The Violence of Empire: The Tragedy of the Congo-Océan Railroad

The gruesome history of the Congo-Ocean Railway, a forgotten chapter in the story of colonial Africa.

In September 1927, a 30-year-old man was taken from his village in the French colony of Equatorial Africa. Malemale's experiences in the following months were not unlike tens of thousands of other Africans 'recruited' for work far to the south on a massive railroad project. Colonial officials were meant to guarantee Malemale's safety, providing him with food, clothing and shelter. In reality, recruiters took men like Malemale at gunpoint, chained him by the neck to other men, and drove them with whips for weeks to a camp in the regional capital of Bangui. THE VIOLENCE OF EMPIRE tells the troubling story of the Congo-Ocean, one of the deadliest construction projects in history.

Drawing on a rich variety of sources, J. P. Daughton captures in vivid detail the experiences of the men, women, and children who worked on it. The result is an eye-opening account of an extraordinary episode of colonial violence that has long been overlooked.