Poisonwood Background Notes
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Transcript of Poisonwood Background Notes
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Please have paper out to take notes on today’s lecture.
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Background Information
for Poisonwood
Bible
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What you should know:1. Geography- Including location, natural
resources and natural features of the area2. Pre-Colonial History- Life before Europe’s
takeover3. The Congo Free State- What King Leopold
and his agents did to make his personal colony profitable
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Congo River
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Second largest river basin in the world
Congo River length: 2922 miles
• Kinshasa
• Kisangani
Second largest rainforest in the worldSecond largest rainforest in the world
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Congo River + tributaries = 7,000 mile highway to the African interior
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Congo River Village
GeographyGeography
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The Kingdom of KongoAccording to
Portuguese explorers the kingdom was a sophisticated and well run state, an imperial federation
Known for advanced working in copper and iron
Rich in ivory and rubber
Ne Vunda, Kongolese ambassador to the Vatican, 1608
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SlaverySlavery was part of the culture of the CongoOriginally slaves were captured during
warfare, were criminals, or were debtors who could earn back their freedom
Eventually, Muslim slave traders began to sell their slaves to European traders for export to the Americas
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Leopold II (1835-1909), king of Belgium from 1865 to 1909, infamous founder of the Congo Free State
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Use of river to gain access to ivory- and rubber-rich interior made the Congo a coveted area for colonization.
European nations negotiated and agreed to respect each others’ claims to African territory, Leopold made claim for Congo.
The Berlin Conference, 1884-1885
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Leopold sent the famous explorer of Africa, Henry Morton Stanley, to negotiate treaties with the natives.
Native chiefs were offered trinkets or cloth if they would place an X on a document in foreign tongue.
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European countries recognized Leopold’s claim to the territory in 1885 because of: Stanley’s treaties for Leopold Leopold’s assurances that he would end slavery Leopold’s promise that the Congo would remain a free
trade area.
The colony The colony “belonged” to “belonged” to Leopold personally.Leopold personally.
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Colony not profitable in first few years.Soon the idea of free trade was abandoned;
natives could only trade with Leopold’s representatives, with 50% of profits going to Leopold himself.
Profit required cheap labor (gathering rubber is very labor intensive).
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Leopold drove slave traders out and portrayed it as humanitarian act.
Reality: he did it to gain control of region.Leopold paid his ‘agents’ in the Congo a
percentage of profits, encouraging them to make the trade more and more profitable.
Also authorized the use of as much force as was deemed necessary.
The Congo Free StateThe Congo Free State : :“The Profit Imperative”“The Profit Imperative”
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Agents ‘encouraged’ young men to work by holding their wives and children captive until each man’s quota was met.
Many who resisted were killed on the spot.Others were beaten with whips made from dried
hippo hide with sharp edges. 20 lashes resulted in unconsciousness 100 lashes resulted in death.
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Revolt broke out. Leopold sent troops into villages to exterminate the young men.
To make sure bullets weren’t wasted, soldiers were expected to return with the severed right hands of those they killed.
Soldiers who couldn’t meet quotas or spent bullets hunting would cut hands off of living women and children.
Between 1895-1908Between 1895-1908 an estimated 8-10 million stimated 8-10 million people died due to people died due to murder, mistreatment and murder, mistreatment and starvation.starvation.
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Public pressure eventually forced Leopold to sell the Congo Free State to the Belgian government. It became The Belgian Congo in 1908
The Belgian Government ended the worst of the atrocities, but still controlled the fate of the African natives “For their own good.”
The African natives were never consulted about their future
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Colonize: To settle in a new land while remaining subject to the parent nation.
Colonial Literature: Literature written during the time of colonization. Can be either in support of colonization or in protest.
Post-Colonial Literature: Literature written after colonization has “officially” ended.
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By Barbara Kingsolver
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Nathan and Orleanna PriceBaptist missionaries from Georgia
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Rachel (the oldest)LeahAdahRuth May (the youngest)
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The story is told from each woman’s perspective, with the beginning being an apology from the mother for the fate of her family….but we don’t know what that apology is for until the end………
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Commentary on colonizationRepresents the Belgian occupation of
AfricaEach daughter represents an outcome of
colonizationAcceptance (one becomes the other country)Resistance (one stays in the country but
continues with the old ways)One is completely destroyedReformation (secedes from the country and
becomes a stronger, better one on their own)
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As you read, select one daughter to trace throughout the novel.
Mark passages that:Illustrate daughter’s identity Changes in thinkingPersonal growthConfessions
These passages should be highlighted or underlined and tabbed