Question
THE CONGO
In 1890, an American Civil War veteran and politician visited the Congo and wrote this "open letter" to King
Leopold II. In the space below, list 4 complaints Williams made about the Congo under King Leopold.
Your Majesty's Government is deficient in the moral military and
financial strength, necessary to govern a territory of 1,508,000
square miles... Not one out of every twenty State-officials know
the language of the natives, although they are constantly issuing
laws, difficult even for Europeans, and expect the natives to
comprehend and obey them. Cruelties of the most astounding
character are practised by the natives, such as burying slaves
alive in the grave of a dead chief, cutting off the heads of
captured warriors in native combats, and no effort is put forth by
your Majesty's Government to prevent them...
Your Majesty's Government is excessively cruel to its prisoners,
condemning them, for the slightest offences, to the chain gang,
the like of which can not be seen in any other Government in the
civilized or uncivilized world. Often these ox-chains eat into the
necks of the prisoners and produce sores about which the flies
circle, aggravating the running wound; so the prisoner is
constantly worried. These poor creatures are frequently beaten
with a dried piece of hippopotamus skin, called a "chicote", and
usually the blood flows at every stroke when well laid on. But the
cruelties visited upon soldiers and workmen are not to be
compared with the sufferings of the poor natives who, upon the
slightest pretext, are thrust into the wretched prisons here in the
Upper River...
How was the reality exposed by Williams
different from what King Leopold claimed?
Answer
Williams' open letter exposed the reality of the Congo under King Leopold II as being deficient in moral, military, and financial strength, lacking knowledge of the native language, practicing cruel punishments, and inflicting suffering on the native population. This was in stark contrast to King Leopold's claims of a benevolent and prosperous colony.