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King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild - Essay Example

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Name: Course: College: Tutor: Date: Industrial revolution played a significant role in the colonization of Africa. This was the time when important devices such as machine guns, rail roads, medicine, rubber, steam boats and ivory were the main items of trade…
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King Leopolds Ghost by Adam Hochschild
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Apparently, industrial revolution became a major tool of change among the whites and the blacks. So many Africans became sycophants of white rulers simply because of the nature of their rule. In addition, a strong relationship existed among the whites and the colonialists that gave the blacks a recognizable strategy of making sure that some issues were approached in a technologically sound way. Some items of trade like ivory, rubber, guns, and steam boats were mainly used by colonialists to enhance their strategy and to provide a better way of realizing their goals.

During that particular era, slaves were the main target for colonial masters (Hochschild 33). Also, new technologies facilitated colonization process by making sure that all the colonial territories were managed in a highly controllable manner. With the use of guns, colonial masters engaged in superior war tactics that finally created a territorial battle among the colonial masters. Most of the colonial masters participated in a process that gave an indication of where various communication strategies were practiced.

With the kind of knowledge that was available by then, many European powers decided to practice the act of ruling Africa with an iron fist. With the use of technology not withstanding, there was an indication that many countries in African were not ready for any kind of kind of leadership that could ruin their action. Use of superior weapons such as guns and effective means of transport gave the colonialists the power to control the Africans in a manner that reflected strong urge for leadership.

Industrial revolution offered many African nations an opportunity to understand the strength of colonial masters. All the relevant aspects were considered by colonial masters. It is undeniable to point out that all the aspects of colonialism originated from the desire by colonial masters to offer the best of their services in Africa. Nevertheless, a substantial number of colonial groups based their success on the use of superior weapons and technology. A perfect illustration of technology application is when the Africans are colonized from a perspective that is not the will of the many local people (Hochschild 76).

Again, the success of colonialists was significantly as a result of use of superior weapons. Africans were defeated on the grounds that many colonialists were using highly superior weapons. For example, there was no way an African was allowed to use a gun during the war. This was simply a strategy by many colonialists to avoid the undermining of public image. There was a perception by then that Africans could make easily in any battle if their weapons were crude and inferior. Also, the colonial masters in most parts of the African continent decided to investigate the influence caused by such kind of battles in common people.

The outcome therefore revealed clearly that so many people within the continent had a strong perception about the colonialism and its negative effects. The ultimate impact of the technological approaches became the final indication of how African colonies could be ruled (Hochschild 45). The killing of many Congolese never appeared in the American news and media simply because African was perceived as a dark continent. The massacre went unnoticed and many people were killed with the use of superior weapons.

Unlike the Nazi massacre in Germany, the killing of so many

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