The Congo Free State and the New Imperialism

by Kevin Grant

This book introduces students to the history of the Congolese peoples and the Congo Free State, ruled by King Leopold II of Belgium between 1885 and 1908. It illuminates central issues in the study of the era of the "new imperialism" and challenges students to analyze a variety of different kinds of sources in building their own historical arguments about the period. The introduction provides an overview of the Congolese peoples, the environment in which they lived, and the process through which the Congo Free State was established and developed. The documents invite students to explore the history of the Congo Free State through speeches, international treaties, oral histories, investigative depositions on atrocities, visual texts, official and private correspondence, parliamentary debates, and published exposés. Document headnotes, a chronology, and analytical questions help students to place the Congo Free State in the context of not only the new imperialism but also its larger global context.

Genres: History

151 pages, Paperback

Published September 2, 2016

Reviews

[maya · Rating 2 out of 5]

By no means does Grant live up to the promise to substantially explore Non-European sources. Heavily relies on European views and accounts, and unscrupulously concludes that further colonization in the Congo following Leopold II's regime was a significant improvement that benefitted the Congolese. Frustrating lack of critical thought and the questions posed are often vapid and repetitive. The whole "New Imperialism" model is downright confusing and in Grant's work fails to challenge and approach the issue of colonization in an earnest way.

[Yooperprof · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would assign this again for a course on European imperialism in Africa. It helped me and my students get a much better picture of what was actually going on in the Congo during the terrible years of the Congo Free State.