I have to admit that prior to picking up a copy of King Leopold's Ghost I had some apprehension regarding whether or not it would interest me...and contrary to what I had thought, King Leopold's Ghost has to be one of the most poetic telling of history that I have ever read.
This book is continuing to shock me with every page that I read...HOW could something like this have happened without hardly anyone noticing?? Obviously Leopold was a typical manipulating and strategizing genius and leader, but he abused his power and exploited an entire culture to the point of dessimation. After reading Things Fall Apart and Affonso's attempts of trying to maintain some kind of boundary with these European outsiders, im finally beginning to understand the shock and disbelief of the people of the Kongo. Obviously a strong leader has to be someone willing to learn yet self confident enough to know when an outside force has gone too far, however for Affonso, having these important characterisitics wasnt enough. Leopold managed to twist and distort every situation and request from Affonso to his own benefit, and even though this happened 100 years ago, the world can STILL see the devestating effects the slave trade and colonization had on Africa and its inhabitants.
Just within the first 100 pages I already feel like Im learning so much and actually empathizing and identifying with Affonso...this is a tragic yet fascinating part of the past that has been covered up by "those who write history" and Im excited to continue to dive even deeper into King Leopold's Ghost and continue learning and questioning with every page that I read.
No comments:
Post a Comment