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The River Congo - The Discovery, Exploration and Exploitation of the World's Mos
The River The Discovery, Exploration & Exploitation of the World's Most Dramatic River was intended to follow Alan Moorehead's two excellent books, The White Nile & Blue Nile. Indeed, Forbath has done an admirable job in this regard. The human association with this river, often witness to horrible blood baths (including some still in progress) is minutely documented here up to the mid-60s, from the 1st exploration of the W. African coast & the discovery of the mouth of the Congo by the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cao in 1482 to the immediate aftermath to independence--the Simba uprising. In all, the Congo River (called the Zaire for a time, now again the Congo) witnessed some of the bloodiest wars & genocides in recent history. Brought on to a large degree by the early slave trade, later misrule & cruelty under King Leopold (think "Heart of Darkness") & benign neglect from Belgium after Leopold, the Congo still suffers from man's inhumanity to man today. Yet at the same time the Congo is one of the mightiest of rivers & its basin encompasses some of the most biodiverse regions on earth, aside from the Amazon. Forbath, once a foreign correspondent, has written a classic & definitive history of a great tropical river, whose very name evokes dangerous & exotic imagery. To understand why the Congo has such a dark reputation, this is the book to read.--David B. Richman (edited)
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First published January 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 8, 2025
Aunque la historia se centra en el Río Congo, este libro ayuda a comprender cómo se dio el descubrimiento y la exploración de diferentes zonas desconocidas de África para los europeos, incluyendo otros ríos y lagos del continente.
Los retos que la geografía africana representó para los exploradores europeos, el adoctrinamiento cristiano de los nativos, la esclavitud y abusos de la población a lo largo de los siglos y a través de diferentes potencias, la pérdida de interés en los territorios de la cuenca del río por territorios más prometedores en el nuevo mundo, los grandes problemas a los que llegó de la República Democrática del Congo en la época contemporánea y una lectura ágil y reveladora hacen de este libro un imperdible si de historia y aventuras se trata.
Los retos que la geografía africana representó para los exploradores europeos, el adoctrinamiento cristiano de los nativos, la esclavitud y abusos de la población a lo largo de los siglos y a través de diferentes potencias, la pérdida de interés en los territorios de la cuenca del río por territorios más prometedores en el nuevo mundo, los grandes problemas a los que llegó de la República Democrática del Congo en la época contemporánea y una lectura ágil y reveladora hacen de este libro un imperdible si de historia y aventuras se trata.
September 16, 2019
To paraphrase the Brecht poem, "Who discovered the Congo? Was it ever really lost?".
That's the problem that I have with this book - and indeed many books on discovery and on Africa in particular. Peter Forbath, reading the blurb that's out there on him seems to have been somewhat of a flamboyant foreign correspondent ie. a journo. He is not an ethnographer, a geographer or a historian for that matter.
The 'River Congo: etc" starts off with an interesting overview journey down from source to mouth. See. It was there all the time.
Having finished with this little apperitif, Forbath starts into the meat course. or HOW EUROPEANS RULED AND DEFINED THE KNOWN WORLD! We get a potted history of Portugal up to and onward from Henry the Navigator but not as far as Porto beating Celtic in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final in Seville or anything at all about Cristiano Ronaldo or thick thighed divers. BUT Portugal discovered the Congo.... though it was never lost.
From there .... its all down hill.... or uphill for that matter depending on which way your travelling. Mostly it was uphill and not very far as there's this bliddy great set of cataracts (no dear, NOT glaucoma) near the beginning which were / are well nigh impassable, and certainly not for a brave Portugese caravel or for that matter a small Victorian steam-powered puffer of wooden construction.
The Kingdom of Kongo comes...... and goes.
And its off on a rip roaring adventure adventure with Stanley Livingstone and Dr. Morton with a fair bit of Nile exploration from tight-arsed Speke and pornographic Burton. Stanley eventually chose to come doon the watter but he appears to have had a rare talent for managing to get everyone that journeyed with him killed. Livingstone's two ever-present Zanzibaris got the gist of this lingering arriviste yank and would have nothing to do with him.
And finally its orrffff for the final jaunt with Stanley the Entrepreneur setting the way for Leopold the madly mad but sane plutocrat of Belgium to do his worst and completely ravage the area. No wonder Conrad wrote 'Heart of the Darkness'. Perhaps Belgium deserved everyuthing it got with the Schlieffen plan in the end.
It then tacks on a bit about post-Begian independence of Congo / Zaire .... and thats that.
Readable and a great gleaming brush of gloss. If you know nothing about the Congo, you'll know a bit more after reading this.
If you know something about the Congo, then this is a bit like an episode of 'Ripping Yarns'.
Find something else if you're in the latter category.
Wasted time getting to the end of this..... but it is readable at least.
That's the problem that I have with this book - and indeed many books on discovery and on Africa in particular. Peter Forbath, reading the blurb that's out there on him seems to have been somewhat of a flamboyant foreign correspondent ie. a journo. He is not an ethnographer, a geographer or a historian for that matter.
The 'River Congo: etc" starts off with an interesting overview journey down from source to mouth. See. It was there all the time.
Having finished with this little apperitif, Forbath starts into the meat course. or HOW EUROPEANS RULED AND DEFINED THE KNOWN WORLD! We get a potted history of Portugal up to and onward from Henry the Navigator but not as far as Porto beating Celtic in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final in Seville or anything at all about Cristiano Ronaldo or thick thighed divers. BUT Portugal discovered the Congo.... though it was never lost.
From there .... its all down hill.... or uphill for that matter depending on which way your travelling. Mostly it was uphill and not very far as there's this bliddy great set of cataracts (no dear, NOT glaucoma) near the beginning which were / are well nigh impassable, and certainly not for a brave Portugese caravel or for that matter a small Victorian steam-powered puffer of wooden construction.
The Kingdom of Kongo comes...... and goes.
And its off on a rip roaring adventure adventure with Stanley Livingstone and Dr. Morton with a fair bit of Nile exploration from tight-arsed Speke and pornographic Burton. Stanley eventually chose to come doon the watter but he appears to have had a rare talent for managing to get everyone that journeyed with him killed. Livingstone's two ever-present Zanzibaris got the gist of this lingering arriviste yank and would have nothing to do with him.
And finally its orrffff for the final jaunt with Stanley the Entrepreneur setting the way for Leopold the madly mad but sane plutocrat of Belgium to do his worst and completely ravage the area. No wonder Conrad wrote 'Heart of the Darkness'. Perhaps Belgium deserved everyuthing it got with the Schlieffen plan in the end.
It then tacks on a bit about post-Begian independence of Congo / Zaire .... and thats that.
Readable and a great gleaming brush of gloss. If you know nothing about the Congo, you'll know a bit more after reading this.
If you know something about the Congo, then this is a bit like an episode of 'Ripping Yarns'.
Find something else if you're in the latter category.
Wasted time getting to the end of this..... but it is readable at least.
June 15, 2013
I am reputed among some as having an extraordinary memory. This is not true. Such feats as being able to give the history, say, of the formation of the Christian canon off the top of one's head are the result of reading many different books about the topic. It's all about building cognitive structures and associative links.
My knowledge about African history is extremely limited except for the early history of North Africa concerning the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. It's not that I've never read about sub-Saharan or modern Africa, it's just that I've not read enough and what I have read hasn't been well integrated conceptually. Pick up a book on a particular area or period and I often find a lot that is familiar from other readings and the occasional documentary, but without such a prompt I'm usually at a loss.
Additionally, as regards Africa, too much of what I've read is from a European perspective: explorations and exploitations as it were.
This book is of the exploration/exploitation kind supplemented by some geography--much like Mooreheads White and Blue Nile books. Along with the latterly-read King Leopold's Ghost, it serves as a beginning for learning about the region and its people, but I have far, far to go...
Dad, however, does have an excellent, albeit perverse, memory. I recall that once, in a discussion of the film High Noon, he noted that he first saw it at such-and-such a theatre at such-and-such a date. Stopping him, I asked how it was possible for him to remember the date so exactly. Reflecting a moment, he said that it was easy because he had purchased such-and-such a car just the day before. This struck him as a sufficient explanation.
My knowledge about African history is extremely limited except for the early history of North Africa concerning the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. It's not that I've never read about sub-Saharan or modern Africa, it's just that I've not read enough and what I have read hasn't been well integrated conceptually. Pick up a book on a particular area or period and I often find a lot that is familiar from other readings and the occasional documentary, but without such a prompt I'm usually at a loss.
Additionally, as regards Africa, too much of what I've read is from a European perspective: explorations and exploitations as it were.
This book is of the exploration/exploitation kind supplemented by some geography--much like Mooreheads White and Blue Nile books. Along with the latterly-read King Leopold's Ghost, it serves as a beginning for learning about the region and its people, but I have far, far to go...
Dad, however, does have an excellent, albeit perverse, memory. I recall that once, in a discussion of the film High Noon, he noted that he first saw it at such-and-such a theatre at such-and-such a date. Stopping him, I asked how it was possible for him to remember the date so exactly. Reflecting a moment, he said that it was easy because he had purchased such-and-such a car just the day before. This struck him as a sufficient explanation.
November 20, 2017
Engaging read about the most foreboding river in the world. The book is more about the geopolitical history of the river than the river itself, so if you are expecting to learn about the flora and fauna of the region, look elsewhere.
The author does a very nice job of tying in various economic and political movements into the Portuguese exploration of the African coast, the discovery of the Congo and the subsequent explosion of slaving activity. The sections on Livingstone and Stanley are concise and thrilling. If you're already familiar with that period of exploration, there's nothing new here, but for those who aren't, it's hair-raising.
However, as the book was written in the mid 1970s, it ends up on an optimistic note with an observation that the Congo (at the time Zaire, prior to that Congo) had gotten past the worst of its post-independence civil war horrors. If only he had known.
Recommended for anyone interested in Africa.
The author does a very nice job of tying in various economic and political movements into the Portuguese exploration of the African coast, the discovery of the Congo and the subsequent explosion of slaving activity. The sections on Livingstone and Stanley are concise and thrilling. If you're already familiar with that period of exploration, there's nothing new here, but for those who aren't, it's hair-raising.
However, as the book was written in the mid 1970s, it ends up on an optimistic note with an observation that the Congo (at the time Zaire, prior to that Congo) had gotten past the worst of its post-independence civil war horrors. If only he had known.
Recommended for anyone interested in Africa.
September 4, 2007
A good history of the exploration of the countries surrounding the Congo River and gives a detailed background for understanding the colonial era and the conflict that is happening today in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
March 10, 2011
Fascinating account of the River Congo
June 4, 2013
A fascinating book that gives insight into the tragic history of the kingdom of Kongo, the development of Portuguese colonialism and the growth of the slave trade and the wealth it created.
December 26, 2020
Es un libro que quedo viejo y esta escrito 100%desde la perspectiva europea. A esta altura, habiendo tantos otros resúmenes (porque eso es lo que es) en internet, no vale la pena dedicarle tanto tiempo a un libro escrito de esta manera.
June 9, 2020
Living in the Congo, this was a great read encompassing the entire history of the Congo River and so often, man's inhumanity to man.
February 28, 2024
Me encantó. Seguir las explotaciones en mapa, ver las ciudades que ahora existen en esos lugares, seguir los rios, los lagos un viaje maravilloso
May 21, 2015
Interesante libro sobre história alrededor del rio más "dramático" del mundo escrita por un antiguo corresponsal de la revista TIME en el Congo en los años 60-70...Esencial para todos aquellos a quien les guste la história única e espectacular de África. Estando particularmente interesando en la historia de este continente y habiendo nacido en Angola, el país con el cual RDCongo hace frontera al sur tenia particular curiosidad en leer esta obra. Diría que no está al nivel de "Ébano" de Kapuściński, pero del punto de vista histórico me parece muy bueno. Abarca todos los grandes exploradores del suroeste/sureste de Africa del sigo XIX (Baker, Speke, Burton, Livingstone, Stanley...) además de dedicar varios capítulos al primero contacto de la gente del imperio ManiCongo con los Portugueses empezando con el explorador Diogo Cão (XVI-XVII) . Forbath también dedica mucho del libro a Livingstone y Stanley, frecuentemente utilizando secciones de sus diarios personales de viaje. Esto ha contribuido a dar todavia mas "vida" a sus espeluznantes aventuras. Ya no existe gente con la fibra, fuerza de voluntad y coraje que tenían eses increíbles exploradores. Es increíble como al parecer no temían a la muerte y eran capaces de pasar años explorando un territorio, casi siempre hostil pero al mismo tiempo maravilloso simplemente por el placer de explorar el desconocido. Como les tengo envidia. Pena que diabólicos personajes como el rey de los Belgas (Leopoldo II) fueran capaces de causar tanto daño a una zona tan espectacular de nuestro mundo.
May 13, 2014
I've read a lot on the subject, including Livingstone's and Stanley's diaries, but still found the book really interesting and very well written. If you aren't that familiar with the history of Central Africa, you'll find it fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews