King Leopold's Congo and the "Scramble for Africa": A Short History with Documents

Description

"Featuring a clever introduction and judicious collection of documents, Michael Rutz's book neatly captures the drama of one king's quest to build an empire in Central Africa-a quest that began in the name of anti-slavery and free trade and ended in the brutal exploita-tion of human lives. This volume is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in the history of colonial rule in Africa." - Jelmer Vos, University of Glasgow

Michael A. Rutz is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. He lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

"Rutz has assembled an excellent collection of excerpts from contemporary sources for the history of King Leopold of Belgium's Congo Free State. The collection includes key documents and the familiar voices of the Free State's European and American critics, as well as much less well-known African voices. These sources will be very useful to understanding the history of one of the most egregious and notorious regimes in colonial Africa." David Northrup, Emeritus, Boston College "Rutz fulfills his objective of providing an excellent collection of historical documents for introductory courses, and scholars teaching the topic will find in his book a useful resource for their classes." Marcos Leitao de Almeida, Northwestern University, in African Studies Review