History 112

History 112 As you read King Leopold’s Ghost here are questions to guide your thinking about paper topics. 1. Why do you think the author chose this title? How and why does the “great forgetting” work? 2 How does the author distinguish between the acts of Leopold and those of the British, the French, and the Americans? 3. Why was Leopold so successful in suppressing information about his Congo ventures? 4. What part did the principles of free trade play both in the reluctance and in the willingness to criticize Leopold’s rule in the Congo. 5. Analyze Kipling’s poem the “White Man’s Burden” in the context of King Leopold’s Ghost. 6. Why did Morel think that Leopold’s actions were dramatically different from those of Britain in its own colonies? 7.What part does religion play in furthering and in modifying the actions in the Congo? 8. Why does the American Southerner, Morgan, first support and then criticize Leopold’s abuses? 9. How did Leopold succeed in carving out the Congo for himself when it appeared that nearly all colonies had been taken? 10. Compare the footprint of the European in Africa with the European footprint in the Americas. 11. What part does gender equality play in Leopold’s story in Africa? 12. How does the author compare modern political figures with Leopold? Why does the author say that Leopold’s rule in the Congo was “totalitarian” in the same way as that of Hitler in Germany and Stalin in the Soviet Union?