The Very Tardy Chapter One Analysis Post

      This chapter is primarily focused on the early life of Lord Stanley and also the motives for early European imperialism. The start of the chapter focuses on Lord Stanley's upbringing and establishes Hochschild's pattern of psychohistory, which we see much of in the later book. Hochschild notes that Lord Stanley was a bastard by the name of John Rowlands. He went from family to family until finally he ended up in a workhouse. It was here that he developed the fear of intimacy that would follow him for the duration of his life.
      When Stanley grew up he traveled and gained experience on boats. After briefly being involved in the American Civil War he become a foreign correspondent for The New York Herald. Afterwards he became an African explorer. A common theme in Stanley's life is lies. Time and time again he fabricated events to make himself appear more heroic than he actually was. In all of his books there are preposterous exaggerations, even of his early childhood. He claimed he escaped from the workhouse by leading a revolt, but there is no record of such events. Clearly something in Stanley yearned to be remembered in a positive light and it can most likely be traced to his childhood where time and time again he was abandoned and most likely told he was worth nothing.
     The next section of the chapter talks about the drive for imperialism. Hochschild talks about a few specific factors that led to imperialism and the justifications used. A huge factor for imperialism was the hope of raw materials, to feed the growing industrial empires of Europe. To justify this Europeans used Christianity, claims of bringing civilization and claims that they were fighting off Arab slave traders.
      The final section details Stanley's 1871 trip to Africa. Stanley took 190 people into Africa and after 8 months found Dr. Livingstone. During his trip he overworked many of his men horrifically and laid the foundation for future expeditions.

Discussion Questions
1. Why does Hochschild use the psychohistory format? Do only messed-up people commit horrendous crimes? Does early childhood trauma explain the actions of villains?
2. Stanley called Africa "unpeopled country" what led him and other Europeans to reach this conclusion?
3.Why did Stanley lie so much about his accomplishments?
4. How do you think Stanley's earlier experiences in America, the workhouse and as a correspondent helped him to become an African explorer of great esteem at the time?
5. Why did people revere Stanley at the Time?

Quiz Questions
1. What is the significance of the title "I shall not give up the chase"?
2. Name two or more justifications for imperialism during this time frame.
3. Why did Stanley have a fear of intimacy?
4. What was the purpose of Stanley's first expedition into Africa?
5. How did Stanley get ahead of his competition?