King Leopald II, one of the most infamous imperialists of his time, well known for excursion into the Congo could have been hired by criminals in order to eliminate evidence of brutal reign. Leopald was insistent on making himself a powerful force within the Congo and to make a large profit as well. He worked endless, and rather silently to spread his ideologies and influence amongst the people of the Congo. “In all of Africa, the colonizers wrote the school textbooks; together with widespread book-banning and press censorship, this accomplished the act of forgetting for the written record. In the Congo, throughout the half century of Belgian rule that followed Leopold’s death” (Hochschild 299)

Leopald initially had gone into the Congo as just a venture to make a profit, however his egotistical tendencies led him to try to completely take over the land. Leopalds reign in the Congo was defined by racism, bigotry, autonomy, violence, and to an extent, white supremacy. Once word of Leopald’s interaction in the Congo had spread to Europe, Leopald decided he had to make Congo a Belgium colony.

Tintin in the Congo is interesting comic that tells an amusing tale of the interactions between the Congolese and the Europeans entering the territory. One of the stories involves Al Capone, famous Chicago gangster. The comic tells about how Al Capone is attempting to form a diamond empire in Africa. The main character, the Belgium reporter, is the main target of Capone because he believes that the reporter is attempting to halt his plan. After the reporter catches one of Capones men, he takes him down to the police station, which are supervised by Belgium commanders. With the help of the Congolese/Belgium authorities, the reporter is able to arrest a group of Chicago gangsters and makes headlines in the local papers.(Egmont 51-52)

Another one of the stories shows the relationship between the Belgian visitors and the Congolese. Tintin, the Belgium reporter, leaves a Congo boy to watch his car while he is gone. The boy, Coco, is taken alongside Tintin and his dog snowy. Coco is practically treated as a slave and even calls Tintin master. Coco is beaten by another white man who steals Tintins car.  “Boohoo!… White mister come and beat little black boy…Coco, he afraid… and white mister, he going away with car…” This excerpt is a prime example of the brutality used by whites on the native people of the Congo.(Egmont 16)

Throughout the comic, there is many instances of animal brutality. Some examples include the scene where Tintin was hunting multiple animals. To the Congolese the animals were important to their culture. This could be compared to the British interaction in India. If you recall, animals such as elephants were extremely sacred to the Indian people. The British learned this and used the elephants to their advantage. They would ride atop of them to show their authority. The Belgians hunted the animals of the Congo as their example of authority.

As the comic progresses, you begin to see the tendencies and attitudes of the Belgians. Their tendency to not care for the people of the Congo, or their animals. In addition, their attitude toward white supremacy caused them to walk around the Congo with a sense of arrogance and authority.

The question as to whether the book should be banned is a rather tricky one. As a reader, I noticed something that maybe another reader might disagree with. This comic is rather racist, with all of the Congolese characters drawn like monkeys. So for that reason I could understand why someone would want to ban it. In addition, it depicts the horrific actions that the Belgians took in the Congo as well as how poorly they treated the people there. King Leopald attempted to erase any evidence of cruel behavior in the Congo; however with a comic like this, there is an adequate piece of evidence, although humorous and in my opinion slightly racist, it could show the reader the truth.

Works Cited.

Hochschild, Adam. King Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa. N.p.: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Print.

Hergé. The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in the Congo. Egmont: Copenhagen, 2005 [1930]