King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Paperback – Import, 3 March 2020

A remarkably well researched work on Belgian crimes in the Congo. It may sound harsh to implicate an entire nation or people; but if the contents are true & unexaggerated, as they seem to be, it follows that there was an amazing collusion of a nation in this tragedy. While I was aware about Belgian & French interventions in present day Congo (particularly the repeated dispatch of the French Foreign Legion) I always thought the Portuguese & Spanish were the worst culprits behind imperialism till I went through Hochschild’s research. This adds a fresh dimension to colonial history, once again making the British colonization of India possibly the mildest (& smartest) among colonial actions. I mean there is an absence of the willful slaughter associated with the Portuguese, Spaniards & now the Belgians conquests. We Indians should be thankful that these European nations never acquired a foothold in India although the Portuguese did occupy Goa & mis-rule for a stretch of time. Compliments to the author for this documentation. It was an eye-opener & deserves greater publicity.-RJ (India)

Somebody interested in understanding European imperialism and African suffering must read this. It is very well written and dealt with.

A small ruler, King Leopold of Belgium, has the burning ambition to bolster his dwindling fortunes, by owning a colony in Africa in an era where there is stiff competition from wealthier, stronger and opportunistic France, Great Britain, Germany and Portugal. King Leopold disingenuously and surreptitiously lands up with an effective ownership the largest mass of land to be colonized in Africa - Kongo; ironically under the guise of furthering global advancements in science, geography, human rights to name a few - nothing commercial about it !Kongo, rich in natural minerals, ivory, rubber and eventually uranium (80 percent of the uranium needed for the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombs came from a mine in the Congo!) were significantly depleted by abusing and killing the local African tribes, who were forcibly/gullibly taken in as slaves. The largest export of slaves across the world including into Europe, US and the Gulf was from Congo - stories 'of ‘severed hands to account for expended ammunition'; exploitation of slaves to ensure 'highly profitable rubber' was available to manufacture tyres for the Allied Army during the World War are some examples that are presented with great details in the book.The King of Belgium eventually lands up devising and implementing crafty schemes to usurp monies from the Belgian Parliament, trading companies, international governments including US Presidents' to keep funding his expeditions of plundering Congo. The irony is that during his reign, King Leopold never visited Congo nor ’saw a drop of blood spilled in anger. There is something very modern about that too, as there is about the bomber pilot in the stratosphere, above the clouds, who never hears screams of sees shattered homes or torn flesh’. Eventually the slavery and torture started coming to light (albeit a bit late as by then an estimated 10 to 13 million locals are estimated to have perished under torture); and led to the first formal and organised human rights movement in history, which included Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Bertrand Russell, Joseph Conrad, Edmund Morel and Roger Casement.This is a extremely detailed narrative embedded with so many gems of insights; it provided me an invaluable perspective on how it must have been to be living in the times of colonialism - as the oppressor and the oppressed.

A gripping narrative of the horrors King Leopold’s II henchmen have inflicted in this part of Africa. The book is a tour de force illustrating how greed, corruption and plunder have destroyed a people and their economy for decades. First the Congo was looted for its ivory and rubber and now by multinationals for gold, diamonds, coltan, cobalt and other rare earth minerals, nothing really has changed.

Tragic, but also about heroes.

A masterly work looking at the hideous colonial rule of the Congo by the Belgians. King Leopold II was a dissatisfied monarch of a small land, casting about for colonies to give him money and prestige. Alerted to the vast area and possibilities of the Congo Basin by recent explorations by Henry Moreton Stanley, Leopold made it his mission to acquire the region.This was not (originally) a Belgian possession but "a secretive royal fief". Leopold was a master propagandist, calming the fears of other European powers by focussing on his philanthropic motives for entering the Congo. In reality, his interests lay in the ivory, the rubber and the potential for slave labour. Reports on the actual awful goings-on - the murders, floggings, mutilations and people worked to death - were largely quashed by Leopold's charm, his bribes and his seeming kindly nature.A few heroes made a stand against him however, notably ED Morel and Roger Casement (who I'd only heard of as an Irish 'traitor' before - he was actually a fine and principled individual on this matter.)Very readable book on a topic that has been conveniently forgotten.

A masterpiece exposing the horrors of colonialism. Insightful in providing many perspectives and info - the "summary" provided to the news agencies the day before the publication of the findings, the allied countries fear of anti-colonist feelings spreading across other colonies etc. Only suggestion is pictures of the main characters and that opened the eyes of the world could have been great. I read the ebook so may be it was missing there.

Sir Roger Casement once testified "Self government is a right. A thing because born in us at birth; a thing no more to be doled out to us or withheld from us by another people than right to life itself". This book takes you to a journey that leads to this speech by an Irish patriot and many other notable individuals.The book rather than just a historical document that throws around figures, leads us to a journey of how colonialism affected and continues to affect not only Congo but all of Africa. It provides the reader with enough material to connect the narrative from late 1870s to a modern day Congo, without becoming a boring read in the process. Which, I must admit, is a great success.

Poucas vezes se encontra um trabalho documental tão profundo, sobre um momento histórico tão decisivo, de forma tão literária — história com gosto de romance, mistura perfeita de entretenimento e informação.

Very well written and exceedingly readable. Clearly tremendously well researched. Fascinating, eye-opening and should be read by everyone interested in Africa - and the absolutely vile nature of Man. The last few pages, briefly mentioning what was going on in the rest of the world are probably (for me at least) more shocking than the whole Congo aspect.Prompted by this book I have now bought Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ and Raoul Peck’s ‘Lumumba’…! And I know I will be contemplating this book for a LONG time to come!

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Book was like new.

Splendido libro sulla storia della colonizzazione belga in Congo. Scritto molto bene, si legge agevolmente.Ben documentato, permette di pensare alla colonizzazione anche dal punto di vista dei colonizzati