*This hand-written essay is due Tuesday, April 16th at the beginning of class. 
DBQ – Imperialism in the Congo
Is Henry Morton Stanley to blame for the genocide in the Congo?
The Document-based Question (DBQ) requires the construction of a coherent essay which integrates
interpretation of the supplied documents with a demonstrated knowledge of the historical period in
question. Higher scores are earned only by essays that both cite key pieces from the documents AND
draw on outside knowledge of the period. The student who simply describes the contents of the
documents and fails to place them into historical perspective will receive a low score on the DBQ
essay.
DIRECTIONS: Develop a five paragraph essay exploring the guiding question above. You should use
evidence from the documents provided and outside information of the time period to create these
paragraphs. This time, you will present BOTH sides of the argument and then decide which
argument is strongest. The assertion of which argument is the strongest is your last body
paragraph.
DOCUMENT A
Vastly exaggerating his own severity and the violence of his African expeditions—partly to sound
tougher, partly to sell newspapers and books—Stanley ended up with a reputation as the harshest
explorer of his age, when in fact he was unusually humane toward Africans, even by comparison
with the gentle Livingstone, as Jeal demonstrates. Stanley spoke Swahili fluently and established
lifelong bonds with African companions. He severely disciplined white officers who mistreated
blacks, and he continually restrained his men from violence and other crimes against local
villagers.
SOURCE: Smithsonian Magazine 2009
DOCUMENT B
“I have learnt by actual stress of imminent danger, in the first place, that self-control is more
indispensable than gunpowder, and, in the second place, that persistent self-control under the
provocation of African travel is impossible without real, heartfelt sympathy for the natives with
whom one has to deal.”
SOURCE: Stanley’s journals during his trek in the Congo
DOCUMENT C
Stanley was the first European explorer to lead a successful journey into Congo, overcoming the
unbelievable probability of failure to open up the heart of tropical Africa to European imperialism.
SOURCE: Age of Imperialism – Chapter 27, Houghton Mifflin Textbook
DOCUMENT D
Undated cabinet card photograph of Henry Morton
Stanley with Kalulu, the African boy he “adopted” as
his gun bearer and servant. In 1877 Stanley
christened the site of the boy’s death on the Congo
River Kalulu Falls. It remains one of the few Stanley
place-names that has not been changed.
SOURCE: Archives of Charles Scribner’s Sons,
Manuscripts Division
DOCUMENT E
In 2010 the town of Denbigh in north Wales, keen to provide a popularist attraction, intend
spending £31,000 of public funds to erect a statue to 'honour' HM Stanley in the main town square
justifying their actions by claiming Stanley to be "Denbigh's answer to Indiana Jones" and saying
“There are statues to John Lennon, Eric Morcambe and Brian Clough.. Stanley deserves one too”.
SOURCE: BBC website 18.1.2009
DOCUMENT F
".... Stanley has the reputation of being a builder, a peacemaker, a constructor... but in reality
what he did was to break, to shatter what already existed. And it's true he constructed something
new to replace it, namely a new commercial and political logic. And he put it into the service of the
West and King Leopold in particular."
SOURCE: Professor Elikia M’Bokolo, Congolese Historian. From the documentary Congo: White
King, Red Rubber, Black Death. The story of King Leopold II of Belgium's brutal colonisation of
central Africa.
DOCUMENT G
He has been called "the Napoleon of African travel," and in one respect he deserved the
description, for with him the attainment of his object was a devouring passion. Failure was
something he could not brook, and to avoid it he spared neither himself nor his companions,
neither his native followers nor the inhabitants of the country through which he had made up his
mind to pass.
SOURCE: Obituary of Sir H M Stanley, Wednesday 11 May 1904
DOCUMENT H
“All great nations in the fullness of their strength have desired to set their mark upon barbarian
lands, and those who fail to participate in this great rivalry will play a pitiable role in time to
come.”
SOURCE: German historian Heinrich von Treitschke
DOCUMENT I
“Everywhere I hear the same news of the Congo Free State – rubber and murder, slavery in its
worst form.” This account was published in Century Magazine (1897) by E. J. Glave, a former CFS
administrator.
SOURCE: Ewans, Martin. European Atrocity, African Catastrophe: Leopold II, the Congo Free State
and its Aftermath. RoutledgeCurzon, New York, 2002.
DBQ – Pre-Writing
Which documents support that Stanley is to blame for the genocide?
Which documents support that Stanley is NOT to blame for the genocide?
Which of these two categories is the strongest?
What outside information can you use to support the stronger argument?
What will your thesis statement be?
What will your topic sentences in their three body paragraphs be?
1st body –
2nd body –
3rd body –
How will you restate your thesis statement?
*REMEMBER THAT DBQ ESSAYS ARE HAND-WRITTEN REPRESENTATIONS OF YOUR BEST WORK.
*This essay is Due Tuesday, April 16th at the beginning of class. 
Rubric for DBQ Essays
DBQ
Documents
Citing and
Quoting
Outside
Information
Analysis
Organization
Beyond Mastery
(10)
Mastery
(9-8)
Working Toward
Mastery
(7)
Thoroughly addresses
all aspects of the Task
by accurately analyzing
and interpreting all
documents
Incorporates
information from the
documents in the body
of the essay
Addresses all aspects
of the Task by
accurately analyzing
and interpreting at
least 7 documents
Incorporates some
information from the
documents in the
body of the essay
Addresses all aspects of the
Task by accurately analyzing
and interpreting at least 5
documents
Incorporates relevant
outside information
Incorporates limited
relevant outside
information
Incorporates no relevant
outside information
Richly supports the
theme or problem with
relevant facts,
examples, and details to
present an analytical
viewpoint
Is a well-developed
essay, demonstrating a
logical and clear plan of
organization
Includes some facts,
examples, and
details, but
discussion is more
descriptive than
analytical
Is a satisfactorily
developed essay,
demonstrating a
general plan of
organization
Includes few facts, examples,
and details; discussion
restates contents of the
documents
Makes limited use of the
documents
Attempts to complete the
Task, but demonstrates a
major weakness in
organization
Student responses must meet mastery in each level of assessment.