It’s a raw and brutal account of colonial Belgium in the Congo around the early 20th century. It is shockingly relevant to today because of Leopold’s sinister misinformation campaigns in controlling the narrative for his greedy and murderous enterprises. The rape of the Congo, much like many colonial endeavors, shaped history and lives with us today. Colonialism fueled the beast of Industrialization at the cost of millions of “non-civilized” people. It’s an amazing read, full of primary documentation and rich characterization. I learned so much and highly recommend. Lastly, it is the perfect companion to Joseph Conrad’s “The Heart of Darkness” who is mentioned frequently throughout the book.
by HenryStamper1
26 Comments
This book was… wow
It’s on my shelf in the need to read category. I know it’ll be a heavy read.
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So on my list. Have to be in the right headspace
Reading this at the moment after hearing the Behind the Bastards episode on Leopold II. From what I’ve read so far, I think it’s a brilliant book but I can’t fathom the greed that led to such brutal treatment of other human beings.
You might be interested in reading We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families about the Rwandan Genocide, which we are in the midst of the 30 anniversary. It discusses the seeds for the Genocide being planted during Belgian colonial rule and being ignited by them at independence.
An excellent and harrowing book. I listened to the audiobook over the course of a few weeks. The name Leopold has been forever ruined for me.
A good follow-up is “Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives.” Published in 2022. It makes you realize how little has changed for the Congo. And many of us drive and benefit from its sufferings by our demand for electronics.
Had to read it for a class in college. Yeah…
Which do you recommend reading first – King Leopold’s Ghost or Heart of Darkness? I have those (and We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families as the other poster mentioned) on my list to read this year!
I like the idea but this (and several other such books) actually make me feel hurt and disappointed because I am part of the world which was colonized. What good is reading about it if there is no awareness and justice in the world?
The colonizers are still rich and colonized are largely poor. Any talk of reparations is balked upon. When the poor people from the colonized countries try to move to the colonizers’ state they are deemed nuisance and face racism and injustice.
Couldn’t agree more, it’s a great read with a narrative style that makes it almost like a novel. Horrible subject matter but it was incredibly informative while never feeling like it was a heavy read. It struck that balance between being informative while not overbearing with factual information, something that a lot of non-fiction books seem to get wrong.
As a Belgian it’s indeed a must-read of in my opinion the worst leader since Genghis Khan. Even people like Hitler had some kind of twisted belief, with him it was pure greed.
That said, it’s frustrating how these days so many people confuse his reign of terror over Congo Free State with the time Congo became a Belgian colony. Belgium was an absolute monarchy under Leopold II and the people in Belgium were also exploited by him and his henchmen. Not to the extent of the Congolese people, but he ordered workers to be shot when they were complaining about working conditions. So when people blame the Belgian people for the horrors in Congo Free State it feels so unfair as [these were the Belgian people under Leopold II](https://i.imgur.com/d0xvFkz.jpeg) and it feels so fucking unfair when people blame Belgians to the legacy of our great grandparents.
Belgium annexed Congo Free State from its King in 1908 and then it became a Belgian colony, before that it was the private property of Leopold. Belgian men only got the right to vote in 1921…
When Congo became a Belgian colony the idea was to really build up Congo with infrastructure, but things went wrong when the Catholic Belgians were told to bring the word of God, educate the “savages”. And through the years it became the typical colonial power where ordinary people suddenly had positions of power and they didn’t want to give that up… A friend of my mother who grew up in Congo to this day doesn’t feel she did anything wrong, but they had servant. And when I bring this up she always said, yes we had, but my parents were teachers. And it doesn’t click that they basically severely underpaid locals, while there was no way they would have a servant as teachers anywhere else…
And then the Congolese independence happened… The Congolese people standing up for themselves and organizing elections. Patrice Lumumba would be the first democratic leader of Congo, but Belgium and the US wanted to keep control so they assassinated Lumumba and installed dictator Mobutu, as that was someone they thought they could control… Ever since Congo has gotten it’s share of questionable leadership, because the west literally killed democracy. And that is something Belgians are responsible for, and my government does way to little to rectify that.
I read this (unintentionally) alongside *The Dream of the Celt,* by Mario Vargas Llosa, which touches on the same events…
It was an intense few weeks
I’m currently reading it. Such an intense book, the cruelty is hard to fathom. Congo has had to pay such a terrible price for being resource rich and is still paying to this day. I don’t think people quite understand the atrocities that were committed, not even in the region. I’ve studied and lived in either Uganda or Rwanda which neighbor the Congo but I’d guess very few people know much about the period. Why highschool kids spend two years studying European history and not that of our people is a head scratcher.
I have this book. It’s in my ” must read” list.
Haven’t read the book but know my history on the matter and it is frightening. King Leopold really was a Bond level villain.
This is definitely on my Libby list!
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild is indeed a powerful and eye-opening book. I advise everyone to read it.
I’d read Heart of Darkness in hs and college. My teachers taught it as an allegory.
After reading King Leopold’s Ghost in my 40s, I realized HoD is an expose`.
The “King Leopold’s Ghost + Heart of Darkness” pairing was an assigned reading in one of my global studies classes in college. I think about them both weekly. Intense reads.
Everything Adam Hochschild has written is great, but KLG is a masterpiece.
His book about WW1 (To End All Wars) is amazing too
Sounds really interesting
I’m currently reading the lumumba plot. it’s about how the cia assassinated patrice lumumba, the first prime minister of the congo, shortly after it gained independence.
I read this book based on this post. It is very well written. I was expecting a real downer, but there is a surprising amount of comedy in it. I enjoyed it; thanks for the recommendation.