Summary

• George Washington Williams, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in The Legend of Tarzan, was a real-life hero who exposed the human rights abuses in the Congo Free State in the late 1800s.
• Williams had an extensive career as a soldier, journalist, Baptist minister, and politician before uncovering the truth about Belgium's crimes in the Congo Free State.
• While the movie takes creative liberties with the story, it does highlight Williams' influential role in history through his open letter exposing the atrocities in the Congo Free State.

Although The Legend of Tarzan's central storyline is obviously fantastical, there are some interesting real-life elements to the movie – especially concerning Samuel L. Jackson's character, George Washington Williams. In the film, George is an earnest investigator, sent to unearth Belgian crimes in the Congo Free State alongside Alexander Skarsgård's Tarzan. However, the real Washington Williams played a pivotal role, not just in unearthing the truth about Leopold II's horrific regime, but also as a legislator in his native United States.

Based on the original Edgar Rice Burroughs novels, The Legend of Tarzan picks up after the titular character has returned to his ancestral seat of Greystoke in the United Kingdom. However, despite embracing his life with his wife Jane (played by Margot Robbie), Tarzan, also known as John Clayton, is approached by both the Prime Minister and American envoy George Washington Williams to return to Africa and discover the truth about Leopold's actions in the region. However, while the movie understandably revolves around Tarzan himself, the role of George Washington Williams is one of its most interesting elements.

George Washington Williams' Real-Life Background & War History Explained

The real George Washington Williams was perhaps an even more interesting and heroic figure than the one seen in David Yates' 2016 movie. His extensive and varied career included time as a soldier, a journalist, a Baptist minister, and even a politician, as well as his very real experience exposing the humanitarian catastrophe occurring in the Congo Free State in the 1880s and 90s. As such, he is one of the most intriguing characters in The Legend of Tarzan, despite being sidelined for much of the action.

Washington Williams began his career as a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Being only 14 years of age, he was forced to submit a fake name in order to serve, fighting in several of the conflict's pivotal final battles. After serving a further five years in the Mexican army, he became the first Black graduate of the Newton Theological Institution in 1874. Following several years as a Baptist minister, he became the first African American elected to the Ohio state legislature before traveling to Europe and Africa. It was there that he unearthed the full extent of Belgium's crimes in the Congo Free State.

George Washington Williams Truly Exposed The Congo Free State's Slavery Controversies In The Late 1800s

Although the methods seen in The Legend of Tarzan and what happened in real life differ wildly, George Washington Williams really did expose the human rights calamity in the Congo Free State. As part of the Associated Literary Press, Williams traveled to the region in 1890, initially with King Leopold's blessing. In fact, he even met the monarch for an interview prior to his trip. However, upon his arrival, he realized how dire the situation was.

Williams found evidence that the king employed a private militia in order to maintain the production of rubber. This force would physically abuse workers and their families, reducing many of them to a state akin to slavery and inflicting brutal punishments if quotas were not met. In an open letter to Leopold, Williams described the litany of abuses, holding the king personally responsible for the crimes carried out in his name. Not only did this letter have an immediate international impact, but it also popularized the term "crimes against humanity" (per King Leopold's Ghost). Despite attempts to discredit him, Williams remained a ionate campaigner until his death in 1891 in Blackpool, England.

The Legend Of Tarzan Takes Plenty Of Creative Liberties With Williams' Time In The Congo

While it's true that the real George Washington Williams spent some incredibly consequential time in the Congo Free State, The Legend of Tarzan obviously changes many aspects of the story. For starters, the entire mythology of Tarzan and Jane is entirely fictional, as are characters like Chief Mbonga. Furthermore, while the movie's main villain, Christoph Waltz's Léon Rom, was also a real person, the extent to which the pair actually interacted is unknown.

However, despite the film's distortion of the facts, there are some ways in which it adheres to Williams' real story. For instance, he really did write an open letter exposing the crimes in the Congo Free State, cementing his status as an incredibly consequential figure in the region's history. The Legend of Tarzan is certainly not a documentary. Nevertheless, the movie does shed some light on one of the most astonishing lives in American history.