Folks
With apologies to those who know the story of the Congo or have seen this documentary but for those who don't or missed this first time around on BBC Four, have a look at White King, Red Rubber, Black Death the dreadful story of how Belgium gave its king Leopold II 50 Million Francs in compensation for taking the Congo on as colony, in face of the atrocities he committed there.
An unsettling, disturbing story of greed and man's inhumanity to man on a par with the Holocaust or chattel slavery in America yet what Belgium's King Leopold II did in the Congo sadly, remains a footnote in European colonial history.
BBC 4 Storyville's White King, Red Rubber, Black Death goes some way to shedding some light on this dark, hidden piece of European colonial history and the part Britain played in exposing this dreadful wrong.
BTW Britain gave 20Million pounds in compensation to its slave owners
Regards
Michael
