This blogpost was co-written by Marte Van Hassel and Karel Vanhaesebrouck.
One of the most arresting images from Belgian colonial history is the photograph of Nsala of Wala gazing at his daughter’s severed hand and foot, taken by English missionary and photographer Alice Seeley Harris in 1904. This disturbing image, capturing the atrocities of King Leopold II’s brutal regime in the Congo Free State (1885-1908), was not only a grim testament to the horrors of the rubber trade but also a powerful visual tool in the fight against colonial abuses. Projected during magic lantern lectures, Harris’s photograph played a pivotal role in raising awareness of human rights violations under Leopold’s rule. These lectures were instrumental in building international pressure, which eventually forced the Belgian government to take control of the Congo from Leopold in 1908. However, the magic lantern was also employed to promote the Belgian imperialist agenda, particularly during scientific expeditions like the 1932 Ruwenzori mission, which sought to portray Belgian colonization as a benevolent and scientific endeavour.
The magic lantern as a weapon for justice
The magic lantern, developed in the seventeenth century, gained immense popularity in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as an entertainment and educational tool. With the ability to project large, vivid images onto screens for large audiences, the lantern’s visual impact was profound. English missionary and photographer Alice Seeley Harris’s husband, John Hobbis Harris, was one of the many activists who used the magic lantern to highlight the horrors of Leopold’s Congo. His lecture, The Congo Atrocities, combined Alice’s photographs with a narrative that exposed the brutal exploitation of Congolese workers in the rubber trade.
John Harris’s magic lantern lectures weren’t the first to expose the Belgian King’s brutal regime. However, they were pivotal in amplifying global outrage and galvanizing humanitarian efforts to reform colonial governance. In the early 1900s, Alice and John Harris toured extensively, delivering over 500 lectures to audiences in Britain and the United States. With each talk, the shocking images left a mark on international opinion, drawing media attention and fuelling anti-colonial campaigns. The Harrises were part of a broader movement that ultimately led to Belgium assuming control of the Congo Free State from King Leopold II in 1908. It marked a pivotal moment when public opinion, driven by visual media, influenced colonial policy.
Visual culture and colonial propaganda
The magic lantern was not only used for colonial criticism. Already in the nineteenth century, missionaries had embraced the medium to convey biblical stories to African audiences. The Belgian government soon followed suit, realizing the lantern’s power to promote colonial ventures. By the time the Congo Free State transitioned to Belgian control in 1908, magic lantern performances became a tool used for scientific expeditions, tourism lectures, and colonial propaganda. These performances often narrated expeditions into African territories, showcasing Western heroism and scientific exploration while overshadowing the exploitation and violence that came with colonialism.
One of the most prominent examples was the 1932 Ruwenzori expedition, a Belgian scientific mission to explore the Ruwenzori Mountains in what is now Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The mission, led by Xavier de Grunne, was documented extensively through photographs, which were later used in magic lantern lectures. These lectures portrayed the explorers as heroic figures, battling the elements to bring scientific progress to uncharted territories.
The Ruwenzori mission: Science and spectacle
Walter Ganshof van der Meersch, one of the leading members of the Ruwenzori expedition, used magic lantern slides to present the mission’s achievements to Belgian audiences. His lantern lectures not only focused on the scientific findings of the expedition, such as the flora, fauna, and geographical discoveries, but also elevated the explorers themselves, presenting their journey as an adventurous and dangerous conquest of an unknown land. The slides, which featured images of the expedition members traversing difficult terrain, local porters assisting with the mission, and the stunning natural landscapes of the Ruwenzori Mountains, generated widespread public interest.
By framing the mission as a heroic exploration, these lantern lectures reinforced the imperialist narrative of Western superiority over African territories. The expedition’s accomplishments were celebrated not only as scientific victories but also as a testimony to Belgium’s role in ‘civilizing’ and ‘modernizing’ Congo. These visual presentations were often used to solicit financial support for further expeditions and to justify the continued presence of Belgian colonial rule.
The visual power of Ganshof van der Meersch’s lantern slides allowed him to effectively blend science with spectacle. His presentations were designed to provoke admiration for the explorers while neglecting the broader implications of colonial exploitation. By examining these performances today, we gain insight into how visual culture was used to support colonial agendas and reinforce Western domination over African territories.
The legacy of visual campaigns
The photographs taken during these colonial campaigns, particularly those featured in lantern lectures, have left an indelible mark on both history and visual culture. They are preserved in archives, museums, and academic institutions. Modern exhibitions, such as those by Congolese artist Sammy Baloji, have recontextualized these problematic colonial images, forcing contemporary audiences to reckon with their complex legacies.
For instance, the When Harmony went to Hell. Congo Dialogues exhibition in London in 2014, which juxtaposed Alice Seeley Harris’s photographs with Baloji’s modern interpretations, encouraged viewers to reflect on how colonial violence is remembered and represented. Harris’s images have found a way to reinvigorate discussions about the ongoing impact of colonialism on African societies.
This blogpost is an introduction to the following two articles:
- Van Hassel, Marte, Nele Wynants & Karel Vanhaesebrouck. “A Lantern View from The Ruwenzori Mountain Range. Between Science Communication, Travel Story, and Colonial Propaganda in an Illustrated Lecture Performance from 1932,” Journal for the History of Knowledge, 2024 (online first), DOI: 10.55283/jhk.13616.
- Van Hassel, Marte, Karel Vanhaesebrouck & Nele Wynants. “Emotions in/out of Place: Sentiment, Performance and the Magic Lantern in Belgian Colonial Charity Campaigns,” Emotions: History, Culture, Society, 2024 (online first), DOI: 10.1163/2208522x-bja10060
Authors
-
Nele Wynants is research professor art and theatre studies at the University of Antwerp (Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts - ARIA). She coordinates the EU-funded project Science at the Fair: Performing Knowledge and Technology in Western Europe, 1850-1914 and is editor-in-chief of FORUM+ for research and arts.
-
-