Forced Labor in The Ghost of King Leopold In The Ghost of King Leopold by Adam Hochschild, forced labor seems to be a recurring theme throughout the book. Forced labor would not exist or be minimal if it were not for colonialism. Google defines colonialism as exploitation by a stronger country of a weaker one; the use of the weaker country's resources to strengthen and enrich the stronger country. Ghost of King Leopold, Belgium is known as the strongest country looking for a colony (Congo) for its own exploitation. Professor Landstreet defines forced labor as the most extreme form of slavery, work that people are forced to do against their will and subjected to physical punishment if they don't do their job. In the following essay I will discuss social structure, ideologies and power relations in the context of forced labor. The scramble for Africa began from the 1800s until the start of World War I (1914). Before the 19th century, the rest of the world knew very little about Africa, the dark continent. Africa brought large areas of land under the control of Europeans. Colonies were created and forced labor was introduced to bring together land and labor. The main purpose of forced labor was to acquire raw materials, ivory and rubber, for processing in European industries. Leopold gained public support at home by publicly announcing his intention to Christianize and modernize the Congolese population, all the while planning the forced labor of men, women, and children for the lucrative ivory and rubber business. Forced labor centered on the Force Publique. The Force Publique was created in 1885, when King Leopold II of Belgium, who held the Congo Free State as his private property, ordered...... middle of paper ......work to get what he wanted , ivory and rubber. Leopold was able to colonize and plunder the Congo for its resources during the scramble for Africa through forced labor. The quote that summarizes my essay and the book is best described at the end of chapter 15. The massacre of large numbers of natives will eventually scare the survivors into gathering rubber. This demonstrates the intentions of forced labor by the Force Publique and the reason for the population decline in Congo during Leopold's rule. Works Cited Hochschild, Adam. The ghost of King Leopold. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Print. Landstreet, Peter. A world of sociology. Part 1. 2009. Print.Landstreet, Peter. “Lesson on power and power relations”. Sociology 1010. York University.11 January 2010Landstreet, Peter. “Lesson on power and power relations”. Sociology 1010. York University.January 18 2010