PDF A Short History of Transatlantic Slavery (I.B.Tauris Short Histories) by Kenneth O. Morgan in History

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From Belgian and French paratroops to Che Guevara and CIA funded Cuban B-26 pilots; the Congo has been a hotbed of African conflict in the late 20th century. When the colonial powers began retreating from Africa in the 1950s and 1960s; the Belgian Congo/Zaire became the bloodiest; most chaotic example of 'how not to do it'; and has remained so ever since. A vast region with huge mineral wealth; abandoned in 1960 with virtually no infrastructure or functioning government; it was immediately torn by civil wars.Many whites remained in-country; both as missionaries and to exploit the mines; and Belgian military advisors were caught up in the chaotic conflict that threatened them. White mercenary troops were hired; and in the 1960s these became famous world-wide for some dramatic rescue missions. Manipulated by mining interests; the rich province of Katanga/Shaba seceded from the Republic; Swedish; Irish and 14 other UN contingents had to intervene; and the UN Secretary General was killed there under suspicious circumstances. In the late 1960s even Che Guevara tried to stick his nose in; so the CIA got involved; providing T-28s and B-26s with mercenary Cuban exile pilots.In the 1970s; during the ruinous 30-year dictatorship of General Mobutu; periodic rebellions required the hasty insertion once again of Belgian and French paratroops to save European lives. From the mid-1990s the country split again; becoming the battleground for the largest African war in history; as armies and rebel groups from Rwanda; Angola; Zimbabwe; Uganda; Namibia and other countries crossed into the Congo to support one side or the other; or simply to loot the rich resources. Major operations ended - or paused - in 2002; but the old hatreds and constant lure of the Congo's natural resources continue to boil over into periodic outbreaks.Featuring specially commissioned full-color artwork and rare photographs; this is the harrowing story of the wars that ravaged Congo for four decades.