Project Gutenberg 2020-07-23 Public domain in the USA. 248 Twain, Mark 1835 1910 Clemens, Samuel Langhorne Twain, Mark (Samuel Clemens) 05032801 King Leopold's Soliloquy: A Defense of His Congo Rule Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Leopold%27s_Soliloquy Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) "King Leopold's Soliloquy: A Defense of His Congo Rule" by Mark Twain is a satirical commentary that falls under the category of political literature, published in the early 20th century. The book critiques the brutal administration of King Leopold II over the Congo Free State, focusing on issues of imperialism, exploitation, and moral hypocrisy. Twain uses a fictional soliloquy from the perspective of Leopold II to illustrate the king’s justifications for the atrocities committed during his reign in the Congo. In this incisive narrative, Twain presents Leopold as a self-pitying character, desperately attempting to rationalize his excessive greed and inhumane actions in the face of widespread condemnation. Through satirical humor and dark irony, the king bemoans the 'slanders' against his rule that expose the violence and exploitation of the Congo's native population. Twain outlines the systematic abuses inflicted upon the Congolese for rubber extraction and other resources, revealing horrific methods used to maintain control and profit. As tensions rise, the narrative emphasizes the disconnect between the king's self-image as a benevolent ruler and the grim reality of his reign, thus highlighting the moral failures of colonialism and the complexities of power. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 67.7 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Congo (Democratic Republic) Léopold II, King of the Belgians, 1835-1909 DT PS Text Category: Humour Category: Plays/Films/Dramas Category: History - Modern (1750+) Category: Politics 122064 2025-07-25T04:55:37.545854 text/html 97894 2024-10-18T04:46:00 text/html 2609928 2025-07-25T04:55:41.908833 application/epub+zip 2609818 2025-07-25T04:55:38.883844 application/epub+zip 109049 2025-07-25T04:55:38.277831 application/epub+zip 2656441 2025-07-25T04:55:44.137825 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 2643291 2025-07-25T04:55:41.312887 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 145152 2022-09-28T09:40:13.766813 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 99928 2025-07-25T04:55:37.160860 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 79970 2024-10-18T04:46:00 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17616 2025-07-25T04:55:44.285798 application/rdf+xml 28036 2025-07-25T04:55:38.382831 image/jpeg 3683 2025-07-25T04:55:38.333830 image/jpeg 2666266 2025-07-25T04:55:37.616945 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia