The Congo State: Or, the Growth of Civilisation in Central Africa

Written by the historian and biographer Demetrius C. Boulger (1853-1928), this history of early Belgian rule in the Congo was first published in 1898. The book documents nineteenth-century colonial activity after King Leopold II (1835-1909) assumed private control of the Congo Free State following the Berlin Conference in 1884. Exposed by the Casement Report of 1904, Leopold’s controversial administration of the territory has become infamous for its exploitation of the local people and natural resources. Boulger’s pro-Leopold account describes the Congolese population and environment, the presence and decline of the slave trade in the area, interaction with other European colonial powers, and the introduction of technologies such as the railway and telegraph. Including more than fifty illustrations, this book offers a fascinating insight into nineteenth-century colonial zeal.