In 1890, a Black American travelled deep into Central Africa expecting to witness one of Europe’s great civilizing projects. Instead, he encountered forced labour, violence and terror that would become one of the greatest scandals of European colonialism. His...
Léon Rom was a Belgian colonial officer who served in the Congo Free State during the late 19th century and became notorious for his brutality. As a commander in King Leopold II’s Force Publique, Rom reportedly decorated his station...
From 1885 to 1908, DR Congo was transformed into a massive forced labor camp. This territory, then known as the Congo Free State, was unlike any other colony in Africa. It wasn’t controlled by a government or a European...
Nsala was a Congolese man from the village of Wala in the Congo Free State, tragically immortalized in a photograph taken by english missionary Alice Seeley Harris on May 14, 1904. The image captures Nsala sitting in silent grief,...
Few chapters in colonial history are as harrowing and tragic as the exploitation of the Congo Free State under the rule of King Leopold II of Belgium from 1885 to 1908. While the atrocities, described as one of the...
Leopold II, the King of Belgium from 1865 to 1909, is infamous for his brutal rule and exploitation of the Congo Free State, a vast territory in central Africa
