My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The colonial period in Africa is little known and little understood by Americans today, and yet that history is so pivotal to the creation of international human rights organizations that it should be better known and celebrated. In this meticulous work, Mr. Hochschild tells the devastating story of the Congo Free State, ruled by a tyrant, disguised in the veneer of constitutional monarchy and humanitarianism, with tools of terror that eerily prefigures the genocidal atrocities of the 20th century.
Starting with the story of how King Leopold II of Belgium deftly maneuvered both domestic and foreign politics in order to secure a colony under his direct control, Mr. Hochschild shows how the Congo Free State was always a colony of exploitation, built on the back of brutalized African slaves. The cast of characters is incredibly diverse, with such historical monsters as Henry Morton Stanley and León Rom (the latter of whom was probably one of the inspirations for Joseph Conrad's character, Mr. Kurtz, in Heart of Darkness), and brave men who risked much, including their lives, to tell the world of the atrocities happening in the Congo. Among these heroes include such people as George Washington Williams, E.D. Morel, and Roger Casement. One voice that is missing though, which Mr. Hochschild points out repeatedly, is the voice of the Africans themselves. Too few of their testimonies are recorded for posterity from this period. However, Mr. Hochschild does a tremendous job of trying to bring in their voices whenever he can.
Oftentimes, the atrocities are hard to read about. Africans were enslaved, mutilated, and massacred for a long time and, in spite of the successes of the international protest movement at the turn of the 20th century, several brutal colonial practices continued up to Congo's independence and even beyond. And yet, the international protest movement that Morel and others led would prefigure our conceptions of international human rights in the 20th and 21st centuries. One of the great things about this book is that Mr. Hochschild doesn't sugarcoat the truth, but it does mean that younger readers may want to wait a little bit before tackling such a heavy topic.
One thing I did not like about this book is how the details of how exactly the Congo Free State was initially operated and developed were not there. At one point, it appears that Henry Morton Stanley is setting the colony up in King Leopold's name, and then the next moment all the killings begin. This may be because of my quick reading of the first chapters, but I feel like there are a few steps between "Let's set up a colony" to "Let's enslave and murder everyone" that are missing here.
For anyone interested in world history, the history of colonialism in Africa, or the history of international human rights, this is an essential read. In its explicit condemnation of colonialism, it reminds us that we should never turn our backs on the cries of suffering around the world and work to end human rights abuses wherever they may happen.
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