Kamara Vs Williams

The dark decades leading up to the Great War was a tense power struggle. The powerhouses of the 19th Century, in their lust for expansion and dominance, extended their influence across the globe and decimated countless lives. This fierce competition among several nations was one of the many contributions that spurred World War I. As described in “An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo” by George Washington Williams and in an interview with Kande Kamara, it is the smaller and weaker countries that ultimately paid the price for the greed and wars that ensued. Williams focused his article on the Congolese and the atrocities committed by the Belgium government, whereas

For instance, only Williams was able to speak out against the terrors of Western imperialism because of his position as a legislator of the United States. The cries of many native Africans like Kamara fell on deaf ears. Additionally, Kamara and Williams would also differ on subjects like the forced conscription of African soldiers. Williams would have defended the drafting of African soldiers because of his affiliations to Western politics and the war. Williams would possibly argue that Africans partaking in the war was honorable and a great aid in the war efforts. Conversely, African conscripts like Kamara did not have a strong reason to fight. Kamara believed that Africa was needlessly dragged into “the white man’s war…” to fight for another nation’s cause.

Regardless of the minor disparity between the backgrounds of the sources, Kamara and Williams both suggest that imperialism is morally wrong. The many problems created by imperialism are to be the basis of many future events. The division and exploitation of Africa ultimately established the foundation for issues such as the apartheid and