The story of the Congo
Hochschild describes Léopold as a man of greed who, obsessed by the desire for a colony, hides his real intentions under "philanthropic" purposes. With a complex scheme of political intrigue, corruption and propaganda, he wins the assistance of one of the greatest explorers of the time, Henry Morton Stanley, as well as that of public opinion and of powerful states. Through the Berlin Conference and other diplomatic efforts, he finally obtains international recognition for his colony. He then establishes a system of forced labour that keeps the people of the Congo basin in a condition of virtual slavery.

The heroes of the book (as much as a book of non-fiction can be said to have heroes) are Léopold's enemies, those who made the world aware of the reality of the Congo Free State. These include:

George Washington Williams, an African American politician and historian, the first ever to report the atrocities in the Congo.
William Henry Sheppard,......

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Title: Ms
Approximate Word Count: 402
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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