The short story by Conrad, “Heart of Darkness” offers a critical reflection of historical insights related to imperialism in Africa. In exploring this concept, Conrad narrates the journey through the Congo River into the heart of Africa, Congo. Particularly, the story’s setting is noteworthy for its thorough narration of Marlow’s tale, which is centered on the Westerners’ fascination and interest in ivory and gold trading. In most scholars’ opinion, in this context, Maya Jasanoff in his article “How heart of darkness revealed the horror of Congo’s rubber trade” as well as Jerry Bentley, Herbert Ziegler, and Heather Streets Salter in their book “Traditions & encounters: A global perspective on the past” all suppose that Conrad’s exploration of imperialism is sound. The believability of Conrad’s narration of imperialism in Africa, Congo, under British rule is apparent in that he compares London and Africa to being different locations synonymous with light and darkness respectively.
Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” is an impactful literary piece that gives strong historical evidence concerning the formation of kingdoms in the nineteenth century. In his explication of this occurrence, Conrad notes that this era was dominated by global expansion and imperialism as Western powers took over African colonies. For instance, Conrad notes that building an empire was almost a necessity for all European states. The drive to have colonies was founded on the idea that this gave pertinent kingdoms recognition by others as a leading power of that period. Considering that most colonies, such as America was already independent and the Asian colonies were already dominated by Britain, the only remaining area for establishing an empire was Africa. At the time, Africa was notably the largest region that was yet to be incorporated into an empire by the Western nations (Jasanoff, 2019). As a result, almost every European country was scrambling to have a share of Africa as it would help establish imperial relations. Belgium was already occupying Congo, Germany was in Namibia, and Portugal was controlling Angola. Several other European states were in the rush and this expansion into Africa was perceivably a lucrative opportunity that would increase their wealth, network, and reputation.
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Salter, Bentley, and Ziegler (2014) approach to modern imperialism affirms that Conrad’s interpretation was valid. Chapter 31 of “Traditions & encounters: A global perspective on the past” explicates this by showing that modern imperialism is similar to nineteenth-century imperialism since they both entailed taking over a country by controlling their land. Similar to how Belgium took over Congo; the general concept of domination is also achieved based on business, trade, and investments. Besides, Conrad’s examination of imperialism by the Western nations in Africa in the nineteenth century coincides with colonialism, which was characterized by specific imperial powers controlling over a majority regardless of lacking significant settlement. Conrad’s idea of imperialism is also valid, considering that he also explores the element of overseas expansion (Conrad, 1996). In this context, Conrad’s analysis agrees with that of other scholars since it supposes that the expansion was mainly influenced by the hunt for raw materials, such as tin, rubber, petroleum, gold, and copper.
In conclusion, Conrad’s article makes sound narration related to nineteenth-century imperialism. Based on both texts’ description of the events in Africa, it is irrefutably clear that Conrad’s interpretation of imperialism was informed. For instance, his revelation of the horrors in Congo following Belgium's take over explains the issue of European nations’ rush to establish imperial relations. For instance, the operations by Belgians in Congo were unmistakably a colonial takeover since they were only focused on expanding globally. Apparently, this would not only give them the reputation of a leading power but it would also grow their wealth and network. The horrendous acts by the colonizers were unfathomable, considering that they resulted in the inhumane treatment of natives. Overall, Conrad’s interpretation of imperialism in Congo was informed.
References
Conrad, J. (1996). Heart of darkness. Heart of Darkness , 17-95. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-05227 8_2
Jasanoff, M. (2019, April 5). How heart of darkness revealed the horror of Congo’s rubber trade. https://lithub.com/how-heart-of-darkness-revealed-the-horror-of-congos rubber-trade/
Salter, H. S., Bentley, J., & Ziegler, H. (2014). Traditions & encounters: A global perspective on the past (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
