According to Hochschild, Belgium tried to cover up the official facts that took place during the colonization of the Congo. Belgium tried to conceal this information by manipulating textbooks, and museums in the city of Brussels. The author also mentions that King Leopold made it more difficult to restore historical facts , because he spent a week setting on fire Congo official records in an effort to destroy information that would give away the inhumane way in which he took over and ruled the Congo. Leopold expresses his thoughts on this matter when he says, “I will give them my Congo, but they have no right to know what i did there.” (Hochschild, 294) Hochschild defines Belgium’s efforts to conceal the events that transpired in the Congo as a process of “the politics of forgetting” (Hochschild .294).

The cartoon “Tintin in the Congo”,  contains a general view of the general European population view towards the Belgian imperialism in the Congo. The first edition of this cartoon was published in 1930. However, this first edition aroused controversy because it contained elements on racial discrimination, and the justification for taking over a colony. Afterwards, the cartoon was revised and released again as a color edition in 1946. However, it still had many historical shortcomings from a modern point of view.

The story starts with the main character, Tintin, who is a Belgian reporter. Tintin is sent to the Congo with his faithful dog Snowy, to report about what life is like in the Congo. During his journey, Tintin is faced against some of the indigenous people and wild animals. In the cartoon, Tintin is portrayed as a kind European who helps people whenever they have trouble, and thus earned the admiration of the Congolese people through his moral behavior and by defeating a villain by the name of the Chicago gangster.

The imagination and curiosity of Western countries during the 18th century towards Africa are reflected in the cartoon. Dreams of adventure and of reaching fame and wealth are the motivation which led many Europeans to come into this land which was unknown to them. Examples of these imaginaries are present in the cartoon in the passage when Tintin arrives in the Congo, and various Western press representatives from the USA, UK, and Portugal plead to Tintin to carry exclusive coverage of what Africa is like to them in exchange of a large compensation. Africa had the attention of many Western countries, who were interested in developing diamond mining operations in the Congo. Another example of how this comic appeals to the imagination of the readers is presented when Tintin leaves the Congo by saying “Goodbye Africa! There is still so much things for me to see here.” (Herge, 61)

Tintin traveled with a native servant, Coco. However, Coco sometimes seems to be afraid of physical punishment. His fears become a reality when he gets beaten up by a white mister who steals the car he is guarding. This passage shows how Belgians were accompanied by an assigned native servant during the colonization period. However, the Europeans treated their servants cruelly, using physical punishment as a form of punishment.

The popular attitude of the European mindset is found on this cartoon when Tintin goes hunting for savage beasts such as elephants, buffaloes, monkeys, rhinoceros, and deer using his gun. In this section, we are shown how hunting wild animals became a popular sport among white people living in Africa, and rich visitors during 18th century. They killed animals and gain the skins and elephant ivories as a trophy or for the purpose of selling it.

The author of the cartoon, Herge, described the native Congolese people as foolish, naïve, and cowardly. For example, in the passage when a scarce fetish statue disappears, the minds of the congolese people are easily manipulated and exploited by the opinion of their figures of authority. Through the cartoon, Belgium glorifies its colonial governance based on their colonial ideologies. As an example of Belgium’s rationalization we see how Tintin teaches native children in the school, and native people are surprised at western technologies such as the camera. The European ideologies that they are colonizing the Congo for the purposes of the development of said land seems to be their justification for their acts of aggression against the Congolese people. In the last cut of this cartoon the ignorance of the indigenous people and the superiority of the Belgians are repeated by phrases of the congolese people such as, “all European young people is like Tintin.” ,“You never become like Tintin.” ,“I’ve never seen all-powerful like Tintin.” More passages relating to European superiority is given when Tintin solves a problem among the native people because of a hat by dividing it into two pieces. This also appeals to the colonial ideologies that western country countries ought to intervene in disputed among the natives to maintain peace.

Personally, I think that this cartoon should be banned and taken out of circulation. The reason is because this literary work is aimed at young readers who do not have any knowledge of the concept of colonization. This cartoon appeals to the superiority of one race over another and as such should not continued to be available for reading, because it might biase children into rationalizing that racism is normal. Also, this cartoon in a way deceives the reader into thinking that because Tintin who is from Belgium, appeared as a benevolent figure, which is far from the truth about what the European colonizers were like.

<Citation>

H., Lonsdale-Cooper, L., & Turner, M. R. (2016). Tintin in the Congo. Tournai: Casterman.

Hochschlid, A. (1998). King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa. Mariner Book.