Crime of the Congo

A Conan Doyle brings the skills of thorough analysis in his documenting of the atrocities occurring in the Congo Free State (an area now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, the area south of the Congo River basin) following the European Berlin Conference 1884-85. Witness testimonies (chapter 8 and 9 in particular) and reportage is explicit in recounting the killing and torture of indigenous inhabitants , first sanctioned under King Leopold II’s private rule (1885- 1908) and (Doyle evidences) with limited change in structures/systems under the Belgian state’s early rule once it had annexed the Congo Free State to become the Belgian Congo (1908-1960). The attitudes and lives of missionaries, traders and corporate representatives are also explored in relation to the Congo Free State. The Crime of the Congo is a non-fiction account by an eminent fiction writer and it serves also as a cautionary tale to humanity. - Summary by Faith Abíọ́lá-Ellison