Joseph Conrad

An Outpost of Progress Illustrated Joseph Conrad

An Outpost of Progress is a short story written in July 1896 by Joseph Conrad, drawing on his own experience at Congo. It was published in the magazine Cosmopolitan in 1897 and was later collected in Tales of Unrest in 1898. Conrad in 1900 contributed this story to "The Ladysmith Treasury," to provide aid to English citizens besieged in Ladysmith, South Africa, during the Boer War. Often compared with Heart of Darkness, Conrad considered it his best tale, owing to its "scrupulousness of tone" and "severity of discipline". The story deals with two European men, named Kayerts and Carlier, who are assigned to a trading post in a remote part of the African Jungle. There they take part in ivory trading, hoping to financially benefit the company as well as themselves. With no specific tasks or important things to be done, they both become increasingly isolated and demoralized as time goes by. At one point in the story, the native Makola, serving as Kayerts's and Carlier's bookkeeper, initiates an exchange of slaves for ivory.