KLG Quotes

King Leopold II:
"What mattered [to Leopold] was the size of the profit.  His drive for colonies, however, was shaped by a desire not only for money but for power.

Henry Morton Stanley:

"he drove himself almost as hard as he did his men; on the journey he lost more than sixty pounds."

Response to Pages 1-32

Questions:
Of the reasons Europeans went into Africa, which was the most important?

How did Stanley's childhood effect his work later in his life? 

For me the first 32 pages were kind of a disappointment.  I was expecting information on King Leopold and was sort of things happened in the Congo during his reign.  Instead, the introduction, prologue, and first chapter all served as possible set up.  Even though the information presented in those first few sections might be relevant, it was not what I thought the story would be.  Even though Stanley as a person is very interesting, I myself did not find him to be as connected as I would have preconceived.  I would have anticipated something concerning an almost physical struggle with Leopold or something of that nature, but it is what it is.  And I have to applaud Stanley for what he had done.  His mother bringing shame to him, while he makes something of himself in great magnitude.  Wonderful

End of Class Response

In class, I am eager to learn more about is the Berlin conference.  I do not know if we will be doing more with this, but I am curious to know which countries were involved.  How was Africa divided up?  Which countries were in attendance?  It is just the one thing that stood out to me.