King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschilds Term Paper

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschilds - Term Paper Example One prominent thing about this book was refusal by nine publishing houses in United States to publish this book. Most of the colonialists invaded Africa with the motive of getting industrial resources and enriching themselves. However, they gave false pretexts for the scramble saying they were after benefiting their colonial subjects. Some of these pretexts included spreading the gospel, educating their subjects and delivering benefactions to their colonial subject. Different colonial powers worsened the living conditions and lives of their subjects. Most of the atrocities and crimes done by King Leopold’s and his army as the author describes. While most of these colonialists exploited their subjects, King Leopold representing the Belgian imperialism over-exploited the people of Congo, made them slaves and even tortured them. This is something truly different as compared to the French imperialism in Senegal. Useful Discussions from King Leopold’s Ghost   During the ti me of European imperialism, there are so many things that took place, with many nations trying to build empires in different parts of the world, including Africa and Asia (Hochschild 21). The term ‘civilized people’ was used by a Swedish missionary, C.N. Borrisson, who described their different intentions for the scrambling for African resources. According to the known facts, the colonialists lied about their reasons for invading some of these nations. The facts are that the colonialists wanted raw materials for their industries. There was also need to get cheap labor for their industries. These colonialists took this opportunity to develop their economy so as to increase their kingdoms. One thing about this book is that it offers a lot of information about these developments in Congo by the Belgians. There were many things that transpired in the name of colonialism. There was an increase in support for the colonialists by other nations such as the United States and Can ada. The main explanations given by the colonialists or the ‘civilized people’ for the exploitation and colonial imperialism included the need to spread Christianity also extend their benefactions abroad (Hochschild 26). Many humanitarians view this as a stratagem that does not make any sense at all. The increased settlement by the colonialists in these countries justifies the materialism and desire for wealth. King Leopold’s Ghost is a story providing a focuses on the vivid accounts of what took place in Africa. Adam Hochschild’s book therefore, deals with the continued looting which took place in Congo. It is worth noting that people went through traumatizing events apart from been tortured by the colonialists. This helps us understand the main reasons why the ‘civilized people’ invaded these nations. This neglect by the colonialists to care about the colonists was a crucial issue for consideration when examining the roles played by these â €˜civilized people’ in Africa. The other noteworthy thing to consider is the colonialists’ callous disregard for the lives and the dignity of others based on the color of their skin, nationality, religion, or ethnic backgrounds. During these days, the colonialists prejudiced the Africans without giving them any opportunity to express themselves (Hochschild 62). The ‘civilized people’ continued disregarding the dignity and lives of others based on their skin color, religion, nationality and ethnic background. The whites treated Africans indifferently on their