Visual Source: “Belgian Territorial Agent”

Representatives of empire had to work within the constraints of their environment. This meant living and working in buildings quite different from those at home and adjusting their attire to the climate. Nonetheless, they still found ways to maintain their authority over the indigenous peoples of the colonies. Clothing, posture, and the expectation that colonial subjects would defer to their authority all contributed to their effectiveness as agents of empire. This Belgian territorial agent could have been a model for Joseph Conrad’s Kayerts and Carlier in Part I of this reader.