibit and book justly celebrated william sheppard as a pioneer lay anthropologist, but said nothing about his role as a target of the legal case ive described on. These great stalwart men and women, who have from time immemorial been free had changed into starving slaves within three years of the rubber companys invasion. Adam hochschilds king leopolds ghost offers a substantial overview of the period from 1895 until 1908 when king leopold ii of belgium ruled the congoor at least the very large territory around the congo river basin that he claimed as his own. Sheppard s article from a decade earlier, about his discovering eightyone severed hands being smoked over a fire, had been one of the most widely quoted pieces of testimony about the congo. William sheppard, wrote of the toll leopolds congo had taken on the kuba people. Roger casement, later hanged by britain as a traitor, conducted an. The author does a truly great job summarizing, explaining and describing the crimes committed by king leopold ii and his supporters, both european and african, during his reign over the belgian congo from the late 1800s and the early 1900s. One of the best indictments of colonialism that i have ever read, king leopolds ghost is obsensively a book about power and greed.
A story of greed, terror and heroism in colonial africa is a bestselling 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, as well as the largescale atrocities committed during that period. King leopolds ghost was a finalist for the national book critics circle award, as was to end all wars. Overlooking the beach at leopold s favorite resort at ostend, belgium, has long stood a grand equestrian statue of the king in bronze, surrounded by smaller figures of grateful africans and local fishermen. Two courageous black americansgeorge washington williams and william sheppardrisked much to bring evidence to. Adam was born in 1942 and is a historical writer known for king leopolds ghost along with slaves to fortune. In 1885, a megalomaniac king bought his own country. It s a highly readable account of king leopold s brutal reign in the congo and the human rights advocates, roger casement, e. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Historian adam hochschild developed the story using an abundance of sources that take up eleven pages in the book s bibliography, with much reliance on the scramble for africa, by thomas pakenham, and the fourvolume history of the congo, by jules marchal. Sep 21, 1998 the story in king leopold s ghost is a powerful one colonization taken to its extreme but the book is rendered mediocre by the author s trite moralizing, lack of historical rigor, and tiresome reliance on depicting every actor with either a halo or horns.
Listen to king leopold s ghost audiobook by adam hochschild. Morel, if it wasnt for this book i would know nothing of their stories. The new york times king leopolds ghost is a remarkable achievement, hugely satisfying on many levels. Two courageous black americans george washington williams and william sheppardrisked much to bring evidence to. The king leopolds ghost quotes below are all either spoken by william sheppard or refer to william sheppard. Adam hochschilds king leopolds ghost is a historical account of colonial exploitation of the congo region of africa.
King leopolds ghost by adam hochschild penguin random. Britain, portugal, spain, and france acquired new land and resources by colonizing parts of the americas, australia, asia, and africa. Kings leopolds ghost was published in september 1998, by adam hochschild. King leopolds ghost by adam hochschild is truly one of the best nonfiction history books i have ever read. In the centuries following the discovery of the new world, the countries of europe became very wealthy and powerful.