Historical Texts - Reforming the Heart of Darkness - Index of Articles

Historical Texts - Reforming the Heart of Darkness - Index of Articles

Historical Texts

Heart of Darkness
By Joseph Conrad, 1899, complete text of his novella set in Leopold's Congo.

Leopold, Emperor of the Congo
By W. T. Stead, July 1903, a biographical sketch by a British supporter of the Congo reform movement.

Personal Observations of Congo Misgovernment
By William M. Morrison, July 1903, a report by a missionary who helped to form the American Congo Reform Association.

Very Awful and Mysterious: An Open Letter to Roger Casement
By Joseph Conrad, Dec. 21, 1903, his response to Casement's request that he participate in the movement to protest abuses in the Congo.

Congo News-Letter
Three issues of the newsletter published by the Congo Committee of the Massachusetts Commission for International Justice in the summer and fall of 1904 before the American Congo Reform Association was formed, includes debate on U.S. responsibility for conditions in the Congo.

The Mutual Relations of Races
Proceedings of a session at the Thirteenth Universal Peace Congress, Boston, Oct. 7, 1904, addressed by E. D. Morel, G. Stanley Hall, and Charles F. Dole of the Congo Reform Association.

Cruelty in the Congo Country
By Booker T. Washington, Oct. 8, 1904, his first published statement about King Leopold's rule of the Congo.

King Leopold's Soliloquy
By Mark Twain, the complete text and illustrations of his pamphlet condemning King Leopold's brutal rule of the Congo, published by the American Congo Reform Association in September 1905.

Congo Free State Horrors
By Mark Twain, interview with Boston newspapers, Nov. 6, 1905.

What I Am Thankful For
By Mark Twain, a New York World (Nov. 26, 1905) interview about his lifestyle and his campaign against King Leopold's rule of the Congo. Includes his brief Thanksgiving statement about King Leopold and the Congo.

Twain Calls Leopold Slayer of 15,000,000
By Mark Twain, New York World (Dec. 3, 1905), an excerpt from an interview.

King Leopold's Soliloquy Circular
Advertising Mark Twain's pamphlet, by the American Congo Reform Association, 1906.

Congo Reform Association Circular
By the American Congo Reform Association, outlining its program and requesting support from clergy, Jan. 8, 1906.

Conditions in the Congo State
Pamphlet by the American Congo Reform Association, 1906.

The Indictment Against the Congo Government
The Report of the King's Commission of Inquiry and the Testimony which Compelled It, by the American Congo Reform Association, 1906.

A Protest Against the Congo Horrors
By prominent citizens of New York, Dec. 25, 1906.

The Suppressed Evidence of the Congo Commission
By John H. Harris, The Independent (Jan. 10, 1907), a discussion of evidence of atrocities in the Congo that was suppressed when the report of King Leopold's Commission of Inquiry was released.

The Congo News Letter
Published by the American Congo Reform Association, April 1907.

Mr. Clemens and the Marked Twain
Political cartoon published in the London Daily Chronicle (July 1907) showing Mark Twain receiving "world-wide appreciation" while King Leopold complains about his writings.

The Congo Situation Today
Pamphlet published by the American Congo Reform Association addressing the issue of Belgian annexation of the Congo Free State, December 1907.

The Congo Situation Today
Pamphlet by the American Congo Reform Association, updated, February 1908.

The Congo Question
By Herbert S. Johnson, a review of the issues and evidence of atrocities written for The New Encyclopedia of Social Reform, 1908.

The Crime of the Congo
By Arthur Conan Doyle, 1909, his book-length tract against King Leopold's brutal rule of the Congo and the continuation of atrocities after Belgian annexation.

Anglo-American Co-operation
Resolution by the British Congo Reform Association, July 7, 1909, calling for a joint British and U.S. declaration against the continuation of abuses in the Congo after its annexation by Belgium.

International Diplomacy from the Congo to World War I
By E. D. Morel, 1916, an assessment of the obstacles placed in the path of the Congo reform movement by the practices and customs of international diplomacy.