In the Forest of No Joy: The Congo-Océan Railroad and the Tragedy of French Colonialism
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- Create Date：2021-08-07 16:20:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：J.P. Daughton
- ISBN：B08L5KSPX7
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Summary
The Congo-Océan railroad stretches across the Republic of Congo from Brazzaville to the Atlantic port of Pointe-Noir。 It was completed in 1934， when Equatorial Africa was a French colony， and it stands as one of the deadliest construction projects in history。 Colonial workers were subjects of an ostensibly democratic nation whose motto read “Liberty， Equality， Fraternity，” but liberal ideals were savaged by a cruelly indifferent administrative state。 Native workers were forcibly conscripted and suffered under hellish conditions—hunger， disease， rampant physical abuse—that resulted in at least 20，000–25，000 deaths。
In the Forest of No Joy captures in vivid detail the experiences of the men， women， and children who toiled on the railroad， and forces a reassessment of the moral relationship between modern industrialized empires and what could be called global humanitarian impulses—the desire to improve the lives of people outside of Europe。
In the Forest of No Joy captures in vivid detail the experiences of the men， women， and children who toiled on the railroad， and forces a reassessment of the moral relationship between modern industrialized empires and what could be called global humanitarian impulses—the desire to improve the lives of people outside of Europe。
Reviews
Viola
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"It was cheaper to replace workers who died with new ones than to keep them healthy。 In 1925 one doctor estimated nearly a quarter of new workers would not survive a year。" @daughton_pIn the Forest of No Joy。 By J。P。 Daughton。 Publisher: W。W。 Norton; 384 pages。“The statue of King Leopold II of Belgium that stands in sight of the royal palace in Brussels has been defaced dozens of times in recent years。 Activists have painted its hands and eyes red as a reminder of the brutality that Leopold unle "It was cheaper to replace workers who died with new ones than to keep them healthy。 In 1925 one doctor estimated nearly a quarter of new workers would not survive a year。" @daughton_pIn the Forest of No Joy。 By J。P。 Daughton。 Publisher: W。W。 Norton; 384 pages。“The statue of King Leopold II of Belgium that stands in sight of the royal palace in Brussels has been defaced dozens of times in recent years。 Activists have painted its hands and eyes red as a reminder of the brutality that Leopold unleashed in the Congo Free State， a territory in central Africa， at the end of the 19th century。 As many as 10m Congolese—or half of the population—might have perished as Europeans forced entire villages to collect rubber and ivory for export。”https://www。economist。com/books-and-a。。。 。。。more
Daniel Bergeleen
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"In the Forest of No Joy" is a valuable look at history that is not so distant from the present， yet almost entirely unknown by most living today。 While the atrocities of colonialism committed by European nations and the United States are well known， most students of history imagine these to have taken place long， long ago。 The construction of the Congo-Ocean railroad at the expense of tens of thousands of lives is not even a century old yet。 Daughton uses his book to examine how these state-spo "In the Forest of No Joy" is a valuable look at history that is not so distant from the present， yet almost entirely unknown by most living today。 While the atrocities of colonialism committed by European nations and the United States are well known， most students of history imagine these to have taken place long， long ago。 The construction of the Congo-Ocean railroad at the expense of tens of thousands of lives is not even a century old yet。 Daughton uses his book to examine how these state-sponsored atrocities were allowed/encouraged to take place as well as why the story is nearly forgotten by Europeans and Americans today。 A strong historical piece of writing supported by a wealth of primary source material， well documented by those who committed such cruel acts in the name of "progress"。 。。。more
Josh Coe
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“They plunder， they butcher， they ravish， and call it by the lying name of 'empire'。 They make a desolation and call it 'peace。’” Tacitus put these words in the mouth of Calgacus of the Caledonian Confederacy， a minority leader facing a colonial enemy at the height of its power。 Though nearly 2000 years separate this episode of Roman history from French Equatorial Africa， the quote could easily have come from this gripping， horrifying account of the construction of the Congo-Ocean railroad。 This “They plunder， they butcher， they ravish， and call it by the lying name of 'empire'。 They make a desolation and call it 'peace。’” Tacitus put these words in the mouth of Calgacus of the Caledonian Confederacy， a minority leader facing a colonial enemy at the height of its power。 Though nearly 2000 years separate this episode of Roman history from French Equatorial Africa， the quote could easily have come from this gripping， horrifying account of the construction of the Congo-Ocean railroad。 This account was gripping because J。 P。 Daughton’s scholarship and breadth of understanding were remarkable - preempting opposing arguments， unearthing the humanity of each actor， and conveying authority to the reader through thoroughness and thoughtfulness。 This account was horrifying because J。 P。 Daughton has resurrected the voices and experiences of the laborers who constructed the railroad， largely against their will。 They were the victims of bureaucracy， mismanagement， and ineptitude， and their daily lives were marked by dehumanizing negligence。It is shocking to think that these atrocities are so near。 It’s convenient to distance oneself from troubling episodes by relegating them to “the past。” This book is a reminder that our world allowed horrendous violence to be perpetrated against whole people groups with impunity - less than 100 years ago！ It causes me to think about entire nations differently， and to view modern nations with greater skepticism。 “There is something comforting believing that hateful madmen made empires violent。 In fact， negligence， denial， and assertions of humanity in pursuit of ‘progress’ often proved far more cruel。” Thank you to NetGalley and W。 W。 Norton & Company for the advance copy of this compelling expose！ 。。。more
The Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge
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"At a time of profound global inequality in care during Covid， the continuing impact of the European colonial empires of the 19th and 20th centuries has never been so clear。 This book by Stanford history professor （and my doctoral advisor） J。P。 Daughton is an accessible， humane， and harrowing account of the construction of the Congo-Océan railroad in interwar French Equatorial Africa。 At a cost of around twenty thousand African lives， this little-known tragedy embodied the contradiction between "At a time of profound global inequality in care during Covid， the continuing impact of the European colonial empires of the 19th and 20th centuries has never been so clear。 This book by Stanford history professor （and my doctoral advisor） J。P。 Daughton is an accessible， humane， and harrowing account of the construction of the Congo-Océan railroad in interwar French Equatorial Africa。 At a cost of around twenty thousand African lives， this little-known tragedy embodied the contradiction between European civilizing ambitions and their human costs at its most stark。 The book is meticulously researched - I found myself riveted by the detailed descriptions of the working and living conditions of the people who unwillingly toiled on this reckless and deadly project。 I was also fascinated by how cruelty could so easily coexist with a rhetoric of liberal humanitarianism that we continue to rely on as a bulwark against suffering。"-Yan Slobodkin， SIFK postdoc 。。。more
Chris Barsanti
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Uses the expensive， grueling， and ultimately somewhat pointless construction of the Congo-Ocean railroad in the 1920s and '30s to showcase not just how wantonly cruel French colonial officials were （over 20，000 workers， almost all Africans "recruited" to work via means indistinguishable from slavery， died） but how chaotic， ad hoc， and underfunded the entire empire was。 In many cases， workers died en masse because French officials were too disorganized。 As Daughton points out， much of the colonia Uses the expensive， grueling， and ultimately somewhat pointless construction of the Congo-Ocean railroad in the 1920s and '30s to showcase not just how wantonly cruel French colonial officials were （over 20，000 workers， almost all Africans "recruited" to work via means indistinguishable from slavery， died） but how chaotic， ad hoc， and underfunded the entire empire was。 In many cases， workers died en masse because French officials were too disorganized。 As Daughton points out， much of the colonial savagery visited upon Africans in the so-called Republic of Congo was due to French weakness， not Western superiority。 。。。more
Kendra
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