The Crime of the Congo

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The Crime of the Congo - Wikipedia

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The Crime of the Congo
First edition (PDF)
Author	Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Language	English
Subject	Congo Free State
Published	London
Publisher	Hutchinson & Co
Publication date	1909
Publication place	United Kingdom

The Crime of the Congo is a 1909 book by British writer and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, about human rights abuses in the Congo Free State, a private state established and controlled by the King of the Belgians, Leopold II.

Synopsis

The book was intended as an exposé of the situation in the so-called Congo Free State (labelled a "rubber regime" by Conan Doyle), an area occupied and designated as the personal property of Leopold II of Belgium and where the serious human rights abuses were occurring. Indigenous people in the region were being brutally exploited and tortured, particularly in the lucrative rubber trade. In the introduction to The Crime of the Congo Conan Doyle wrote: "I am convinced that the reason why public opinion has not been more sensitive upon the question of the Congo Free State is that the terrible story has not been brought thoroughly home to the people", a situation he intended to rectify. Conan Doyle was "strongly of the opinion" that the crimes committed on the Congo were "the greatest to be ever known", and he lauded the work of the Congo Reform Association. Conan Doyle was dismissive of the annexation of the state by Belgium, a situation intended to end the personal rule of the King. Conan Doyle noted that slavery and ivory poaching continued to occur after annexation and that "The Congo State was founded by the Belgian King, and exploited by Belgian capital, Belgian soldiers and Belgian concessionnaires. It was defended and upheld by successive Belgian Governments, who did all they could to discourage the Reformers".^[1]

Reception

In the Daily Express the book was praised as "the most powerful indictment yet launched against the Belgian rulers of this bloodstained colony". The Express also noted that "After reviewing the early history of the Congo Free State Sir Arthur quotes the testimony of many unimpeachable witnesses regarding the brutalities of the 'rubber system' and the coldblooded mutilation and massacre of natives during the past fifteen years".^[2]^{[unreliable source?]}

Aftermath

Many academics who have analysed Conan Doyle's life^[who?] have noted his activism, including his authorship of The Crime of the Congo.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, Cambridge Scholars Publishing released a reprint of the work, in Collected Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.^[3]

References

^ Conan Doyle, Arthur (September 1909). Introduction (PDF). Windlesham, Crowborough: Hutchinson & Co., London. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-12-28. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ Atanasov, Miro (December 22, 2014). "Famous writers against an infamous king". Beijing University of Agriculture.
^ Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur (November 1, 2009). The Crime of the Congo (Collected Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) (Paperback ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 9781443814386.

External links

The Crime of the Congo at Project Gutenberg
The Crime of the Congo at the Internet Archive

v t e Arthur Conan Doyle
Bibliography
Sherlock Holmes (canon)	A Study in Scarlet (1887) The Sign of the Four (1890) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892) The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894) The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1904) The Valley of Fear (1914) His Last Bow (1917) The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927)
Professor Challenger	The Lost World (1912) The Poison Belt (1913) The Land of Mist (1926) "When the World Screamed" (1928) "The Disintegration Machine" (1929)
Other novels	The Narrative of John Smith (1883) [2011] The Mystery of Cloomber (1889) Micah Clarke (1889) The Firm of Girdlestone (1890) The White Company (1891) The Doings of Raffles Haw (1892) Beyond the City (1892) The Great Shadow (1892) The Refugees (1893) The Parasite (1894) The Stark Munro Letters (1895) The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard (1896) Rodney Stone (1896) The Tragedy of the Korosko (1898) A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus (1899) Adventures of Gerard (1903) Sir Nigel (1906) The Maracot Deep (1929)
Short stories	"J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884) "Lot No. 249" (1892) "The Case of Lady Sannox" (1893) "The Club-Footed Grocer" (1898) "The Brown Hand" (1899) "The Terror of Blue John Gap" (1910) "The Horror of the Heights" (1913) Danger! and Other Stories (1918)
Other	"The Inner Room" (1898) "The Crime of the Congo" (1909) The Vital Message (1919)
Depictions	FairyTale: A True Story (1997 film) Photographing Fairies (1997 film) Arthur & George (2015 miniseries) Houdini & Doyle (2016 miniseries)
Related	Adrian Conan Doyle (son) Jean Conan Doyle (daughter) Charles Altamont Doyle (father) John Doyle (grandfather) The Great Wyrley Outrages Undershaw (home)

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