Modern history

Congo: The Epic History of a People

Congo: The Epic History of a People

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.

INTRODUCTION - MAPS

Chapter 1. Central Africa Draws the Attention of East and West 1870–1885

Chapter 2. Congo Under Leopold II 1885–1908

Chapter 3. The Early Years of the Colonial Regime 1908–1921

Chapter 4. Growing Unrest and Mutual Suspicion in Peacetime 1921–1940

Chapter 5. The War and the Deceptive Calm That Followed 1940–1955

Chapter 6. A Belated Decolonization, a Sudden Independence 1955–1960

Chapter 7. A THURSDAY IN JUNE

Chapter 8. The Turbulent Years of the First Republic 1960–1965

Chapter 9. Mobutu Gets Down to Business 1965–1975

Chapter 10. A Marshal’s Madness 1975–1990

Chapter 11. Democratic Opposition and Military Confrontation 1990–1997

Chapter 12. The Great War of Africa 1997–2002

Chapter 13. New Players in a Wasted Land 2002–2006

Chapter 14. Hope and Despair in a Newborn Democracy 2006–2010

Chapter 15

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

SOURCES

NOTES

REFERENCES

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