The historical narrative of the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of violence, exploitation, and captivity.
For 300 years, its peoples were seized and enslaved in the Americas and elsewhere (c1500-1885).
Then, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Belgian imperial rule was imposed and maintained through systematic genocide and pillage of Congo’s resources (1885-1960). 10 million people were beaten, killed, and forcibly conscripted to build infrastructure for the colonial state, and to harvest and export natural resources for Europe.
Congo’s post-colonial history has been more of the same – predatory structures of power, violence and war, extraction of natural resources, and rampant poverty continue to hold Congo’s people captive (1960-present).