Heart of Darkness

1. Heart of Darkness An Introduction A cartoon depicting King Leopold of Belgium.

2. -Congo River And rainforest

4. Africa Today “…that magnificent African cake.“ -King Leopold II Note the boundaries of each country. Lines were drawn by Europeans without respect to geography, ethnicity, or allegiance.

5. Population: 64, 606,759 (2007 est.) Average Life Expectancy: 44 years (males), 48 years (females) People Living with HIV/AIDS: 450,000 Conflict in the DR Congo has resulted in an estimated 5.4 million civilian deaths since 1996. Ethnic Groups: Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3%. Official Language: French (official), Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo, Tshiluba Average Literacy: 77.3% of total population, (Males:86.6%, Females:67.7%) Religions: Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Islam 10%, Kimbanguist 10% Democratic Republic of the Congo (Modern Day)

6. Imperialism: stronger nations attempt to create empires by dominating weaker nations economically, politically, and/or militarily Colonialism: one country’s domination of another country or people—usually achieved through aggressive, often military, actions Remember Imperialism and Colonialism?

7. Economics—increased need for raw materials (rubber and ivory in the Congo Free State) Nationalism—competition among stronger nations Military—need for military presence around the world Humanitarian—“civilize” the natives with powerful country’s religion, culture, and academics

8. 1841– Scottish explorer David Livingstone begins exploring central and southern Africa 1856 - His descriptions of his journeys increase European appreciation of African culture

9. 1871 - British journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley finds Livingstone, then continues traveling in Africa and works to open the lower Congo River to European commerce.

10. 1879-1884 – Leopold financed Stanley’s expedition up the Congo River

11. From Kongo Basin to Congo Free State • How did Leopold promote this agenda? Stanley was his man on the ground, utilizing a combination of promises, threats and trickery. • One of Stanley’s methods when meeting a new chief, was to attach a buzzer to his hand which was linked to a battery. • When the chief shook hands with Stanley he got a mild electric shock, which convinced the chiefs that Stanley had superhuman powers. • The agreements allowed the Belgians into the Congo to take its rich natural resources.  A young King Leopold II

12. 1876 – called a conference in Brussels to establish the International African Association, a private holding company disguised as an int’l scientific and philanthropic association. Said it was “to open to civilisation the only part of our globe where Christianity has not penetrated and to pierce the darkness which envelops the entire population.”

14. Publicly announces determination to free Congolese from Islam brought by Arab slave traders and bring Christianity to the “natives”exploits Western prejudices against Arabs to raise money for his efforts Privately instructs hired explorer to “purchase as much land as you will be able to obtain” with bolts of cloth and trinkets and states the “absurdity” of granting any political power to the Congolese people

15. Believed overseas colonies were the key to a country’s greatness Desired to establish a colony for Belgium and turns to unexplored central Africa Due to geographical position, its narrow approach to the sea, and the mystery of its interior, the Congo basin had escaped much of the ravages of the slave trade. Perhaps stood less likelihood of opposition with this area of the continent

16. A dispute between Portugal, France, and Leopold of Belgium about land at the mouth of the Congo River inspired European leaders and the US to hold the Berlin West Africa Conference The conference recognized the sovereignty of King Leopold over the Congo Free State, but trade in the area was supposed to be open to all nations

17. Leopold claimed all rubber trees and ivory in the region The Congolese were often kidnapped and put in traveling forced labor camps as well as conscription in Leopold’s private army Construction of railroad system for quick transportation of supplies to stations Transport rubber and ivory from interior to Congo River ports - then to Europe Workers that did not bring in enough rubber were often killed or brutalized.

18. And now…a video

19. Rubber Tax – required to pay but not reinvested in the Congo • Local chiefs required to supply men to collect rubber • Work carried out under supervision of armed sentries • Wives and children held hostage until rubber collected and delivered • Quotas required 25 days of harvesting • Failure to meet quota results in hands being cut off, other torture, and death

20. Native laborers who failed to meet rubber collection quotas were often punished by having their hands cut off. The Kongo Basin had became the Congo Free State, 900,000 square miles, in essence the private estate of Leopold. Brutality was widespread. Soldiers were told to not waste bullets on animals. To prove that they had not wasted bullets, the right hands were removed from children and adults.

21. Congolese population drops from 20-30 million to 9 million • Genocide of up to 15 million men, women, and children

22. Much of Western Europe and America also guilty of imperialism during Leopold’s reign Era from the 1870s on was called “the New Imperialism”, when focus shifted from trade and indirect rule to formal control of vast overseas territories ruled as political extensions of their mother countries Western consumers appreciate cheap rubber prices too much to investigate Leopold’s practices Leopold manipulated the press to support his expansion of Christianity in Belgian Congo Africans considered barbarous and uncivilized. Ex: Congolese man displayed with an orangutan in Bronx Zoo, later commits suicide after being rescued by black American ministers

23. Advent of photography allows journalists to travel to the Belgian Congo and photograph the atrocities: skulls of murdered Congolese lining gardens of colonial administrator’s homes, children without hands, concentration camps Public outcry leads to first ever international human rights crusade, and phrase “crimes against humanity” coined International protest caused Leopold to establish a “commission of inquiry” in 1904, which revealed that Congolese people were victims of a slave labor system and other human rights abuses

24. Leopold instituted reforms, which proved ineffective Genocide of Congolese largely forgotten 1908 – Belgian parliament voted to annex the Congo Free State, making it a colony known as the Belgian Congo 1960 – Becomes the Independent Republic of the Congo, then Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo

25. A positive legacy? • The brutality that King Leopold brought to Africa is beyond understanding. • But the response to what was seen in the Congo brought about a positive occurrence…modern humanitarianism. • The campaign to reveal the truth behind Leopold’s “secret society of murders,” became the first mass human rights movement. • This movement included Mark Twain and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. • Want to know more? Watch White King, Red Rubber, Black Death…

26. Conrad-Our Author Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski. 1857-1924) • Conrad was a Polish novelist, writing in English. Regarded as one of the greatest novelists in the English language, despite his not having learned to speak English fluently until he was in his twenties (and then always with a strong Polish accent). Orphaned at 12, at 16 moved to France and worked aboard ships • Strongly inspired to adventure by Stanley, believing the glowing reports of Leopold's rule, Conrad got a job on a steamer headed up the Congo River. • 1886 – He became a naturalized British subject, enlisted in British merchant service, and changed name to sound more English • Joseph Conrad turned his Congo experiences into Heart of Darkness, published in 1899.

28. Congo River

29. 1890 – Worked on a steamboat traveling up the Congo River 1899 – Reworked his memories into the novel, published serially in Blackwood’s Magazine 1902 – Published as a whole Conrad said his story “is experience pushed a little (and only a very little) beyond the actual facts of the case”

31. Literary Qualities Narrative Frame – like Chaucer – means narrator is distant observer of events he witnessed Use of language – giving clear sense of physical place hints at effect of the exterior setting upon the interior soul Continues tradition of Victorian novel/History of British empire – tales of adventure and travel in exotic places

32. The search for meaning in an ambiguous universe The isolation of the self in an alienating society Conflicts: civilization and savagery, appearance and reality, innocence and experience

33. Universality reflected in specific experience Imagery and its relation to themes Physical settings reflecting psychological landscapes of characters Ways in which an author’s commentary appears in literature

34. Critical Views-What is Heart of Darkness saying? • People are still in debate about what to take away from Conrad’s novel. • Is it an indictment of imperialism? • Is it a racist parable? • Literary criticism is often employed to explore these issues.

35. Resources • http://www.webenglishteacher.com/conrad.html • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3516965.stm • http://www.boondocksnet.com/congo/contents.html • http://www.historywiz.com/leopold.htm