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Yaw's avatar
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Hi there,

I'm Ghanaian American, and I agree with you that many claims about colonialism are exaggerated or simplistic. For example, the idea that Europe industrialized because of Africa doesn’t hold up—industrialization in Britain and Europe was driven primarily by domestic coal, capital accumulation, and institutional reforms, not colonial exploitation. Colonialism was a consequence of Europe’s industrial strength, not the cause of it. Most African colonies were used for exporting cash crops like cocoa, cotton, sisal, or rubber—not for funding industrial revolutions.

I say this to make clear that I’m not someone who gets emotional about uncomfortable truths or clings to grievance narratives—I care about historical accuracy.

That said, I appreciate that your piece raises lesser-known facts, such as the role of Zanzibari Arab slave traders like Tipu Tip, which Stanley's "How I Found Livingstone" also documents.

But I do have some key issues with your article:

1. Heart of Darkness was written in 1899. It is explicitly set DURING King Leopold II’s rule over the Congo Free State (1885–1908), not before it. Conrad based the novella on his own experiences as a riverboat captain in the Congo in 1890, where he witnessed firsthand the brutalities of the colonial system run by the État Indépendant du Congo (EIC)—Leopold's private colony. If he went there in 1890, why would you say "Heart of Darkness is a book that is actually about the pre-EIC anarchy in the Congo rather than what King Leopold wrought?

2. Yes, I agree the 10M deaths also doesn't make sense demographically speaking. Their population was at best 10M. But still more than 10K died. In David Van Reybrouck (in Congo: The Epic History) and Belgian demographer Jean-Paul Sanderson model a population decline of around 10–20% during the Leopold era, that would still mean 1 to 2M died.

3. The atrocities were widely reported—not isolated.

You downplay the rubber atrocities as rare or limited to areas beyond EIC control. But we have extensive reports from many independent sources:

Missionaries like Alice Seeley Harris and John Weeks

Diplomats like Roger Casement (1904 report)

Read here:

https://archive.org/details/CasementReport/page/n3/mode/2up

Congo Free State insiders like Lt. Louis-Napoléon Chaltin and Charles Stokes

Congolese testimonies collected by the Casement Commission

Photos and documentation from the Congo Reform Association (CRA)

4. The hand-chopping was done both in Zanzibari Arab rule AND in Congo Free State

Even in the Congo Free state chopping off hands was reported by Roger Casement, John Harris, and confirmed by the 1905 Belgian commission, which Leopold could not suppress.

5. The infamous photo, the Nsala of Wala photo is real—not staged.

The photo of Nsala of Wala with the severed hand and foot of his daughter is one of the best-documented images. You claim it was “staged,” but:

Missionary John Harris submitted a sworn affidavit in 1905 confirming its authenticity.

The photo was taken by Alice Seeley Harris, who also documented dozens of similar mutilations.

Multiple eyewitnesses confirmed that ABIR rubber agents were responsible.

The idea that these photos were faked is a modern revisionist myth. The Congo Reform Association backed them with testimony, documents, and government inquiries.

If we have: Photographic evidence, Eyewitnesses, Government reports (including the 1905 Belgian Commission),Firsthand accounts from missionaries, diplomats, and Congolese themselves…

…then why should we believe one anecdote from a soldier (Bricusse) over that mountain of credible evidence?

While I agree that there's many lies and exaggerations about colonialism to foment white guilt. I think this article goes overboard on the other side.

We should be able to acknowledge that Arab Zanzibaris also did bad things and enslaved the people that it was closer to 1M instead of 10M died, AND admit that the Congo Free State was full of atrocities at the same time.

The sad uncomfortable truth was that this area was hell due to Zanzibari plantation slavery and that King Leopold's rule was also bad and BOTH chopped off African hands.

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Z0r4n90's avatar

It's sad to see how much lies they told us.

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