A friend planned a Jolabokaflod event around New Year's this year. It was my first time participating in the Icelandic Yule book flood tradition. This history book was gifted to me as a recommended read.
This is about the exploration and colonization of the Congo. The Belgian King Leopold's rapacious rule for resources such as ivory and rubber caused the many indigenous African peoples to be enslaved, traumatized, and killed. There were a few journalists and missionaries who protested despite efforts by the state to silence them.
It was well-researched and revealed how rarely the Africans' experience was given voice by Europeans and Americans. It was fascinating and disturbing history. Yet there were heroes highlighted in the Congo reform movement. E. D. Morel, Roger Casement, George Washington Williams, William Sheppard, and Hezekiah Andrew Shanu each are revealed to have achieved something in the fight against Leopold's human rights crimes.
No comments:
Post a Comment