Chapters 7, 8, and 9 Summary and Analysis

George Washington Williams was a minister and historian. A veteran of the American Civil War, he subsequently traveled to Mexico and enlisted in the armed forces, participating in the overthrow of Emperor Maximilian. He was commissioned a lieutenant but later received the honorary title of colonel; he thereafter affected the rank. Additionally, he claimed to have an advanced collegiate degree and usually presented himself as if he were on some type of secret appointment for a powerful political figure. None of this was true. Williams abandoned a wife and children and then traveled to Europe, visiting Belgium to learn more of the Congo. He hoped to visit the Congo and arrange voluntarily to repatriate freed American slaves as motivated workers. Leopold attempted to dissuade Williams from visiting the Congo, but by 1890 Williams had toured the country—he was...