King Leopold’s Ghost
This was a really interesting book detailing the history of the colonization of the Congo by King Leopold.
King Leopold II longed for a colony like those of the powers of Europe at the time. The interior of Africa was the only remaining area left that was not under colonial rule. Leopold hired the famous explorer Lord Stanley to help with the colonization efforts. Eventually, the Congo was initially established as an “independent state” by King Leopold. The Congo was rich in rubber, which just happened to be in high demand for use in new inventions of the day. Leopold used the native peoples as slave labor to harvest the rubber. It is estimated that ten million people were killed during Leopold’s rule of the Congo. Eventually, a long fought human rights campaign put an end to Leopold’s rule of the Congo, but not before he could extract immense wealth from it.
If you are even mildly interested in history, I would recommend this book.
