May 2014
Dear AP World History student,
Congratulations on your decision to take AP World History at Crete-Monee High School next year! This
is a college-level class that requires your commitment and hard work. You will have the opportunity to
take the AP World History exam in May of 2015 that could potentially earn college credit for you.
During this class next year we will cover a broad range of events, people, and time periods as well as
build essential skills in reading, organizing information, and writing. The curriculum especially focuses
on incorporating skills in crafting historical arguments from evidence, chronological reasoning,
comparison and contextualization, and historical interpretation and synthesis.
One of the most important characteristics of students who succeed in AP World History is mature
literacy. As students progress beyond high school level work, they must develop the habits of reading a
wide range of materials and thinking about these materials in a critical and analytical way.
As part of our development of these habits, AP World History students must do some preparation
during the summer. King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochshild is the novel selected for your summer
reading project. Reading during the summer will give you an advantage as it will not be during the busy
school year time.
As you read the novel, complete the attached Reading Guide and have it fully completed by the first day
of school in August. If you have questions during the summer that need instructor attention, then my
email address is [email protected]. I will be checking the email periodically so please allow a little
time for feedback. I very much look forward to a successful school year beginning in the fall.
Thanks and see you next year!
Mark O’Connor
King Leopold’s Ghost:
A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa
Reading Packet
AP World History
King Leopold’s Ghost
Timeline of Events
1874: Stanley finds Livingstone
1876: Leopold hosted anti-slavery conference in Brussels,. As the group's host, he was named "chair" of the new group. Later,
the group met once more and voted to name Leopold its chair, then never met again. That gave Leopold a platform from which to
promote himself as an anti-slavery activist.
1879-1884: Stanley obtained land treaties in the Congo on behalf of Leopold.
1885: Congress of Berlin internationalizes the Congo and recognizes the International African Association as the agency with
responsibility for the Congo. A few months later in May, Leopold created the "Congo Free State" and declared that all "vacant"
land in the Congo was the property of the state.
1885-1889: Using land titles, Leopold granted land concessions to entice investors to the Congo, but made sure to retain
controlling interest on their boards.
1888: Founded the Force Publique which reassured investors about security in the area
1889: Convinced other European nations to grant the right to collect tariffs to the Congo Free State
1890-1898: Built the railroad
1890: George Washington Williams visited the Congo and wrote "An Open Letter" to King Leopold about attrocities. He died in
1891.
1892: William Sheppard arrived as a missionary in the Kasai region
1895: Force Publique killed Irish subject Charles Stokes, a merchant who operated from German East Africa
1897-1903: E. D. Morel began to realize what was going on in the Congo and publicize it.
1903: British Parliament resolution concerning the treatment of the Congolese. In December, Roger Casement, British consul in
the Congo, completed his report condemning the Free State's labor practices.
1904: Henry M. Stanley died.
1905: Morel's informant Shanu committed suicide.
1904-1905: Extensive international criticism of Leopold, and a public relations counterattack.
1906: Belgian parliament's inquiry is critical.
1908: In March, the Belgian parliament completed an agreement to take over the Congo Free State and assume its debt. In
November, the takeover was completed.
1909: Sheppard acquitted in lawsuit brought by Kasai company for defamation. In December, Leopold died.
1919: Belgian government estimates that half of the Congo population died during the rubber period.
1924: First Congo census reports ten million inhabitants.
Reading Guide
King Leopold’s Ghost recounts the rise of Belgium as an imperial power headed by King Leopold at a
time when Africa was being carved out by various European nations. Adam Hochschild paints a picture
of the long term effects on the indigenous populations. Divided into two sections, the first part deals
with King Leopold’s desire for a colony and how he manages to commandeer the African Congo. The
second part deals with the atrocities committed against the Congolese and what happens when the
abuses become public knowledge.
Complete the table below as you read the novel.
Important Individual
Edmund Dene Morel
King Leopold II
George Washington Williams
What they did/How they involved in the novel
Henry Morton Stanley
William Sheppard
Joseph Conrad
Roger Casement
King Affonso I
Identify 2 individuals of importance not
mentioned above
The following questions are to help you understand and analyze the information from the book as you
read. Please respond using complete sentences to each question.
Intro and Prologue (p.1-18)
1. What were the shipments to and from Antwerp in Belgium and the Congo? Why did this seem
strange to Edmund Morel? What movement did he begin?
2. Why were the atrocities in the Congo not well known for many years? When did the worst of
the bloodshed in the Congo take place?
Chapter 1 (p.21-32)
3. Give a description of Henry Morton Stanly, how did he manage to reinvent himself? What
historic events propelled him to become the foremost journalist at the time?
Chapter 2 (p.33-46)
4. Explain how the background of King Leopold’s life explains his interest in acquiring a colony in
the Congo.
Chapter 3 (p.47-60)
5. Describe Stanley’s crossing of Africa including your opinion of how he interacted with Africans.
Chapter 4 (p.61-74)
6. Describe how King Leopold, with Stanley’s help, went about gaining control of much of the
Congo, including how they deceived natives of the region.
7. Describe the size and characteristics of the territory that Leopold hoped to control.
Chapter 5 (p.75-87)
8. Describe the many clever ways that King Leopold manipulated people to gain control of the
Congo.
Chapter 6 (p. 88-100)
9. What tools were vital for King Leopold and other imperialists in Africa?
10. Why did King Leopold gain international support for his control of the Congo? How did his real
goal differ from his purported goal?
Chapter 7 (p.101-114)
11. Describe the differences in their viewpoints about the Congo and explain why these differed:
a. King Leopold
b. George Washington Williams
Chapter 8 (p.115-139)
12. Write up charges that could have been made against King Leopold and those who worked for
him in the Congo. These charges should be written from the perspective of natives of the
Congo.
Chapter 9 (p.140-149)
13. Describe Joseph Conrad’s background. What was his famous novel about Leopold’s Congo?
How did it describe misrule there? Why can we tell that Conrad was also reflecting European
racist attitudes?
Chapter 10 (p.150-166)
14. Who was William Shepherd and why were his travels in Central Africa so significant?
15. Why had rubber supplanted ivory as the most lucrative product in Leopold’s Congo? Why was it
so difficult to gather rubber? How were natives forced to do this?
Chapter 11 (p.167-181)
16. Create two columns labeled “Leopold” and “Natives of the Congo”. In the first column list all
the ways Leopold gained from his colony, including how he used his wealth. In the other column
list all the ways natives of the Congo lost out in Leopold’s colony.
17. Describe the background of Edmund Morel. What did he discover about the implications of
trade with Leopold’s Congo.
Chapter 12 & 13 (p.185-208)
18. How did E.D. Morel go about proving King Leopold’s abuses in the Congo? What was the result
of Morel’s disclosures?
Chapter 14 (p.209-224)
19. Explain how Morel made effective use of the media and give some examples of this.
20. Who was Hezekiah Andrew Shanu? How did he contribute to the Congo reform campaign?
Chapter 15 (p.225-234)
21. List four reasons for deaths in King Leopold’s Congo and a) give examples of the causes for each
and b) how each of the causes was documented.
Chapter 16 (p.235-252)
22. Describe the methods that King Leopold used to mount a counterattack against E.D. Morel’s
crusade? Give examples of how these were misleading.
23. Explain why King Leopold established a Commission of Inquiry? Why did the Commission’s
findings not turn out as he had hoped? How did he try to limit the damage?
Chapters 17 & 18 (p.253-291)
24. What changes, if any, happened in the Congo after King Leopold’s death? Look at a) treatment
of natives and b) the ability, in any, of natives to reclaim lost lands.
Chapter 19 (p.292-306)
25. What does the author mean by the “politics of forgetting”? How did this apply to Belgium and
the Congo?
Afterword (p. 309-318)
26. Why does the author think that American readers feel more sympathy for the millions of victims
of Stalin and Hitler than for the millions of victims of imperialism? What similarities does he
draw?
27. What was the reception to this book in Belgium?
28. What reasons does he give for why African nations have had difficulty moving beyond their
colonial heritage?