Bongili: Congolese testimonies of the Leopoldian rubber exploitation. Surveys conducted by Edmond Boelaert between 1942 and 1947 among survivors   [in French only, with English abstract]

Introduction

From 1942 to 1948, Boelaert came into contact with the populations living around the mission station of Flandria-Boteka, on the Momboyo river. Boelaert's sixth sense for patterns of colonial exploitation led him to investigate the impact of colonisation on the traditional Mongo societies. In this monograph on the Bongili, originally published in Aequatoria 1947, 17-34, he starts off with an overview of the precolonial history of this group, proceeding then to a description of its history under the reign of king Leopold II. Boelaert provides us with very precise details on the families that were decimated during the Leopoldian rubber campaigns. Boelaert bases his account on interviews he had with survivors and direct witnesses.