Rubber Justice

Combining family and colonial history, this book tells the story of the Congo Free State from the perspective of human rights advocates. From 1885 to 1908 King Leopold II of Belgium was busy exploiting Congolese labour to produce a maximum amount of wild rubber for minimum cost, intent on enriching himself in a booming rubber market. The shameful abuses during this period cost the lives of millions of Congolese. This is an account of the whistleblowers – travellers, missionaries and administrators – who fought this corruption, often at great personal cost. The work of the Congo Reform Association in the UK is described, with a focus on the three founders: Roger Casement, Edmund Morel, and the author’s grandfather Dr Harry Guinness. Guinness was the London-based leader of the Congo Balolo Mission in the upper Congo where the worst atrocities were committed. Of special interest is a re-examination of the political role played by missionaries in achieving reform.