Congo Free State propaganda war The Congo Free State propaganda war was a worldwide media propaganda campaign waged by both King Leopold II of Belgium and the critics of the Congo Free State . Some of these individuals failed as Leopold ' s media prowess became too much . But one man , Edmund Dene Morel , successfully campaigned against Leopold and created a public focus upon the violence of Leopold ' s rule . Morel used the mass media of that time , starting with newspapers and pamphlets and proceeding to books that included evidence from reports , eye - witness testimony , and pictures obtained from missionaries and others involved directly in the Congo . As Morel gained high - profile supporters , the publicity generated by his campaign eventually forced Leopold to relinquish control of the Congo . Background . The Congo Free State propaganda war ( 1884 – 1912 ) occurred at the height of European Imperialism . Demand for goods remained the driving force behind European imperialism , and ( with the important exception of British East India Company rule in India ) the European stake in Asia remained confined largely to trading stations and strategic outposts necessary to protect trade . Industrialization , however , dramatically increased European demand for raw materials , which became scarce , and the severe Long Depression of the 1870s provoked a scramble for new markets for European industrial products and financial services . Thus , Europe turned to Africa . Leopold ' s acquisition . Leopold thought overseas colonies critical to becoming a great power , and worked towards Belgian colonial possessions . Belgians did not seem interested though , so Leopold eventually acquired a colony for himself with money loaned by the Belgian government for the purpose . After a number of unsuccessful schemes for colonies in Africa and Asia , he organized a private holding company in 1876 , disguised as an international scientific and philanthropic association , called the International African Society ( IAA ) , with a flag and an executive council he chaired himself . Leopold justified his ambitions in the Congo by IAA ' s stated organizational goals : In 1878 Leopold ' s holding company hired the British explorer Henry Morton Stanley to establish a colony in the Congo region . Before Stanley left for Africa , Leopold created an exploratory committee with funds of a million francs in gold . Chaired by Stanley , it promised to abide by the IAA ' s goals set forth by Leopold . During the spring of 1884 , Leopold started a campaign to convince the Great Powers that the Congo Free State should be a sovereign nation and he its head of state . Much diplomatic maneuvering resulted in the Berlin Conference of 1884 – 85 , at which representatives of fourteen European countries and the United States recognized Leopold as sovereign of most of the area he and Stanley had laid claim to . After the conference Leopold told the members and reporters : Using Public Diplomacy . Leopold " conceived the idea of a Congo Free State , with himself as the Sovereign ruler . " The name suggested individual , economic , and religious freedoms . Leopold began a publicity campaign in Britain , drawing attention to Portugal ' s slavery record to distract critics . He offered to drive slave traders from the Congo basin . He also secretly told British merchant houses that if he had formal control of the Congo , he would give Britain the same most favored nation status Portugal offered . At the same time , Leopold promised Otto von Bismarck he would not give any one nation special status , and that German traders would be as welcome as any other . Leopold then offered France the Association ' s support for French ownership of the entire northern bank of the Congo River , and sweetened the deal by proposing that if his personal wealth proved insufficient to hold the entire Congo , as seemed inevitable , then the Congo would revert to France . Leopold sent United States President Chester A . Arthur carefully edited copies of cloth - and - trinket treaties obtained by Stanley , and proposed that , as an entirely disinterested humanitarian body , the Association administer the Congo for the good of all , handing over power to the local inhabitants as soon as they were ready for that grave responsibility . He worked to convince the United States , with its growing economic and military power , to recognize the treaties and the Congo Free State . Leopold ' s men told Southern Congressmen that the Congo Free State could be a new home for freed slaves . They loved the idea . He promised the President open and free trade . In April , the U . S . Congress decided that the treaties had legal standing and that the Congo was a sovereign state under the Belgian king . France ' s recognition soon followed , and then Germany , and soon all the other European nations . Since the IAA was seen as a legitimate government of a recognized sovereign state , Bismarck invited King Leopold to discuss African affairs with the Great Powers of Europe . Thus on November 15 , 1884 , the International Conference met to resolve " the African question " concerning the disposition of African territories among European powers . After long debate and ten sittings , the Great Powers agreed , without input from Africa or thought to tribal politics , on borders for the colonies . The Congo Free State encompassed nearly a million square miles , the largest claim in central Africa . " Red Rubber " . Leopold profited from the ivory of the resource - rich Congo and even more from its rubber , a primary product of the Congo . Rubber vines grew throughout central Africa ; but harvesting rubber from a vine was more difficult than that from a tree . So prices for African rubber went up , and Asian producers sold more of their less expensive rubber . Leopold demanded very high productivity and a system of extracting rubber with little to no expense . Leopold ' s agents used forced labor or slave labor , to get rubber and ivory ; a clear violation of the Berlin Conference Act . To keep high production numbers constant , Leopold created an army of enforcers called the Force Publique ( FP ) in 1885 , when he ordered creation of military and police forces . In 1886 he sent a number of Belgian officers and non - commissioned officers to the territory to create this military force . The FP ' s officers were all whites , a mixture of Belgian regular soldiers and foreign mercenaries . The enlisted men were whites who had lived in the Congo for many years , and natives who could be trusted to carry a weapon . Humanitarian Disaster . The FP became slave drivers , forcing people to work for nothing . They also enforced Leopold ' s law against selling any rubber and ivory to any other nation . The FP would kill everyone in the tribe of anyone caught doing this , burn their huts , and make the chief a slave . The FP ' s methods included rape , mutilation , village destruction , killings , and mass murder to motivate the slaves and locals to higher outputs . Cutting off right hands and daily slave whippings were most common . This brutality would later be dubbed " Red Rubber " – in reference to the blood of Africans . The FP caused millions and maybe tens of millions of deaths , and even more mutilations . Leopold denied knowing . Belgian professor Daniël Vangroenweghe estimated Leopold gained 1 , 250 million present day euros from the exploitation of the Congolese people , mainly from rubber . Other Belgian sources calculated that the profits from the Congolese exploitation prior to 1905 were some 500 million present - day euros . Rubber made huge profits for the state and for companies like the Anglo - Belgian India Rubber Company ( ABIR ) . The value of ABIR shares went from 500 francs ( 1892 gold francs ) 15 , 000 gold francs in 1903 . The dividend in 1892 was 1 franc . In 1903 the dividend was 1 , 200 francs , more than double of the original price of a share . The Media War . The Missionaries and the Congo . King Leopold allowed several hundred foreign Protestant missionaries from England , the United States and Sweden to go to the Congo . He could not turn down offers to " civilize " the Africans . The missionaries went to the Congo to evangelize , fight polygamy , and create a fear of sin in Africans . But upon the sight of any white man entering the region , the Congolese would run and hide . One British missionary wrote that his African congregation asked , " Has the Savior you tell us of any power to save us from the rubber trouble ? " Other missionaries became aware of bloody events around their posts . One Swedish missionary noted a sorrowful song about death and tyranny that many sang at his post . Some missionaries began to protest the violence to Leopold through personal letters , as well as through letters to newspapers and magazines . Unfortunately , their efforts had little effect in drawing attention to the situation . William Sheppard . In the late 1880s William Sheppard , an African - American Protestant missionary , started to write to American newspapers and magazines about the mutilations and murder that he witnessed . With threats of taxation and deportation , Leopold put a stop to Sheppard ' s writing . Afterwards , Leopold demanded that the missionaries direct all concerns to him and not to the press . E . V . Sjöblom . Swedish Baptist missionary E . V . Sjöblom spoke to all who would listen and in 1896 published a detailed article in the Swedish press on the Congo ' s rubber industry that then was reprinted elsewhere . He spoke about FP brutality at a public meeting attended by the press . Congo State officials counterattacked with newspaper articles , letters , and comments from Leopold in the Belgian and British press , and quickly silenced Sjöblom . The missionary never spoke up again . George Washington Williams . Colonel George Washington Williams was a freed slave who served in the Union army during the Civil War . After attending college , Williams entered a seminary and became a pastor . After moving to Washington D . C . , he started a national black newspaper , the " Commoner " . The newspaper folded and so did one in Cincinnati . He became a well - respected historian through his writings and lectures . In 1889 , Williams began writing for the European press syndicate . After an interview with Leopold , Williams went to the Congo to see " Christian Civilization " in action . In early April 1891 Williams wrote a letter to Leopold entitled " An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II , King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo " about the suffering of the region at the hands of Leopold ' s agents . The letter helped sway European and American public opinion against the Congo regime , under which some 10 million people lost their lives . Williams ' last pages accuse Leopold of a list of crimes , including manipulation of the general public . In the twelve - page letter he voiced his disbelief : " How thoroughly I have been disenchanted , disappointed , and disheartened . " He then wrote " A Report upon the Congo - State and Country to the President of the Republic of the United States of America " describing how Leopold had manipulated the United States . By the time President Benjamin Harrison received his copy , the open letter had appeared in European and American newspapers . On 14 April 1891 , the " New York Times " ran a front - page article on the full list of allegations . Leopold vs . Williams . Leopold ' s Public Relations Minister employed newspaper editors to run articles about the good deeds of Leopold . Leopold himself gave interviews about his dreams and aspirations for the Congo and its future . One day after the " New York Times article " , Leopold ' s supporters in America submitted an article that accused Williams of living a lie and committing adultery . The headline read " HE PROSPERED FOR A TIME , BUT HIS TRUE CHARACTER WAS LEARNED . " During the late summer of 1891 the Belgian Parliament defended Leopold and gave a forty - five page report to the press circuit , effectively refuting Williams ' s accusations . Williams died on August 2 with his reputation tarnished . The missionaries who witnessed the atrocities had little media savvy or political clout . The public readily dismissed Leopold ' s critics from British humanitarian societies as relics of past battles like Abolitionism . And those critics , like the missionaries , became dismissed as people who were always upset about something in some obscure corner of the world . E . D . Morel vs . King Leopold . In 1891 , Morel became a clerk with Elder Dempster , a Liverpool shipping firm . To increase his income and support his family , in 1893 Morel began writing articles against French protectionism , which was damaging Elder Dempster ' s business . Influenced by Mary Kingsley , an English traveller and writer who showed sympathy for African peoples and respect for different cultures , he became critical of the Foreign Office for not supporting African decolonisation movements . Elder Dempster had a shipping contract with the Congo Free State for the run between Antwerp and Boma . Groups such the Aborigines ' Protection Society had already begun a campaign against atrocities in Congo . Due to his command of French , Morel was often sent to Belgium , where he saw internal accounts of the Congo Free State held by Elder Dempster . Knowing that ships from Belgium to the Congo carryied only guns , chains , ordnance and explosives , but no commercial goods , while ships arriving from the colony came back full of valuable products such as raw rubber and ivory , made him think that Belgian policy was exploitative . Newspapers . " West African Mail " , the main media outlet for Morel , started as a small newspaper consisting of Morel ' s articles , letters from missionaries , maps , cartoons and pictures ; all " to meet the rapidly growing interest in west and central African questions " . John Holt , a businessman and Morel ' s long time friend , helped fund the startup of the newspaper . Later other supporters invested . Morel wrote a five - part series entitled " Trading Monopolies in West Africa " . He first wrote stories pertaining to free trade and native rights . " " Free Trade in West Africa , free trade for all ; free trade for the Englishmen in a French colony , and in a German colony … There is plenty of room for the free , unfettered commerce of all the Powers of Europe of the Western Continent of Africa , and the greater ( the natives ) , the attractions given to the trade in an individual colony … the more certain the contentment and the producing power of its inhabitants . " " But then he began to write about slavery , using adjectives like evil , bloody , viscous , horrific and violent : Morel also published in major British and Belgian papers . A book entitled " Civilization in Congo - land " , published in January 1903 , by H . R . Fox Bourne , secretary of the Aborigines Protection Society , reinforced Morel ' s argument . Various organizations passed resolutions demanding Government action . Sir Charles Dilke took many of the organizations ' concerns to Parliament for discussion . Pamphlets . In 1903 Morel wrote his first pamphlet , " The Congo Horrors " , which reached a larger general public than before . He emphasized the religious implications , free trade abuses , and accused Leopold . " It has come to my conclusion that the murders and profiteering of the Congo are a result of neglect to civilize , and King Leopold is the proprietor . " This pamphlet caught the eyes of high British officials such as Sir Charles Dilke and Roger Casement . Morel continued to write pieces such as " The Scandal of the Congo , The Treatment of Women and Children of the Congo " ( published in America in the " African Studies Journal " ) , and " The New African Slavery " ( published in the International Union of London ) . They contained information and testimony from the missionaries of the brutality . The public began to pressure Parliament to do something about the atrocities . Later in 1903 , Morel brought out a pamphlet of 112 pages entitled " The Congo Slave State " , perhaps the strongest and fiercest indictment published . It contained a full and detailed description of the Leopoldian system in all the divisions of the Congo . It also had maps , reports from Parliament , and descriptions of atrocities . Sir Charles Dilke introduced copies of the pamphlet into Parliament . It caused considerable sensation and resolutions passed against slavery in the Congo . Books . Before 1904 , Morel released two books pertaining to West Africa . The first book , entitled " Affairs of West Africa " , discussed the history , inhabitants , flora and fauna , physical characteristics , industries , and trade and finances of the area ; all from a man who ' d never gone to West Africa . He got his information from traders and shipping crews during his days working for Elder Dempster , and from his missionary contacts . Morel concluded his book with attacks on Leopold and the Congo Free State administration . He contrasted the Congo Free State to the success of the French Congo , commemorating the French administration for their efforts within their West African colonies . He then asked for sympathy and understanding , from the English and French , on the issue of West Africa . Newspapers reviews were mixed . In " The Daily Chronicle " Sir Harry Johnston wrote : " Mr . Morel ' s indictment is one of the most terrible things ever written , if true . " The Times also provided a glowing review of the book : " It is with great satisfaction that the public will welcome a contribution to our general knowledge on the subject … The sufferings of which the picture was given to the world in Uncle Tom ' s Cabin are as nothing to those which Mr . Morel represents to be habitual accomplishments of the acquisition of rubber and ivory by the Belgian companies . " Positive reviews helped create readership for his writings . A bad review from the " Morning Post " pertained to the comparison of the French Congo to Leopold ' s Congo Free State . Morel responded with another book . Morel ' s new book " The British Case in the French Congo " , released three months later , said that Morel admired the French efforts , and again blamed the Congo Free State for the evil in West Africa . Even from the " Morning Post " praised the second . The public demanded government action . Thus on May 20 , 1903 Parliament passed a resolution to allow the British Government to negotiate with the Powers over the matter . Parliament noted that " great gratitude was due " to Morel for creating public awareness . His third book , " King Leopold ' s Rule in Africa " . had photographs of mutilated women and children . Mostly he let the pictures speak for themselves . But he wrote effectively . " Over and over again in his book did Morel hammer in the argument . " Morel argued that the world must come together to fight . " In the name of humanity , of common decency and pity , for honour ' s sake , if for no other cause , will not the Anglo - Saxon race – the Governments and the peoples of Great Britain and the United States , who between them are primarily responsible for the creation of the Congo State – make up their minds to handle this monstrous outrage resolutely , and so point the way , and set an example which others would then be compelled to follow ? In that hope , with an ever present consciousness of inadequacy to portray the greatness of the evil and the greatness of responsibility , the author submits this volume to the public . " His words and facts from the book appeared in book reviews all over Europe and the US . The reviewers described the horrific pictures and stories in full detail . Congo Reform Association . As Morel ' s writings stirred up public feelings for the " Congo Question " within Great Britain , Parliament created an international commission to investigate . Roger Casement , a British Consul to Africa and an acquaintance of Morel , went to the Congo and wrote a report for the British Government . Casement interviewed missionaries , natives , riverboat captains and railroad workers and returned with a report of the most appalling events ever heard . Many considered the report the most damning exposure of exploitation in Africa ever . A respectable British Consul , chosen by the British Foreign Office , had written the thirty - nine pages of testimony and 23 - page index of facts . It produced a profound and widespread feeling in Britain that the administrative system of the Congo State must be reformed . The British Government commended Casement for his work and knighted him . Morel published the Casement Report in " The West African Mail " . Newspapers around the world , such as " The New York Times " , " The Paris Press " , and Italian and Australian newspapers , all reported on the Casement Report . Casement and Morel met in Dublin to discuss the situation . Morel liked Casement from the start and believed he had a good heart . Casement convinced Morel to form an organization to combat Leopold ' s abuses in the Congo . In November 1903 , the Congo Reform Association ( CRA ) emerged . Casement put forward £100 as a start up fund . Morel went back to Liverpool to begin the new organization . He drew upon the book " Heart of Darkness " as inspiration , and called it " the most powerful thing ever written on the subject " . Casement deliberately absented himself from the launch of the Congo Reform Association at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool on March 23 , 1904 because he did not want his celebrity to be the only reason people joined . The founding manifesto began with an impressive list of names including the African businessman and entrepreneur John Holt , the historian John Morley , the Presbyterian Minister Reverend RJ Campbell and the Quaker philanthropist W . A . Cadbury , aka George Cadbury of the Cadbury Chocolate Corp . Others included four bishops and a dozen influential peers of the realm . The manifesto called for " secure just and humane treatment of the inhabitants of the Congo State , and restoration of the rights to the land and of their individual freedom " . No more than a week later , the Massachusetts Commission for International Justice organized the American branch of the Congo Reform Association with members such as Mark Twain , Booker T . Washington , and W . E . B Dubois . In September 1904 , Morel arrived in New York for his American campaign , with a petition entitled " The Memorial " . The memorial contained signatures by all the members of the CRA . The purpose of the trip could be explained by Morel ' s own words during an interview for the " New York Herald " in 1903 . When asked by the interviewer " Why America ? " Morel answered : " America has a peculiar and very clear responsibility in the matter , inasmuch as the American Government was the first to recognize the status of the International Association ( later the Congo State ) , and thereby paved the way for similar action on the part of the European Powers … It is to be hoped that President Roosevelt and the American people may help undo the grieves wrong , which was thereby unknowingly inflicted upon the native inhabitants of the Congo territories . " Before Morel left for America he submitted a copy of the memorial to " The New York Times " , " The New York Post " , " The Washington Post " , " The Boston Globe " , and other Press syndicates . The CRA and Morel hoped that before his arrival that there would be a strong public support from the American citizens . All the newspapers covered his arrival and displayed excerpts of the memorial . By giving several articulate speeches throughout New England , Morel gained an audience from President Theodore Roosevelt , and gave the memorial with great enthusiasm . The " New York Post covered " the visit with a full page , two - column article . Americans citizens slowly started to gain a curiosity with Morel and the " Congo Question " because of the continuous newspaper articles about the campaign . On October 7 Morel gave a speech in Boston addressing the International Peace Congress . Like any of his writings , his speech was just as compelling and motivating , and became the form of media that caused the American public to focus their attention on the Congo . " The errand which has brought me to the United States is a very simple one . It is to appeal to you on behalf of the oppressed and persecuted peoples of the Congo , for whose present unhappy condition you , in America , and we , in England , have a great moral responsibility , from which we cannot escape and from which in honour we should not attempt to escape … It is my privilege to ask you who are met here in the cause of peace whether you will not lead a helping hand in staying the cruel and destructive wars – if the murder of helpless men and women can be dignified by such a name … In appealing to you on behalf of those millions of helpless Africans … It is a great responsibility that you have . If our duty is clear , surely yours is also clear . The African slave trade has been revived , and is in full swing in the Congo today . I ask you to help us to root it up and fling it out of Africa , and just as I have no doubt of the greatness and loftiness of your ideals , so I have no doubt of what your answer will be . " It would take two more years for President Roosevelt and Congress to get involved . In a letter from President Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge , Roosevelt writes : " The only tomfoolery that anyone seems bent on is that about the Congo Free State outrages , and that is imbecile rather than noxious . " Overwhelmed by public pressure , Congress in a 1906 resolution took a stance against Leopold and demanded an end to the Congo Free State . Leopold ' s Counter Campaign . Leopold ordered counterattacks refuting all the claims that Morel made . He had his propaganda machine wrote articles for major newspapers , including the " New York Times " , as well as numerous letters to the editor . Discrediting Morel and the CRA had not worked . Leopold commissioned an internal investigation of the Congo to prove to the public that he cared . A committee of Congo officials issued reports that denied any " atrocities " . Morel had all the missionaries that he knew send him letters , photos , and testimony from the Congolese , for an extensive media blitz of pamphlets , newspaper articles , letters and books . Leopold ' s responses included articles countering the claims , but also sent agents to spy on Morel during his American visit . Mark Twain released " King Leopold ' s Soliloquy " , which talked about the abuses and Leopold ' s denial . Twain wrote it from the perspective of Leopold . " They burst out and call me ' the king with ten million murders on his soul ' " Throughout the book Twain positions the idea to his readers that Leopold is guilty and evil . " [ Meditative pause ] Well … no matter , I did beat the Yankees , anyway ! There is comfort in that . [ Reads with a mocking smile , the President ' s Order of Recognition of April 22 , 1884 ] " Twain ' s description of Leopold ' s actions create the visual of him plotting and scheming . The agents countered with letters to the editor and a book entitled " An Answer to Mark Twain " . In the book they call Twain and Morel liars and manipulators . " Truth shines forth in the following pages , which summarily show what the Congo Free State is . " " All the Mr . Twain and Morel have said . Lies ! " One of Leopold ' s hired lobbyists , Henry I . Kowalsky caused a sensation in December 1906 , by making public all the communications between himself , Leopold , and the Congo State . Leopold finally appointed a commission of inquiry , to investigate specific charges of the atrocities and reported abuses . The commission included members of the Belgian Parliament and lower officials in the government . The Downfall . Leopold released press statements about the commission hoping to quell the public uproar . However , Leopold wanted a private , not published , report . The commission returned with the most evidence of abuse yet – interviews with over a hundred natives and numerous missionaries , documents from the FP detailing deaths and mutilations inflicted , and documents from the Congo State administration proving that Leopold profited more than he reported . The CRA obtained the report , and published it in " The West African Mail " , the " New York Times " , the " Associated Press " , and European press agencies . The report , " Evidence Laid Before the Congo Commission of Inquiry " , also became a pamphlet distributed by the CRA throughout Europe and the United States . Appointed by Leopold himself , the commission reported back with horrific testimony , facts on deaths and mutilations , and letters obtained from the Congo Administration documenting the abuses . Leopold could not refute his own commission ' s findings . Leopold yielded the Congo Free State to Belgium in exchange for a financial settlement in 1908 and died a year later .