Characters from King Leopold's Ghost

Character Descriptions

This section provides a short description of all the major characters in the book. This can be printed out as a study guide for students, used as a "key" for leading a class discussion, or you can jump to the quiz/homework section to find worksheets that incorporate these descriptions into a variety of question formats.

Characters

Leopold II King of the Belgians - This person succeeded to the throne in 1865 and is described as pencil thin and with a large nose.

Sir Henry Morton Stanley - This person was a Welsh explorer and journalist and is famous for several expeditions to Africa.

Henry Shelton Sanford, Arthur Stevens, and Gerson Bleichröd - These people were all employed in the period leading up to the official international recognition of the Congo as a colony.

George Washington Williams - This character was a minister and historian who called himself colonel.