Alice Seeley Harris facts for kids

Alice Seeley Harris (born Alice Seeley, 24 May 1870 – 24 November 1970) was an English missionary and an early photographer who took pictures to show real-life events. Her amazing photos helped to reveal the terrible things happening to people in the Congo Free State. This was a large area in Africa controlled by King Leopold II of Belgium.

Alice's Early Life and Family

Alice Seeley was born in Malmesbury, England. Her parents were Aldred and Caroline Seeley. She had a sister named Caroline Alfreda, who became a school teacher.

In 1894, Alice met John Harris, who would later become her husband. After trying for seven years, Alice was finally accepted to go to the Congo Free State as a missionary in 1897. Soon after, Alice and John got married on 6 May 1898 in London.

They had four children: Alfred John, Margaret Theodora, Katherine Emmerline (who everyone called “Bay”), and Noel Lawrence. Alice lived for many years in Frome in Somerset, England. She passed away in 1970 at the age of 100 in Guildford, Surrey.

Alice's Career and Mission Work

In 1889, when Alice was 19, she started working for the British government in the Civil Service. She worked in the office that handled money for the Post Office in London. In her free time, Alice helped with mission work at Regent's Park Chapel and later at Christ Church, Lambeth.

Alice left her government job to train as a missionary at Doric Lodge college. Just four days after her wedding, Alice and John sailed to the Congo Free State on the ship SS Cameroon. They went as missionaries with the Congo-Balolo Mission. They arrived in the Congo three months later, on 4 August 1898.

They then traveled to the Mission Station Ikau, near Basankusu. Alice was shocked and saddened by the terrible things she saw there. She quickly began to speak out and campaign for the human rights of the local Congolese people.

Campaigning for Change

Alice and her husband John lived at the Mission Station at Ikau from 1898 to 1901. This area was near the Lulonga River, which flows into the Congo River. Later, from 1901 to 1905, they moved to the Mission Station at Baringa. This village is in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

While in the Congo, Alice taught English to the local children. But her most important work was taking photographs. She captured images of the terrible injuries suffered by the Congolese people. These injuries were caused by the agents and soldiers working for King Leopold II of Belgium.

King Leopold II was making a huge profit from rubber in the Congo. The demand for rubber had grown a lot after the invention of the inflatable tire in 1887. To get more rubber, Leopold's agents forced the local people to collect it. If they didn't collect enough, they were punished very cruelly.

One of the most shocking punishments was the severing of hands. In 1904, two men came to Alice and John's mission. They were from a village that had been attacked because they didn't provide enough rubber. One of the men, Nsala, was holding a small bundle of leaves. When he opened it, inside were the severed hand and foot of a child.

Alice was horrified. She convinced Nsala to pose for a picture with the remains of his child on the porch of her home. This photo became incredibly important.

Sharing the Photos with the World

At first, Alice's photographs were published in Regions Beyond, the magazine of the Congo Balolo Mission. In 1902, the Harrises returned to Britain for a short time. By 1904, Alice's photos were being seen by many more people. They were included in a pamphlet called Congo Slavery and in a book called King Leopold's Rule in Africa by E. D. Morel. In the same year, Morel started the Congo Reform Association.

In 1906, Alice and John Harris began working for Morel's Congo Reform Association. In early 1906, Alice traveled across the United States. John wrote that they showed her images at 200 meetings in 49 cities using a magic lantern (an early type of projector). In December 1906, a daily newspaper called New York American used Alice's photographs to show the terrible events in the Congo for a whole week.

In 1908, Alice and John became joint organizing secretaries of the Congo Reform Association. In April 1910, they took on the same roles for the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines' Protection Society. Alice later stepped down from her official position but continued to help John at the Society until he passed away in 1940. She also continued to give many speeches, and her talks were listed alongside famous people like Winston Churchill and Ernest Shackleton.

In November 1908, King Leopold II gave control of the Congo Free State to the Belgian government. This created the Belgian Congo. The Harrises returned to the Congo from 1911 to 1912 after this change. They noticed that conditions for the local people had improved. They later wrote a book called Present Conditions in the Congo, which included Alice's photographs. Soon after, hundreds of Alice's photos of Africa were shown at an exhibition at the Colonial Institution.

In 1933, Alice became Lady Harris when her husband was made a knight. But she was known for saying, "don't call me Lady!"

In 1970, Alice turned 100 years old. She was interviewed by BBC Radio 4 for a program called Women of Our Time. She was the first person to reach 100 years old and be a member of the Frome Society for Local Study. This group placed a special plaque near where she lived in Frome to honor her.

Alice's Lasting Impact

• From January to March 2014, an exhibition called When Harmony Went to Hell - Congo Dialogues: Alice Seeley Harris and Sammy Baloji was held at Autograph ABP in London.
• From January to September 2014, the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool held an exhibition called Brutal Exposure: the Congo. This exhibition focused on Alice's powerful photographs.
• In 2017, a plaque was put up in Frome to remember Alice's life and work. It reads: "Alice Seeley, Lady Harris Anti-slavery campaigner, photographer, missionary to the Congo, artist, scourge of King Leopold II of the Belgians, lived at 3 Merchants Barton 1882 – 1888 Born Malmesbury 24 May 1870. Died Guildford 24 November 1970".

See also

• Atrocities in the Congo Free State
• Congo Free State propaganda war
• Documentary photography
• New Woman