Lingering Thoughts after Today's Discussion

The question I wanted to explore more was a combination of 7 and 10. The reason i wanted to explore this more was because we only went into specifics from the book where i think that with these questions we can bring up broader themes and ideas and maybe connecting them to other events such as the holocaust. Specifically with Leopolds childhood life what specifically in his childhood was so traumatic that made him act so aggressively towards Congo and the African people. Also maybe talking about the reasoning for him marrying off his daughter to the austrian-hungry princes so he can try to have a better connection and relationship with that country in order to gain more power and respect. Was it just that he didnt care about his daughters or he just wanted to get rid of them so he can focus on the Congo? Could we also compare and contrast the treatment of blacks in Africa and the treatment of Jews in the holocaust and try to find a correlation with Leopolds past and some of the leaders of the Holocaust.

King Leopolds Ghost

I really enjoyed King Leopoldo Ghost so far. I think the prologue gave great backround information on the situation in Africa and how the slave trade worked and got started. I also think without the description of the Congo river and the life in Africa it would have been hard to understand the story of Henry Morton Stanly and how hard his expedition was in the congo river. It also helps explain how it was an important discovery and how it caused the British to invade because of the wealth and possible investments in that area and it was the first land found in central Africa. I also found it very interesting how it gave background information on Henry's childhood life and how he moved around and nobody really liked him or wanted him. I think this gave good insight into why he made the choice he did and how he decided to explore central African near the Congo river.

?'s-How did Henry Morton Stanly's Childhood life and early life and how it affected his relationship with the people from Africa and his relationship with the European Slave traders?

Why was the area past the Congo river such a highly wanted area of land? Recourses? Money?