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The Congo Reform Association and the Beginning of Transnational Humanitarianism, 1904-1913

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The Congo Reform Association and the Beginning of Transnational Humanitarianism, 1904-1913 The Congo Reform Association and the beginning of Transnational Humanitarianism, 1904-1913 Dean Clay A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Liverpool John Moores University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2019 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................ iii Declaration............................................................................................................................................. v List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ vi Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Rationale ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Background ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Existing Literature ............................................................................................................................ 11 Sources and Methodology ................................................................................................................. 24 Structure ............................................................................................................................................ 27 Chapter One ........................................................................................................................................ 30 Continuity and Change in the ‘Politics of Pity’ ................................................................................ 30 Debates about the Origins of Humanitarianism and Human Rights ................................................. 30 Networks ........................................................................................................................................... 42 Humanitarianism NGOs and the Nation State .................................................................................. 51 Congo Reform Association, Humanitarianism and Human Rights .................................................. 57 Chapter Two ........................................................................................................................................ 61 The Transatlantic Congo Reform Movement .................................................................................. 61 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 61 The Congo Reform Campaign in America ....................................................................................... 66 The Morel Visit of 1904 ................................................................................................................... 72 The Work of the ACRA .................................................................................................................... 77 The Commission of Inquiry, Lantern Lectures and Root’s Letter .................................................... 94 The ‘Kowalksy Incident’ and the Lodge Resolution ...................................................................... 103 Annexation and Beyond .................................................................................................................. 108 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 111 Chapter Three ................................................................................................................................... 116 Anglo-American Relations and the Congo Free State, 1900-1909 ................................................ 116 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 116 Great Britain, the United States and the Congo Free State ............................................................. 120 Early Diplomacy ............................................................................................................................. 123 Progress in Britain........................................................................................................................... 125 Anglo-American Cooperation ......................................................................................................... 128 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 150 Chapter Four ..................................................................................................................................... 157 ‘Big Business’ and the Congo Reform Movement ......................................................................... 157 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 157 The Liverpool ‘Sect’ ....................................................................................................................... 159 Motivations ..................................................................................................................................... 164 The Influence of Big Business ........................................................................................................ 172 Big Business Opposition ................................................................................................................. 177 Jones and Morel .............................................................................................................................. 183 Jones’s Propaganda Efforts ............................................................................................................. 184 Liverpool Business Rivalry ............................................................................................................. 188 The ABIR Controversy ................................................................................................................... 193 The Chamber of Commerce Clash .................................................................................................. 197 Belgian Annexation Approaches .................................................................................................... 200 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 202 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 209 The Antislavery Tradition ............................................................................................................... 210 Legal arguments and frameworks ................................................................................................... 215 Transnational Dimensions .............................................................................................................. 219 Humanitarianism and Foreign Policy ............................................................................................. 222 Motivations and Ideology ............................................................................................................... 228 Modern Facets of the CRAs ............................................................................................................ 232 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................... 238 Abstract The British and American Congo Reform Associations were part of a transnational humanitarian movement that sought to end King Leopold II’s hold on the Congo Free State. This thesis is a history of that activism and its subsequent impact on British and American foreign policy towards the Congo issue. It provides a sceptical assessment of the impact of the reform agitation on British and American foreign policy regarding the Congo issue by offering a comparative analysis of the efforts of both organisations in lobbying for reform. The Congo activists used transnational networks to pressurise their respective governments into raising the issue to an international level. This study will examine how transatlantic activism concerning Leopold’s actions in the Congo Free State developed into a collaborative effort, whilst also analysing the divisions and fractures within the movement, as well as the difficulties of maintaining transatlantic co-ordination at the turn of the twentieth century. Scrutiny of the role of business interests involved in both supporting and opposing the Congo Reform Association (CRA) and American Congo Reform Association (ACRA) permits an assessment of the motives, and influence exerted, of the business figures involved in the CRA specifically, as well as those interests acting against the wider movement. Congo apologists often claimed that the Congo reform movement
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