The Belgian Congo, as Zaire was once called and now the Democratic Republic of Congo, was the creation of King Leopold of Belgium who desperately wanted a colony. By the end of the 19th century, there was little land left to conquer except in Africa, and it had become obvious that seizing independent lands was neither wise nor practical. King Leopold II, King of the Belgians, was a man with an enormous appetite for both land and food: he once ate two whole pheasants in a restaurant in Paris, and it was not uncommon for him to he orders several main courses. Its colony was 75 times larger than Belgium. Stanley's explorations in Africa were becoming well known and sensational, and Leopold carefully courted him into a bargain - Stanley wisely demanded his payment in advance - that would allow Stanley to lead an expedition to build a road. in the heart of Africa. He had learned an important lesson during his search for Livingston: there was little military threat from the local inhabitants, who were sparsely populated and comprised of more than 200 ethnic groups speaking more than 400 languages, making it quite improbable a common effort against the white man. was more than a little misleading. In addition to sponsoring Stanley's expedition, he financed several other expeditions that attempted to reach the interior from the east. He also used several front organizations to try to hide his financial interests. Stanley himself was unaware that one of the "committees" had expired more than a year earlier and was being used by the king in name only. The cost of maintaining shipments and building the infrastructure needed to extract Congo's immense natural resource wealth quickly ran out. most of Leopold's fortune, so he managed to get... middle of paper...... bring up an unpleasant reality existing on the other side of the world. I thought it was a very moving and powerful book that sheds light on colonialism. Hochschild writes very well; At no point is the book boring or reading like a list. Hochschild is also directed. He doesn't whitewash - the good guys have flaws, and he mentions them. Hochschild leads the reader to think about how the West views Africa not only during the colonial period but even today. This is a book that everyone in Europe and the United States should read. What I really enjoyed was the fact that Hochschild not only focused on Leopold but also the reactions to him. Hochschild shows us what Europeans, Americans and Africans did to fight Leopald. I enjoyed discovering previously little-known heroes like Sheppard. I will never be able to look at the story of Stanley and Livingston the same way again..