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The Ghost in Your Phone (Throwback)

Throughline

ANECDOTE

Leopold's Brutal Regime in Congo Free State

  • King Leopold II of Belgium deployed a mercenary army to enslave Congolese people for rubber harvesting.
  • The army took women hostage to force men into gathering rubber quotas, leading to widespread abuse and rape.
  • Soldiers were required to prove their kills by cutting off victims' hands, sometimes from living people.
  • William Henry Sheppard documented the atrocities through photographs and articles.
  • Leopold's regime depopulated Congo by about 50%, from 20 million to 10 million people.
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