View the H-Africa Discussion Logs by month
View the Prior Message in H-Africa's March 2002 logs by: [date] [author] [thread] View the Next Message in H-Africa's March 2002 logs by: [date] [author] [thread] Visit the H-Africa home page.
<pwilliams@mail.unomaha.edu> I have been watching this thread with interest and have learned some things in the process. I can't respond to the question about statistical reliability of estimates of the number dead, although Hochschild does indicate that his rather high estimates include death from a variey of causes, including the results of punitive state actions, population dislocations, and disease. More accurate statistics would be very helpful. In addition to the works of Morel, Twain, and other contemporary activists and publicists, some of the scholars I found the most helpful include Slade, Shaloff, Lagergren, Marchal, Benedetto, all but the latter have already been mentioned. My dissertation research included the study of one of the Protestant missionary groups, the Disciples of Christ Congo Mission, that joined in the Congo Reform Campaign in the early years of the 20th century. Other scholars have tended to dismiss the Disciples as complicitous with colonial abuses known collectively as "red rubber." I have been uncovering evidence to the contrary, and preparing it for presentation. Finally, I am interested in corresponding with anyone who does research on the Congo Reform Campaign, the history of the Congo Free State, or the role of Christian missions in the history of Congo generally. I am particulary interested in corresponding with anyone who has used the archives in Britain or Belgium relevant to these subjects.
|