King Leopold's Ghost

Adam Hochschild

History Non-fiction

5/5 stars

A book that outlines the colonisation and exploitation of the Congo during the reign of King Leopold II, and the movements the brutality led to.

This was such a good book! My teacher reccomended it to me, and it was such an eye opening read. The way the different historical figures are introduced and described allows you to follow the story easily, and allows a picture to be constructed of the landscape these events led to. The story of the Congo is sad and unjust, the horrors that were conducted there are evil and awful. I like how the author makes a point of not showcasing the "heroes" of the story like Morel, as angels who were perfect but also highlights how there was inherit hypocrisy in many of the beliefs of even the most radical anti colonialists of the time. I also appreciate how it showcases the Congolese resistance as well as European ones; many books fail to acknowledge that Africans didn't take colonialism lying down. Also, it was very interesting to see how different factors came into the colonialism that are still issues today, such as tribalism. I think it is essential reading, regarding the current political climate of the Congo. #FreeCongo. I think it's also important that the other Western countries were protrayed as part of the issue, as their complicity in slave labour doesn't make them any less guilty! Colonialism is one of the world's biggest evils, and the story of the Congo portrays this very well. I FLIPPING HATE KING LEOPOLD II NOT ONLY IS HE A GREEDY EVIL RACIST MAN WHO LIKES YOUNG GIRLS, HE ALSO WAS SO MEAN TO HIS DAUGHTERS AND FOR WHAT??? IT ANNOYS ME THAT HE IS SO CELEBRATED IN BELGIUM, THIS BOOK MADE ME WANT TO GO TO HIS MUSEUM AND CAUSE A SCENE!! WHICH I MIGHT JUST DO!! Also, justice for Casement, I felt bad for him but also how young were the young boys he was with, I might have to reject that statement. I personally think Belgium should have to enforce a stable Congolese Goverment (that isn't under their influence) AND repay every single penny that was taken from the Congo during the colonist era. RIP Patrice Lumumba. America and Europe WILL pay for what they did to the global south!

"I do not agree with you that England and America are the two great humanitarian powers...[They are] materialstic first and humanitarian only a century later."

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