King Leopold's Ghost Chapters Two and Three

I found one quote particularly interesting that concerned King Leopold on pg 46. One of the reasons I chose this quote was because not only does it show Leopold's ulterior motives for wanting to colonize Africa, but it shows that he was aware that in order for him to do this and not upset the Belgian people, he'd have to convince everyone he was doing it for humanitarian reasons. This aligns with a lot that we've learned about Europeans conquering Africa and wanting to do it for other motives besides just humanitarian work, and it also shows that Leopold was kind of conniving.

"[Leopold] had learned form his many attempts to buy a colony that none was for sale; he would have to conquer it. Doing this openly, however, was certain to upset both the Belgian people and the major powers of Europe. If he was to seize anything from Africa, he could do so only if he convinced everyone that his interest was purely altruistic. In this aim, thanks to the International African Association, he succeeded brilliantly. Viscount de Lesseps for one, declared Leopold's plans 'the greatest humanitarian work of this time.'"

I quote that I found to be interesting about Henry Morton Stanley was on page 48.

"He left his own name on Stanley Falls in the center of the continent and on a spot about a thousand miles downstream, at the head of the rapids, where the Congo River widened into a lake. He claimed that naming the latter was the idea of his second-in-command, Frank Pocock, who cried out, 'Why...this is a signal expanse we shall call Stanley Pool!'" Pocock was not able to confirm this; he drowned in the river soon after christening, or not christening, this portion of it."

The reason I found this quote to be so interesting because of what we had learned about Stanley in the previous chapter. We read about how he really liked to embellish his stories and sometimes would tell flat-out lies. If we are to apply that knowledge to this quote, it's very likely that Stanley just named the pool for himself and that his second-in-command had nothing to do with it. This is especially noticeable because his second-in-command drowned and wouldn't be able to confirm the story either way.

Another quote that I would affirm about King Leopold can be found on page 39.

"What mattered was the size of the profits. His drive for colonies, however, was shaped by a desire not only for money but for power."

I would affirm this quote because it aligns with the beliefs of many European rulers and in other accounts we've read about imperialism.