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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the name of the Portuguese explorer who sailed along the west coast of Africa in the 1480s?

2. What country did Leopold grant droit de preference to?

3. Who was Henry Stanley's mother?

4. Modern schools traditionally interpret "Heart of Darkness" as being allegorical of what?

5. In what country was Williams commissioned a lieutenant?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened to the Africans that other Africans captured and took to the coastal towns?

2. What happened to the Europeans on Stanley's expedition in 1874?

3. What were some of the technological advances that led Leopold's agents to establish dominance in the Congo?

4. What was the purpose of the Berlin Conference?

5. How does Hochschild begin the book?

6. Why did John Rowlands adopt the last name Stanley?

7. What happened to the young white bachelors who entered into the Congo service?

8. What did the treaties Stanley negotiated with the local chiefs trade for brightly colored cloth?

9. How did George Washington Williams present himself that was false?

10. Why was Leopold easily able to discredit Williams' reports of atrocities in the Congo?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does the Congo's situation not change after King Leopold II sold it to Belgium? What does that say about the interest of the international community in Congo?

Essay Topic 2

What does the tiger symbolize in the song on page 139? What would be the alternative symbolization if the word were lion?

Essay Topic 3

Those who colonized the Congo, such as King Leopold, did so in the name of progress, humanity, and Christianity. Were their actions hypocritical? How? Support your answer with evidence from the book.

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This section contains 540 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample