Lord Leverhulme's Ghosts: Colonial Exploitation in the Congo

by Adam Hochschild (Author), JulesMarchal (Author)

New
Paperback
2017
$17.11

In the early twentieth century, the worldwide rubber boom led British entrepreneur Lord Leverhulme to the Belgian Congo. Warmly welcomed by the murderous regime of King Leopold II, Leverhulme set up a private kingdom reliant on the horrific Belgian system of forced labor, a program that reduced the population of Congo by half and accounted for more deaths than the Nazi Holocaust. In this definitive, meticulously researched history, Jules Marchal exposes the nature of forced labor under Lord Leverhulme's rule and the appalling conditions imposed upon the people of Congo. With an extensive introduction by Adam Hochschild, Lord Leverhulme's Ghosts is an important andurgently needed account of a laboratory of colonial exploitation.

Synopsis

In the early twentieth century, the worldwide rubber boom led British entrepreneur Lord Leverhulme to the Belgian Congo. Warmly welcomed by the murderous regime of King Leopold II, Leverhulme set up a private kingdom reliant on the horrific Belgian system of forced labor, a program that reduced the population of Congo by half and accounted for more deaths than the Nazi Holocaust. In this definitive, meticulously researched history, Jules Marchal exposes the nature of forced labor under Lord Leverhulme's rule and the appalling conditions imposed upon the people of Congo. With an extensive introduction by Adam Hochschild, Lord Leverhulme's Ghosts is an important andurgently needed account of a laboratory of colonial exploitation.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: Verso
Published: 31 Jan 2017
ISBN 10: 1784786314
ISBN 13: 9781784786311

Media Reviews

His capacious narrative is both disturbing and fascinating. - The New Yorker A brilliantly told tale, at once horrifying and pleasurable to read. - Publishers Weekly A hundred years ago, enlightened people in the western world were outraged by a holocaust in Africa which left millions dead. Yet today not one person in a thousand could say what the fuss was all about, unless, of course, they have already read this amazing book. - Financial Times

Author Bio

A former diplomat in the Belgian Congo, Jules Marchal (1924-2004) spent twenty years researching forced labor. Adam Hochschild is the author of the award-winning 'King Leopold's Ghost' and 'Bury the Chains.' He teaches at the University of California, Berkeley.