Where does the story the heart of darkness take place?

Answer 1

Since it was first serialized in Blackwood's Magazine in 1899, it clearly had to take place before then. Eight and a half years before writing the book, Conrad had gone to serve as the captain of a Congo steamer. On arriving in the Congo, he found his steamer damaged and under repair. He became sick and returned to Europe before serving as captain. The setting for the book is an area under the nominal control of Belgium during the period of Belgian colonization and seems to be based on Conrad's personal experiences..

As a background, Belgium itself had gained independence in 1831 when it broke away from the Netherlands and became a new nation. The second king of Belgium, Leopold II, was a very ambitious man who wanted to personally enrich himself and enhance his country's prestige by annexing and colonizing lands in Africa. In 1865 he succeeded his father, Leopold I, to the Belgian throne. In 1876 he commissioned Sir Henry Morton Stanley's expedition to explore the Congo region. This exploration led initially to the establishment of the Congo Free State which belonged to Leopold II as a personal possession. He proclaimed himself king-sovereign of Congo Free State at a time when France, Britain, Portugal, and Germany also had colonies in the area. In 1885 Leopold II secured U.S. recognition of his personal sovereignty over the Congo Free State.

Leopold II was absolute ruler of Congo. His rule was brutal and millions of Congolese died as a result. By 1895 the British press started to expose Leopold II's atrocities in Congo. In 1897 a Swedish missionary told a London meeting how Leopold's soldiers were rewarded by the number of Congolese hands they amputated as punishment to native workers for failure to work hard enough. By 1899 the British vice consul confirmed and further reported the brutality of Leopold's misrule in Congo. Finally in 1908, Leopold was forced to hand over the Congo Free State, his personal fiefdom, to the Belgian state.

Comparisons between the book and Leopold's administration suggest that it is a direct parallel so, combined with the period when Conrad was in the area, the time period can be assumed to be between about 1885 and 1895.

Answer 2

a haunted house in Waterloo Iowa

Answer 3

The Congo (The Thames River)