Picture of E. D. Morel

Edmund Dene Morel, originally Georges Eduard Pierre Achille Morel de Ville (10 July 1873 – 12 November 1924) was a British journalist, author and socialist politician. Events 48 BC - Battle of Dyrrhachium, Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat to Pompey in Macedonia. Year 1873 ( MDCCCLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Journalism is the profession of writing or communicating formally employed by publications and broadcasters for the benefit of a particular Community of people An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person He led a campaign against slavery in the Congo Free State through newspapers such as his West African Mail, in collaboration with Roger Casement, the Congo Reform Association and others. The Congo Free State was a Corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II King of the Belgians through a dummy non-governmental organization the Roger David Casement (Ruairí Mac Easmainn 1 September 1864 &ndash 3 August 1916 ( Sir Roger Casement CMG between 1911 and until his execution for treason in August The Congo Reform Association exposed gross and rampant abuses of labor and by public servants in King Leopold II of Belgium 's Congo Free State, leading to the annexation He played a large role in the British pacifist movement during the First World War, participating in the foundation and becoming secretary of the Union of Democratic Control. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Union of Democratic Control was a British Pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive Foreign policy. On this occasion he broke with the Liberal Party of which he was previously a member, and after the war he joined the Independent Labour Party. The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party See Independent Labor Party for the Political party in Burundi, Independent Labour Group for the Irish party and Labour candidates

Background

Morel's father Edmond Morel de Ville was a French civil servant, and his mother Emmeline de Horne was from an English Quaker family. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. See also Bureaucrat The term civil service has two distinct meanings Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Morel was born in the Avenue d'Eylau, Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city When he was four his father died, and he was brought up by his mother. Emmeline eventually fell out with her late husband's family, and in retaliation changed her name to Deville. Wanting to remove her son from their influence, she worked as a teacher in order to afford sending Edmund to board at Madras House school in Eastbourne and later at Bedford Modern School. Eastbourne ( is a large town and borough of East Sussex, on the south coast of England with an estimated population of 94816 as of 2007 Bedford Modern School should not be confused with Bedford School.

Naturalisation

When Emmeline Deville fell ill in 1888, the money for school fees was not available and Edmund was forced to return to Paris to work as a bank clerk. Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a However in 1891, he obtained a clerkship with Elder Dempster, a Liverpool shipping firm, and was able to move his mother back to Britain. Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Elder Dempster Lines was a British Shipping company which operated from 1932 to 2000 although its origins stretch back into the mid-19th century Five years later he successfully applied for naturalisation as a British subject and anglicised his name. Anglicisation or anglicization (see -ise vs -ize) is a process of conversion of verbal or written elements of any other language into a more comprehensible English He married Mary Richardson that same year; they had five children.

Congo activities

frontpage of Red Rubber 1906

To increase his income to support his family, from 1893 Morel began writing articles against French protectionism, which was damaging his company's business. Year 1893 ( MDCCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common For the protectionist Australian political party from the 1880s to 1909 see Protectionist Party He came to be critical of the Foreign Office for not supporting Africa and African decolonisation movements. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting His vision of Africa was influenced by the books of Mary Kingsley, an English traveller and writer, which showed sympathy for African peoples and a respect for different cultures that was very rare at the time. Mary Henrietta Kingsley ( October 13, 1862 &ndash June 3, 1900) was an English Writer and explorer who greatly

Elder Dempster had a shipping contract with the Congo Free State for the connection between Antwerp and Boma. The Congo Free State was a Corporate state privately controlled by Leopold II King of the Belgians through a dummy non-governmental organization the ||-||-||-||} Antwerp ( Dutch:, French: Anvers) is a City and Municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Groups such the Aborigines' Protection Society had already begun a campaign against alleged atrocities in Congo. Due to his knowledge of French, Morel was often sent to Belgium, where he was able to view the internal accounts of the Congo Free State. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The knowledge that the ships leaving Belgium for the Congo carried only guns, chains, ordnance and explosives, but no commercial goods, while ships arriving from the colony came back full of valuable products such as raw rubber and ivory, led him to the opinion that Belgium's policy was inhumane. Ivory is formed from Dentine and constitutes the bulk of the Teeth and Tusks of animals such as the Elephant, Hippopotamus, According to the Belgian Prof. Daniël Vangroenweghe, King Leopold II gained 125 million present day euros from the exploitation of the Congolese people, mainly from rubber. Leopold II (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909 was King of the Belgians. Other Belgian sources calculated that the profits from the Congolese exploitation prior to 1905 were some 500 million present day euros.

The gains from the exploitation of rubber through the state and other companies like the Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company (ABIR) were huge. The original value of the ABIR shares was 500 francs (1892 gold francs). In 1903 the shares had risen to 15,000 gold francs. The company felt obliged to let the Bourgeoisie share profits with the upper class. The dividend in 1892 was 1 franc. In 1903 the dividend was 1,200 francs, more than the double of the original price of a share. These enormous gains came from horrible exploitation, and the equator region became a green hell. The scope of the destruction, together with disease and famine from forced labor, killed half of the population of the colony.

In 1900, Morel began his campaign with a series of articles in the weekly magazine Speaker. Year 1900 ( MCM) was an exceptional Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar He realized that King Léopold II of Belgium, the absolute monarch of the Congo Free State, had created a forced labour system of huge dimensions, in effect slave labour. Leopold II (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909 was King of the Belgians. Despite having risen to be Elder Dempster's Head of trade with Congo, Morel resigned in 1902 to further his campaign. Year 1902 ( MCMII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting Morel became a full-time journalist, first finding a job in the editing of a recently founded periodical, East Africa, then founding in 1903 his own magazine, the West African Mail, with the collaboration of John Holt, a businessman and a friend of Mary Kingsley who feared the application of the Congo Free State system upon the rest of the West Africa. Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting Mary Henrietta Kingsley ( October 13, 1862 &ndash June 3, 1900) was an English Writer and explorer who greatly The Mail was an "illustrated weekly journal founded to meet the rapidly growing interest in west and central African questions" (Hochschild 2004, p. 186). In this period Morel published several pamphlets and his first book, Affairs of West Africa.

Picture of Roger Casement

In 1903 the British House of Commons passed a resolution on the Congo. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords Subsequently the British consul in Congo, Roger Casement, was sent for an inspection. Roger David Casement (Ruairí Mac Easmainn 1 September 1864 &ndash 3 August 1916 ( Sir Roger Casement CMG between 1911 and until his execution for treason in August His 1904 report, which confirmed Morel's accusations, had a considerable impact on public opinion. Morel met Casement just before the publication of the report and realized that he had found the ally he had sought. Casement convinced Morel to establish an organisation for dealing specifically with the Congo question, the Congo Reform Association. The Congo Reform Association exposed gross and rampant abuses of labor and by public servants in King Leopold II of Belgium 's Congo Free State, leading to the annexation Branches of the Congo Reform Association were established as far away as the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

The Congo Reform Association achieved the support of famous writers such as Joseph Conrad (whose Heart of Darkness was inspired by a voyage to the Belgian Congo), Anatole France, Arthur Conan Doyle and Mark Twain. Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924 was a Polish-born English novelist Heart of Darkness is a Novella written by Polish-born writer Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski) Anatole France (16 April 1844—12 October 1924 born François-Anatole Thibault, Anatole France studied at the Collège Stanislas and after graduation Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930 was an Anglo-Scottish Author most noted for his stories about the Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30 1835 – April 21 1910 better known by the Pen name Mark Twain, was an American Humorist, satirist Conan Doyle wrote The Crime of the Congo in 1908, while Mark Twain gave the most famous contribution with King Leopold's Soliloquy. King Leopold's Soliloquy is a 1905 Pamphlet by Mark Twain. Its subject is King Leopold 's rule over the Congo Free State. Morel's best allies were perhaps missionaries, who furnished him with eyewitness accounts and photographs of the atrocities, such as the Americans George Washington Williams and William Henry Sheppard and the British John Harris and Alice Harris. A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes. George Washington Williams ( October 16, 1849 - August 2, 1891) was an American Civil War Veteran, minister, Reverend William Henry Sheppard (1865 &ndash 1927 was one of the earliest African-Americans to become a Missionary for the Presbyterian Church. John Harris may refer to Politics and government John Harris (New York (1760–1824 United States Congressman from New York John The chocolate millionaire William Cadbury, a Quaker, was one of his main financial backers. The American civil-rights activist Booker T. Washington participated in the campaign. Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5 1856 &ndash November 14 1915 was an American educator orator author and leader of the African-American community The French journalist Pierre Mille wrote a book with Morel, while the Belgian socialist leader Emile Vandervelde sent him copies of Belgian parliamentary debates. Emile Vandervelde (1866–1938 was a Belgian statesman born at Ixelles. Morel had secret connections with some agents of the Congo Free State. Even the Church of England and American religious groups backed him. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican

Emile Vandervelde

In 1905 the movement won a victory when a Commission of Enquiry, instituted (under external pressure) by King Léopold himself, substantially confirmed the accusations made about the colonial administration. Year 1905 ( MCMV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting In 1908 the Congo was annexed to Belgium and put under the sovereignty of the Belgian Parliament. Despite this, Morel refused to declare an end to the campaign until 1912 because he wanted to see actual changes in the situation of the country. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting The Congo Reform Association eventually ended operations after 1911. Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

Foreign policy

During the Agadir Crisis of 1911, Morel was entirely in sympathy with Germany and opposed to what he regarded as bellicosity by the United Kingdom and France, as well as secret diplomacy between the states involved. The Agadir Crisis, also called the Second Moroccan Crisis, was the international tension sparked by the deployment of the German gunboat ''Panther'' Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. He wrote Morocco in Diplomacy (1912) to express his views on the issue. Morocco in Diplomacy was a book written by Edmund Dene Morel and first published by Smith Elder & Co At this time he was also selected by the Liberal Party as a prospective House of Commons candidate for Birkenhead. The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party Birkenhead is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Union of Democratic Control

As the tension grew in the run-up to World War I, Morel was again sympathetic to Germany, disinclined to stand by Belgium under German pressure, and opposed to the United Kingdom and France getting involved in war. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All He campaigned for neutrality but on the outbreak of war accepted that the fight was lost, and with Charles Trevelyan, Norman Angell and Ramsay MacDonald, formed the Union of Democratic Control to press for a more responsive foreign policy (he also resigned his candidature at this time). WikipediaNaming_conventions_(names_and_titles#Other_non-royal_names. Sir Ralph Norman Angell (born 26 December 1872 and died 7 October 1967) was an English lecturer writer and Member of Parliament James Ramsay MacDonald ( 12 October 1866 &ndash 9 November 1937) was a British politician and twice Prime Minister of the United The Union of Democratic Control was a British Pressure group formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive Foreign policy. He was Secretary of the UDC until his death. The main demands of the UDC were: (1) that in future to prevent secret diplomacy there should be parliamentary control over foreign policy; (2) there should be negotiations after the war with other democratic European countries in an attempt to form an organisation to help prevent future conflicts; (3) that at the end of the war the terms of peace should neither humiliate the defeated nation nor artificially rearrange frontiers, as this might provide a cause for future wars.

The Union of Democratic Control became the most important of all the anti-war organizations in Britain, with membership reaching 650,000 by 1917. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year His political courage was praised by people as Bertrand Russell and the writer Romain Rolland, but his leading role in the pacifist movement exposed him to violent attacks led by the pro-war press. Bertrand Arthur William Russell 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970 was a British Philosopher, Historian Romain Rolland ( 29 January 1866 – 30 December 1944) was a French Dramatist, Essayist, Art historian He was pictured as an agent of Germany in the Daily Express, a newspaper that also listed details of future UDC meetings and encouraged its readers to attend and break them up. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Daily Express is a conservative Middle-market British Tabloid Newspaper. The accusation gained some credibility when Roger Casement, who was known as a friend and supporter of Morel, was hanged for treason (he had contacted the Germans seeking support for Irish nationalism). In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Morel was the occasional victim of physical assaults.

Labour Party

On August 22, 1917, Morel's house was searched and evidence was discovered that he had sent a UDC pamphlet to Romain Rolland in Switzerland, a neutral country. Events 392 - Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation This was a technical violation of the Defence of the Realm Act. The Defence of the Realm Act ( DORA) was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, during the early weeks of World War I. Morel was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, which he served in Pentonville Prison. HM Prison Pentonville is a Prison built in 1842 on the Caledonian Road, North London. Although, along with other pacifists he was placed in the 'second division' with some privileges over the majority of prisoners, conditions were still very hard and Morel's health was seriously damaged. Bertrand Russell described his condition at his release:

His hair is completely white (there was hardly a tinge of white before) when he first came out, he collapsed completely, physically and mentally, largely as the result of insufficient food. He says one only gets three quarters of an hour reading in the whole day - the rest of the time is spent on prison work, etc.

Morel was severely critical of the Treaty of Versailles, warning that it would lead to another war. The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. He did not give up his career as a journalist, becoming director of the magazine Foreign Affairs which became the most authoritative voice of English left about foreign politics.

In April 1918, he joined the Independent Labour Party, and began to feed his views into the Labour Party to which it was affiliated and which adopted his critical view of the Treaty of Versailles. Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common See Independent Labor Party for the Political party in Burundi, Independent Labour Group for the Irish party and Labour candidates The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. Morel explained his decision to join the Independent Labour Party to a friend:

I have long been gravitating towards the Socialist position — of course there is Socialism and Socialism, and mine is of the reasonable and moderate kind. When I look over my public efforts through the years, it seems to me that I have been a Socialist all my life. So far as any Party can express what appears to me to be the country's needs, the ILP approximates nearer to my outlook that any other, although I still look forward to and hope for the day when all really progressive forces can unite under the title of the Democratic Party. But Liberalism as represented by both wings — the Lloyd George wing, and the Asquith wing, is right outside my outlook now.

Parliament

Following the retirement of incumbent Labour M. P. , Alexander Wilkie, Morel fought the two-member Dundee constituency as the Labour candidate in the 1922 general election. Dundee was a Constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1950 when it was split into Dundee East The UK general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922 It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Although he polled fewer votes than Edwin Scrymgeour of the Scottish Prohibition Party, he was still elected, defeating the other sitting MP – Winston Churchill – in the process. Edwin Scrymgeour, usually known as Neddy Scrymgeour ( 28 July 1866 &ndash 1 February 1947) was a Member of Parliament The Scottish Prohibition Party was a minor Scottish Political party founded in 1901 Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 Morel regarded Churchill as a warmonger and took pride in having defeated him: "I look upon Churchill as such a personal force for evil that I would take up the fight against him with a whole heart. "

With his foreign affairs specialty, he was expected to be appointed as Foreign Office minister during the government of Ramsay MacDonald in 1924, but MacDonald decided to serve as his own Foreign Secretary. James Ramsay MacDonald ( 12 October 1866 &ndash 9 November 1937) was a British politician and twice Prime Minister of the United Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. MacDonald led an attempt to buy Morel off by gathering together a large number of senior Labour politicians to nominate him for the Nobel Prize for Peace, but it did not prevent Morel from remaining a forceful critic of MacDonald's foreign policy. In August 1924 he is believed to have persuaded MacDonald to recognize the communist government in the Soviet Union and nominations on the Anglo-Soviet trade treaty. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

Shortly after his re-election in the 1924 general election, Morel suffered a fatal heart attack at the farm near Bovey Tracey, Devon where he lived. The 1924 UK general election was held on 29 October 1924 The Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin performed dramatically better in electoral terms than in Myocardial infarction ( MI or AMI for acute myocardial infarction) also known as a heart attack, occurs when the blood supply Bovey Tracey is a small town in Devon on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs "The Devon is a large county in the South West of England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, but that is an entirely unofficial name

Miscellany

Arthur Conan Doyle became acquainted with Morel through the work of the Congo Reform Association. Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930 was an Anglo-Scottish Author most noted for his stories about the In his novel The Lost World (1912), he used Morel as an inspiration for the character of Ed Malone. The Lost World is a novel released in 1912 by Arthur Conan Doyle concerning an expedition to a Plateau in South America where prehistoric E D Morel is the Great Grandfather of author Jasper Morel Fforde. Jasper Fforde (born in London on 11 January, 1961) is an English Novelist.

Books published

• Affairs of West Africa (1902)
• The British Case in French Congo
• King Leopold's Rule in Africa
• Red Rubber – The story of the rubber slave trade that flourished in Congo in the year of grace 1906 (1906)
• Great Britain and the Congo
• Nigeria
• Morocco and Diplomacy (1912) (reissued as Ten Years of Secret Diplomacy in 1915)
• Truth and the War
• Africa and the Peace of Europe
• The Black Man's Burden (1920)
• Thoughts on the War
• The Peace, and Prison
• Pre-War Diplomacy
• Diplomacy Revealed

References

• Hochschild, Adam (1998), King Leopold's Ghost, Pan, ISBN 0-330-49233-0. King Leopold's Ghost (1998 is a Best-selling Popular history book by Adam Hochschild that explores the exploitation of the Congo Free State
• Daniël Vangroenweghe (2004), Rood Rubber - Leopold II en zijn Congo, ISBN 9056175564.

Archives

• Catalogue of the Morel papers at the Archives Division of the London School of Economics. The London School of Economics and Political Science, more commonly referred to as The London School of Economics or LSE, is a specialist college of the

See also

• Congo Free State
• Congo Reform Association
• Union of Democratic Control

External links

• An article on Morel from Liverpool's 'Nerve' magazine
• The Black Man's Burden, By E. D. Morel, Manchester: National Labour Press, 1920(full text)
• King Leopold's Soliloquy:A Defense of His Congo Rule, By Mark Twain, Boston: The P. R. Warren Co., 1905, full text
• Heart of Darkness, By Joseph Conrad, full text
• The Crime of the Congo, By Arthur Conan Doyle, London: Hutchinson & Co., 1909 full text
• E.D. Morel, the man and his work, with an introd. by Colonel Wedgwood ([1920), full text]
• Cartoonists vs. the King:Cartoons on the Congo, By Jim Zwick
• The Kodak vs. the King, By Jim Zwick (photographs published by the Congo Reform Association)
• Report of the British Consul, Roger Casement, on the Administration of the Congo Free State.
• De film van Peter Bate, White King, Red Rubber, Black Death, 2004.