Was imperialism bad or good? Next, I'm going to tell you this, but first we need to define what imperialism is and some of its examples just to give us a clearer idea of ​​what it is. It can be defined as a practice of expanding territory and power by gaining political and economic control of other areas. Imperialism and colonialism are not the same because, as we have seen in world history classes, colonialism used more violence and direct control over colonies. In some parts of Africa you could say they were colonized, but more of Africa was imperialized. The book “Heart of Darkness” shows the situation in which the inhabitants of the Belgian Congo lived and the mistreatment inflicted by French soldiers. The book also shows how the French empire gained territory and obtained ivory to trade in France. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Most people say that “Heart of the Darkness” was an autobiographical book because Joseph Conrad, the author, was in the Congo and through an alter ego called Marlow, he tried to explain life in Africa and specifically to people who didn't know it. Conrad once described this experience as "one that extends a little beyond the actual facts," but during my research, Conrad tried so hard to make the work not seem autobiographical. In fact, in the first scene of the book, when they were on the boat, the people who appeared were Conrad's friends and Conrad himself was there, the only "imaginary thing" in the book was the character of Marlow who, as I said, was like an alter ego of Joseph Conrad. At that time in Africa there were many unknown places, so on the map they appear as empty spaces. It should be noted that geographers named rivers and lakes in the empty spaces on the maps of Africa, and where there were no cities, they put elephants as symbols. Conrad, as a child, was curious and every time he saw an empty space on the map, he wanted to go there when he grew up. This is why Conrad traveled to the Belgian Congo a quarter of a century later, at the head of a ship that trafficked ivory on the Congo River. In the book, Conrad explains it exactly like this: Marlow pointed his finger at the center of Africa in a river that looked like a giant snake and years later moved all his contacts to make himself captain of a steamship that trafficked in ivory. of Africa, as I could see in the book, were too aggressive and violent but perhaps they were like that after the arrival of empires to colonize its territory and its people. Among the sailors there was a story about a captain called Johannes Fresleven, who incidentally was the predecessor of Marlow (Conrad), who died during a dispute on January 22, 1890 between local chiefs of a tribe in topic of buying chickens. The tribe acted so violently that the steamboat crew fled, leaving their captain's body behind, which is why Marlow was made captain of the steamboat. Another event that occurs in the book that proves that the natives were violent occurred when Marlow and his crew were on their way to find Mr. Kurtz, the best ivory trafficker in the Congo, a group of natives started attacking the steamer by shooting arrows. and killing some people on board the ship, including slaves responsible for maintaining the ship. At the end of the book we discovered.