King leopold's ghost questions and answers

Assignment 1: King Leopold’s Ghost King Leopold’s Ghost is a testament to the brutal behavior of the colonial period. As you read through the book, keep in mind that the atrocities in the Congo represent a single example of the negative impact of colonialization, but this also represents a reality felt by most of the world. Please provide concise responses (short, but impactful) to the following questions. Responses to each question will be about a paragraph and the total should not be longer than 3 pages. Successful responses will include references and evidence from the book, as well as insightful observations that demonstrate your ability to think critically. Format should use standard font (TNR, Arial), standard size (12), and a citation system when necessary. Submissions will be digital, so submit as either a .docx or .pdf. Any other formats will not be accepted. Unedited papers will lose points up to 25% of the grade, depending on the severity of the issues. 1. Between 1880 and 1920, the population of the Congo was slashed in half: some ten million people were victims of murder, starvation, exhaustion, exposure, disease and a plummeting birth rate. Is this the first time you’ve heard about the colonial experience of the Congo? Why do you think this massive carnage has remained virtually unknown in the United States and Europe? 2. After stating that several other mass murders “went largely unnoticed,” Hochschild asks, “why, in England and the United States, was there such a storm of righteous protest about the Congo (pg 282)?” Do you find his explanation sufficient? Why do some atrocities (the mass murders in Rwanda, for example) prompt little response from the United States and other western nations, while others (the "ethnic cleansing" of Kosovo, for example) prompt military action against the perpetrators? 3. Those who plundered the Congo and other parts of Africa (and Asia) did so in the name of progress, civilization, and Christianity. Was this hypocritical and if so, how? What justifications for colonial imperialism and exploitation have been put forward over the past five centuries? (It may be useful to talk to Google about this. If you do, remember to cite your sources) 4. Hochschild writes that Leopold “found a number of tools at his disposal that had not been available to empire builders of earlier times (pg. 89).” What new technologies and technological advances contributed to Leopold’s exploitation of the Congo? What impact have these tools had on both the advancement and degradation of colonial or subject peoples? 5. How does Hochschild answer his own question, “What made it possible for the functionaries (think soldiers or mercenaries) in the Congo to so blithely watch the chicotte in action and . . . to deal out pain and death in other ways as well (pg 121)?” How would you answer this question, in regard to Leopold’s Congo and to other officially sanctioned atrocities? Briefly discuss one instance since 1990 that where “functionaries” participated in sanctioned atrocities. 6. Hochschild quotes Roger Casement as insisting to Edmund Morel, “I do not agree with you that England and America are the two great humanitarian powers. . . . [They are] materialistic first and humanitarian only a century after (pg 269).” What evidence supports or refutes Casement’s judgment? Would Casement be justified in making the same statement today? ...