Leopold II of Belgium & The Congo | The World’s Only Privately Owned Colony

Journalist, historian, and author of King Leopold’s Ghost Adam Hochschild traces the history of the Congo, detailing the 19th-century colonial exploration and exploitation of the Congo under the infamous King Leopold II of Belgium and discusses the repercussions of his regime.

“This is the time when electricity spreads throughout the Western world, so rubber is essential; not only for automobile tires but for everything that had to do with electric wires. And that explains why rubber prices were so high.”

Jan Vansina, historian, “King Leopold’s Ghost”