Cruelty in the Congo country
Booker T. Washington writes about the poor conditions currently existing in the Congo Free State. Léopold II, King of the Belgians, has created a state of extreme cruelty by removing African’s ability to independently gather and trade goods, essentially enslaving an entire nation. Washington quotes a passage from a report by William H. Sheppard to illustrate this, in which Sheppard has met with a tribe of cannibals who had been employed by the state to raid villages who had not harvested the required amount of rubber. Washington hopes by writing this article to call the attention of civilized nations to this treatment in order to improve conditions.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1904-08-04