Letter of king leopold to missionaries

Discussion1

King Leopold’s Public Letter (Document A)

The following is an excerpt from a public letter written by King Leopold to all Belgian agents working in the Congo.

“The task which the Belgian agents have to accomplish in the Congo is

noble. It is incumbent upon them [necessary] to carry on the work of

civilization in Africa.

The aim [goal] is to regenerate [re-make] races whose degradation and

misfortune is hard to realize. The fearful scourges in the eyes of our

humanity, these races are the victim. This is already lessening, little by

little, through our intervention. Each step forward by our people should

mark an improvement in the condition of the natives.

In those vast (huge) regions of land, mostly uncultivated (unused) and

mainly unproductive, where the natives hardly knew how to get their own

daily food, European experience, knowledge, resources, and enterprise

(skills) have brought to light unimaginable wealth. Exploration of virgin

(new) lands goes on, communications are established, highways are

opened, and legitimate trade and industry are established. Source: Letter from King Leopold II of Belgium to all government agents in the Congo, June 16, 1897

King Leopold to the Missionaries (Document B)

The following is an excerpt from a private letter written by King Leopold to a group of Belgian missionaries about to leave for the Congo in 1883.

“Reverends, Fathers and Dear Compatriots: The task that is given to you is very difficult. You will go certainly to evangelize, but your priority must be Belgium interests. Your principal mission in the Congo is never to teach the savages to know God, this they know already. They speak and submit to a Mungu, one Nzambi, one Nzakomba, and what else I don’t know (all of these are native African gods). Your essential role is to facilitate the task of administrators and industrialists, which means you will go to interpret the gospel in the way it will be the best to protect our interests in that part of the world. Your knowledge of the gospel will allow you to find texts encouraging your followers to love poverty, like “Happier are the poor because they will inherit the heaven" and, "It’s very difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God." You have to make them abandon everything which gives them the courage to affront [resist] us. Evangelize the savages so that they stay forever in submission to the white colonialists, so they never revolt against the restraints they are undergoing. Recite every day-"Happy are those who are weeping because the kingdom of God is for them." Convert the blacks always by using the whip. Source: Letter from King Leopold II of Belgium to Colonial Missionaries, 188

Excerpt from King Leopold’s Ghost (Document C)

The following is an excerpt from the book King Leopold’s Ghost written by an American author and journalist named Adam Hochschild. King Leopold’s Ghost was the recipient of many awards and was the basis of a 2006 documentary.

“As king of a small country with no interest in colonies, King Leopold realized that

a colonial push of his own would require a strong humanitarian veneer

[appearance]. Curbing the slave trade, moral uplift, and the advancement of

science were the aims he would talk about, not profits. In 1876, he began planning

a step to establish his image as a philanthropist and advance his African ambitions.

He organized a conference of explorers and geographers.

Underlying most of King Leopold’s excitement was the hope that Africa would be a

source of raw materials to feed Belgium’s Industrial Revolution, just as the search

for slaves had driven many countries to become interested in Africa.

Source: King Leopold’s Ghost. By Adam Hochschild. 1998