This book by Adam Hochschild explores the period from 1885 to 1908 when King Leopold II of Belgium exploited the Congo Free State, committing large-scale atrocities. The narrative includes the lives of key figures such as Henry Morton Stanley, George Washington Williams, William Sheppard, and Edmund Morel, who played crucial roles in exposing and challenging Leopold’s regime. The book also delves into the broader context of European colonialism and its lasting impacts, as well as the early media campaigns against humanitarian crises. Hochschild’s work provides a nuanced view of colonial dynamics and the struggles of African voices during this era.
The Lost World, written by Michael Crichton, is a sequel to his 1990 novel 'Jurassic Park'. The story takes place six years after the events of the first book and follows mathematician Ian Malcolm, who survived the disaster at Jurassic Park, as he joins a scientific research team to explore a second island, Isla Sorna, where John Hammond's company InGen had bred dinosaurs. The team, including paleontologist Richard Levine, ethologist Sarah Harding, and two stowaway children, must navigate the dangers of the island, including the dinosaurs and rival scientists who are trying to steal the dinosaur eggs. The novel explores themes of science, technology, and the unpredictable nature of life[2][5].
Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, is a novella that examines the horrors of Western colonialism. The story is narrated by Marlow, who recounts his journey as a riverboat captain for a Belgian trading company in the Congo. Marlow's journey takes him deep into the African jungle, where he encounters the enigmatic and brutal ivory trader Kurtz. The novella delves into themes of power dynamics, morality, and the psychological impact of colonialism on both the colonizers and the colonized. It is a landmark of modern fiction, known for its narrative and symbolic power, as well as its acute psychological penetration[2][3][5].
This book, published in 1861, provides a comparative analysis of the economic management of British India and the Dutch colonies in Java and Madura. Money discusses the deficits faced by British India and contrasts them with the profitable cultivation practices in Java, offering practical solutions to the questions affecting British colonial governance. The book was significant in sparking discussions among Dutch politicians and economists regarding the profits and losses of former colonies.
The story of King Leopold of Belgium’s brutal regime in the Congo Free State, during the late 19th century, is one of the darkest and most important in global history. It is a story of horror - the murky depths of the human soul pushed to its primal limits, European colonialism and the first Scramble for Africa, royalty and politics, celebrity, and modernity. From that pit of depravity, in which the Congolese people endured unimaginable suffering at the hands of their dehumanising western drivers, the first human rights campaign was born, and one of the most seminal novels of all time. So, how was it that the Congo, Africa’s as yet unplundered, un-impenetrable, and deeply mysterious core in the late 1870’s, became the private financial reservoir of one ambitious monarch, while Europe looked on? What occurred during the reign of terror he unleashed there, and why? And, who was King Leopold himself, the troubled, cunning and utterly twisted individual behind it all?
Join Dominic and Tom as they lead us - following in the footsteps of Henry Morton Stanley, the explorer who first pierced the shadowy veil of the Congo in Africa’s interior, and let it bleed into the hands of King Leopold himself - deep into the heart of darkness. As the curtain is lifted from the Congo’s formerly obscuring unknowability, her people's grotesque future of abominable exploitation is revealed, along with man’s capacity for evil, and the demonic greed of one man in particular…
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@holland_tom
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Producer: Theo Young-Smith
Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude
Editor: Vasco Andrade
Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor
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The Rest Is History 
