Response to KLG small seminar 1

The idea or question that I have lingering after the small group seminar is the impact that Leopold's actions have on the Congo. In particular, elephant populations, the African people, and his agents living there.

I believe that our small group discussion was great. We were all able to put in our thoughts and there was no talking over each other or struggles to get my point in. I don't think that there is much we can improve on because this was one of the best discussions that I have ever been in.

Response to first section of King Leopold's Ghost

I found the first section to be very intriguing and I learned a lot about the early expeditions to Africa and the Congo river. I was interested in the jump from educating, in both schooling and religion, the people of Africa to enslaving them and taking their resources. One person that I found very interesting was Affonso who was one of the first Africans to learn Portuguese and he dictated many letters, which still exist today.

Two questions that I have are...
Why does and when does Henry Morton Stanley go back to Africa?
How, when, and by who was the Congo region divided out into separate countries?

Thoughts on end of class September 2nd

1. What did I learn?
2. What questions do I have?
3. What are you curious to learn more about?

Today in class, I learned the difference between Imperialism and Colonialism, and we looked into the effects that the two had during the period between 1871 and 1914. I, also, learned to use the anachronism, SPICER, which helps to explore events in history from multiple angles.

The questions that I have from todays class are: What are the rules or U.N. sanctions on imperialism/colonialism today?  When did countries decide to leave colonies or imperial-ized countries and why? What are the longer term effects of colonization or imperializing on a country?


I am curious to learn more about how the European powers started World War I and how the War effected their colonies and the original countries.