Congo: The Epic History of a People

by David Van Reybrouck

Overview

“A magnificent, epic look at the history of the region. . . . A monumental contribution to the annals of Congo scholarship” (Christian Science Monitor).

The International Bestseller

From the beginnings of the slave trade through colonization, the struggle for independence, Mobutu's brutal three decades of rule, and the civil war that has raged from 1996 to the present day, Congo: The Epic History of a People traces the history of one of the most devastated nations in the world. Esteemed scholar David Van Reybrouck balances hundreds of interviews with a diverse range of Congolese with meticulous historical research to construct a multidimensional portrait of a nation and its people.

Epic in scope yet eminently readable, both penetrating and deeply moving, Congo—a finalist for the Cundill Prize—takes a deeply humane approach to political history, focusing squarely on the Congolese perspective, and returns a nation’s history to its people.

“A compelling mixture of literary and oral history that delivers an authentic story of how European colonialism, African resistance, and the endless exploitation of natural resources affected the lives of the Congolese.” —Booklist

“A vivid panorama of one of the most tormented lands in the world.” —Washington Post

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062200136
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/11/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	658
Sales rank:	125,403
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

David Van Reybrouck is an award-winning author, acclaimed playwright, reporter, and poet who holds a doctorate from Leiden University. He has traveled extensively throughout Africa and has been actively involved in organizing literary workshops for young Congolese writers. He lives in Brussels.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations xiii

Introduction 1

1 New Spirits: Central Africa Draws the Attention of East and West 1870-1885 29

2 "Diabolical Filth": Congo Under Leopold II 1885-1908 57

3 The Belgians Set Us Free: The Early Years of the Colonial Regime 1908-1921 101

4 In the Stranglehold of Fear: Growing Unrest and Mutual Suspicion in Peacetime 1921-1940 141

5 The Red Hour of the Kickoff: The War and the Deceptive Calm That Followed 1940-1955 181

6 Soon to be Ours: A Belated Decolonization, a Sudden Independence 1955-1960 227

7 A Thursday in June 267

8 The Struggle for the Throne: The Turbulent Years of the First Republic 1960-1965 281

9 The Electric Years: Mobutu Gets Down to Business 1965-1975 331

10 Toujours Servir: A Marshal's Madness 1975-1990 363

11 The Death Throes: Democratic Opposition and Military Confrontation 1990-1997 395

12 Compassion, What is That?: The Great War of Africa 1997-2002 433

13 La Biere Et La Prière (Suds and Sanctity): New Players in a Wasted Land 2002-2006 463

14 The Recess: Hope and Despair in a Newborn Democracy 2006-2010 499

15 COM 537

Acknowledgments 557

Sources 561

Notes 583

References 597

Index 619

Editorial Reviews

Balancing research with personal testimonies, Van Reybrouck . . . presents a panoramic account of Congo’s turbulent past.

New York Times Book Review: Paperback Row

Van Reybrouck…spent years working on this overview of the Congolese people. Its translation from Dutch, by Sam Garrett, is a piece of luck for English-speaking readers. This is a magnificent account, intimately researched, and relevant for anyone interested in how the recent past may inform our near future…Van Reybrouck's bibliography alone is worth the cover price. But what distinguishes the book is its clearheadedness. He patiently reminds us that Congo will always be a case apart because of its wealth…Washington think tanks are obsessed with Afghanistan, that other plummeting state, but Afghanistan looks like a distraction in planetary terms compared with what Congo is and what it becomes, what is kept alive there and what is dug up there.

The New York Times Book Review - J. M. Ledgard

12/09/2013
Belgian author Van Reybrouck begins this prolonged tale of woe with the first arrival of Europeans in this central African land, whose imperialistic intention toward its inhabitants was to “free them from the wolf trap of prehistoric listlessness.” His ensuing history relates the Congo’s Christianization by Portuguese Jesuits, Italian Capuchins, and eventually Jehovah’s Witnesses, as well as the role played by foreign foodstuffs—such as Mexican corn and Brazilian manioc—in everyday Congolese life. Addressing the historical complexities of slavery, Van Reybrouck avers that, to many Congolese, “lavery was not being subjugated, it was being separated, from home.” The narrative also portrays larger-than-life personages, including charismatic prophet Simon Kimbangu and long-reigning dictator Joseph Mobutu. While the Congolese adapted over time to the European lifestyle, many eventually wished “to be civilized Congolese, not ‘Europeans with a black skin.’ ” The prospect of independence from Belgium in June of 1960 held out hope for the nation, but “the breakneck emancipation of Congo was a tragedy that could only end in disaster.” Van Reybrouck’s extensive account reveals the depth and breadth of exploitation, particularly under Belgian colonial rule, and how Congo’s story is one fraught with the toxic cycle of “desire, frustration, revenge.” (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

This is a magnificent account, intimately researched, and relevant for anyone interested in how the recent past may inform our near future… Van Reybrouck’s bibliography alone is worth the cover price. But what distinguishes the book is its clearheadedness.” — New York Times Book Review

“Balancing research with personal testimonies, Van Reybrouck . . . presents a panoramic account of Congo’s turbulent past.” — New York Times Book Review: Paperback Row

“A vivid panorama of one of the most tormented lands in the world… A valuable addition to the rich literature that Congo has inspired.” — Washington Post

“Van Reybrouck’s carefully researched and elegantly written book takes in the reader with compelling portraits of ordinary people that enrich what would otherwise be a fairly conventional historical narrative.” — Foreign Affairs

“A magnificent, epic look at the history of the region… A monumental contribution to the annals of Congo scholarship.” — The Christian Science Monitor

“[A] detailed and well-researched biography, thoroughly rooted in the lived experience of the Congolese… It is clear that the author is not your typical historian dryly publishing his findings, but a literary artist with a pen almost as sharp as Lumumba’s tongue.” — ThinkAfricaPress.com

“... a compelling mixture of literary and oral history that delivers an authentic story of how European colonialism, African resistance, and the endless exploitation of natural resources affected the lives of the Congolese.” — Booklist

“Van Reybrouck’s extensive account reveals the depth and breadth of exploitation, particularly under Belgian colonial rule, and how Congo’s story is one fraught with the toxic cycle of ‘desire, frustration, revenge.’” — Publishers Weekly

“Van Reybrouck makes a good case for the importance of Congo to world history and its ongoing centrality in a time of resurgent economic colonialism, this time on the part of China. — Kirkus Reviews

“a monumental history . . . more exciting than any novel.” — NRC Handelsblad

“An unbelievable tour de force.” — Humo

“An absolute masterpiece!” — VPRO Radio

“Breathtaking.” — Trouw

“Van Reybrouck tells his story . . . through numerous astute and intelligent voices of the Congo citizens and storytellers. . . . [Van Reybrouck] is not just an historian but a significant ethnographer who deeply cares about the people whose history he is narrating.” — Rain Taxi

“If you are looking to read one book on Congo this year, this is it. David Van Reybrouck combines deep historical investigation with extensive ethnography. The result is an illuminating narrative.” — Mahmood Mamdani, Director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research and author of Good Muslim, Bad Muslim

“A well-documented and passionate narrative which reads like a novel. [..] As an eye, a judge, and a witness, a talented writer testifies.” — V.Y.M. Mudimbe, author of The Invention of Africa

“Congo is a remarkable piece of work. Van Reybrouck [keeps] a panoramic history of a vast and complex nation accessible, intimate and particular.” — Michela Wrong, author of In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz

From the Publisher

a monumental history . . . more exciting than any novel.

NRC Handelsblad

A vivid panorama of one of the most tormented lands in the world… A valuable addition to the rich literature that Congo has inspired.

Washington Post

A magnificent, epic look at the history of the region… A monumental contribution to the annals of Congo scholarship.

The Christian Science Monitor

... a compelling mixture of literary and oral history that delivers an authentic story of how European colonialism, African resistance, and the endless exploitation of natural resources affected the lives of the Congolese.

Booklist

Van Reybrouck’s carefully researched and elegantly written book takes in the reader with compelling portraits of ordinary people that enrich what would otherwise be a fairly conventional historical narrative.

Foreign Affairs

[A] detailed and well-researched biography, thoroughly rooted in the lived experience of the Congolese… It is clear that the author is not your typical historian dryly publishing his findings, but a literary artist with a pen almost as sharp as Lumumba’s tongue.

ThinkAfricaPress.com

This is a magnificent account, intimately researched, and relevant for anyone interested in how the recent past may inform our near future… Van Reybrouck’s bibliography alone is worth the cover price. But what distinguishes the book is its clearheadedness.

New York Times Book Review

Balancing research with personal testimonies, Van Reybrouck . . . presents a panoramic account of Congo’s turbulent past.

New York Times Book Review: Paperback Row

Breathtaking.

Trouw

Van Reybrouck tells his story . . . through numerous astute and intelligent voices of the Congo citizens and storytellers. . . . [Van Reybrouck] is not just an historian but a significant ethnographer who deeply cares about the people whose history he is narrating.

Rain Taxi

If you are looking to read one book on Congo this year, this is it. David Van Reybrouck combines deep historical investigation with extensive ethnography. The result is an illuminating narrative.

Mahmood Mamdani

An absolute masterpiece!

VPRO Radio

Congo is a remarkable piece of work. Van Reybrouck [keeps] a panoramic history of a vast and complex nation accessible, intimate and particular.

Michela Wrong

A well-documented and passionate narrative which reads like a novel. [..] As an eye, a judge, and a witness, a talented writer testifies.

V.Y.M. Mudimbe

An unbelievable tour de force.

Humo

... a compelling mixture of literary and oral history that delivers an authentic story of how European colonialism, African resistance, and the endless exploitation of natural resources affected the lives of the Congolese.

Booklist

A vivid panorama of one of the most tormented lands in the world… A valuable addition to the rich literature that Congo has inspired.

Washington Post

08/01/2014
This sprawling history describes the country throughout three eras: the precolonial Congo Free State privately controlled by Leopold II of Belgium, the colonial Belgian Congo, and the postindependence Democratic Republic of the Congo. Included are numerous interviews that aim to provide a "bottom-up" view of the country. These interviews, intertwined with historical sources, lead to a somewhat muddled presentation of the colonial period but successfully describe contemporary times. Van Reybrouck, a Belgian historian, frequently resorts to creative nonfiction as he imagines the responses of the Congolese to Europeans. He criticizes the starkness of Adam Hochschild's best seller King Leopold's Ghost, a recounting of the exploitation of the country by Leopold, and instead aims for "nuance" in his portrayal. While briefly mentioning the extreme violence imposed by colonial policies, the author's scrupulous attempts at subtlety fail to provide specifics, and he avoids a discussion of the death toll, simply saying that it is "impossible" to know. VERDICT Despite these problems, the distinct scope and conversational style will appeal to the general reader of historical works. The postindependence narrative is engaging and untangles the events behind recent civil wars.—Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston Sch., New York

Library Journal

2014-02-20
Sprawling portrait of a land that, by Belgian writer van Reybrouck's account, has been at the center of world history as well as a continent. The subtitle is a touch off, for as the author notes, Congo is home to hundreds of peoples, even if there is "great linguistic and cultural homogeneity" owing to the dominance of Bantu-speaking tribes. About 10 percent of all Africa falls within its borders, as well as most of the 2,900-mile-long river that gives it its name. It has been independent of Belgian colonialism for half a century—longer, observes the author, than most of its people have been alive. Still, van Reybrouck turns up some old-timers (one claiming to have been born in the 19th century) to frame his long story of the land's development, one that hinges on generations of trade along the river. Since independence, the country has fallen into disrepair born of political discord and official corruption. The country's four major cities are no longer connected by road, of which Congo possesses only 600-odd asphalt miles; as a rule of thumb, "a journey that took one hour during the colonial period now corresponds to a full day's travel." Yet this is no paean to past colonial splendor; van Reybrouck well recognizes the murderous policies of Belgium's King Leopold, and he sees some hope for stability emerging from conditions that otherwise have served as a recipe for a failed state. The causes for the decline have been many, but as the author notes, the country had to endure in just the first six months of independence a flight of the European colonials, an invasion by the Belgian army, a military mutiny, a coup d'êtat, widespread secession and a protracted hot season in the long Cold War. Though the book is overlong, van Reybrouck makes a good case for the importance of Congo to world history and its ongoing centrality in a time of resurgent economic colonialism, this time on the part of China.

Kirkus Reviews