Alice seeley harris wikipedia death

Harris was born in Wantage , Oxfordshire. They had two sons and two daughters. Harris worked in the City of London for a firm of gentlemen's outfitters. He was a devout Christian and did evangelical social work before training to become a Protestant missionary in Central Africa. He and his wife departed for the Congo Free State soon after their marriage but they were soon horrified by the brutal treatment, murder and enslavement of the native people at the hands of the Belgian and other European agents exploiting the territory for rubber and ivory.

To protest at what they saw in Africa, Harris and his wife became active campaigners.

Alice seeley harris wikipedia death: Alice spent many years

They brought these atrocities to the attention of the British government and politicians, gave evidence at hearings, published books, papers and photographs, gave lectures and addressed hundreds of public meetings. Ahead of his time, Harris became a campaigner against the colonial system of the day and promoted the idea of self-determination for native peoples.

Morel , who was a co-founder of the Congo Reform Association of which Harris was a member. Harris entered Parliament at the general election when he was elected Liberal Member of Parliament MP for North Hackney , defeating the sitting Conservative member Sir Walter Greene by 11, votes to 9, — a majority of 1, He defended his seat in general election of but this time, against a new Tory candidate, Austin Hudson and facing a three-cornered fight with Labour he lost to Hudson by 4, votes.