''King Leopold's Soliloquy'' is a 1905

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...

by American author

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

. Its subject is King Leopold's rule over the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

. A work of

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...

harshly condemnatory of his actions, it ostensibly recounts a fictional monologue of Leopold II speaking in his own defense.

Content

King Leopold II raves madly about the good things that he says he has done for the people of the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

, including the disbursement of millions on religion and art. He says he had come to Congo with

piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among ...

"oozing" from "every pore", that he had only wanted to convert the people to Christianity, that he had wanted to stop the

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

trade. Leopold II says that he did not take any of the government money, that he did not use the

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

s as his personal "swag", and that such claims by the "meddlesome American missionaries", "frank British consuls", and "blabbing Belgian-born traitors" are wholly false. He asserts that for a king to be criticized as he has been is

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

—surely, under the rule of God, any king who was not doing God's will would not have been helped by God. The book mentions the critical report by the missionary

William Henry Sheppard William Henry Sheppard (March 8, 1865 – November 25, 1927) was one of the earliest African Americans to become a missionary for the Presbyterian Church. He spent 20 years in Africa, primarily in and around the Congo Free State, and is best know ...

on an 1899 massacre of over 80 people by

Zappo Zap The Zappo Zap were a group of Songye people from the eastern Kasaï region in what today is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They acted as allies of the Congo Free State authorities, while trading in ivory, rubber and slaves. In 1899 they were ...

s sent to collect taxes. Leopold claims that his critics only speak of what is unfavorable to him, such as the unfair taxes that he levied upon the people of the Congo, which caused

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, dea ...

and the extermination of entire villages, but not of the fact that he had sent

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

to the villages to convert them to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

Publication

The book was published in English, French, German and Italian. Two German-language editions were published in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

in 1961 and 1967 and a further edition was published in 2014.Mark Twain, ''König Leopolds Selbstgespräch: Eine Verteidigung seiner Herrschaft im Kongo''. Berlin: Tribüne, 1961. Übersetzt und mit einem Vorwort von Stefan Heym. Hrsg. im Auftrag d. FDGB - Bundesvorstandes. Also: Mark Twain, ''König Leopolds Selbstgespräch: Essays, Berichte, Skizzen''. Berlin: Aufbau Verlag, 1979. Aus dem Amerkanischen übertragen von Ana Maria Brock. The American publisher P. R. Warren Company from Boston, donated all surplus to relief and aid in the Congo atrocities.

References

External links

''King Leopold's Soliloquy'' by Mark Twain
PDF download at

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

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AMNH.org's (American Museum of Natural History) PDFs of ''King Leopold's Soliloquy''
{{Authority control 1905 books Books about imperialism Books about Leopold II of Belgium Books by Mark Twain Belgian colonisation in Africa Congo Free State Propaganda books and pamphlets Pamphlets Satirical publications

Content

Publication

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References

External links