The Novel
In King Leopold's Ghost, author Adam Hoschild digs deep into the past abuses of European colonization in Africa. His focus was on the Congo region, where King Leopold of Belgium was determined to set up his own colony. It is a story of the history of the people, the rise of Leopold and his facination with owning a part of Africa, and how one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century was literally "forgotten". Leopold was a master at making his campaign in Africa seem like a "humanitarian" effort to rescue the uncivilized Africans from the "evil Arabian" slave traders. It is also about the international campaign to strike down Leopold and to expose the abuses in the Congo that formed a large movement across nations and involved the likes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, and many others. Truly a tale of modern mass communications and public relations at work.
But how did it start?
Hoschild ran upon a footnote in Twain's Huck Finn about this horrible massacre and started his research. I won't reveal much more details, but it is definite must-read! However, remember that not only was Belgium committing these horrible atrocities, so were the rest of the European nations who wanted a piece of the African pie. The stories and testimonials and photos documented within the novel are only a mere fraction as to the complete European colonization picture.
Hoschild
In a lecture he gave to one of my classes, Hoschild described the painstaking research he did in order to reveal so many facts. He revealed that the Belgium government, to this day, does not allow public access to the many documents that provide even further detail into Leopold and also into the body count of the rape. The primary sources that he gathered from are diaries from members of Leopold's secret police, the Force Publique, from the UC Berkeley library.
Recommended:
