Here, Hochschild introduces a disturbing theme of the book: the open, almost banal way that Europeans of the late 19th century talked about inflicting pain on African people. At the time, many Europeans believed that Africans were sub-human, little better than animals. But even as Stanley looked down on Africans, the entire English establishment looked down on Stanley for being a working-class Welshman rather than a real English aristocrat. Stanley was hungry for acceptance, which is partly why he wanted to continue exploring Africa.