Colonial Impotence: Virtue and Violence in a Congolese Concession (1911–1940)

Benoît Henriet

Open Access Published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg 2021

Colonial Impotence

Virtue and Violence in a Congolese Concession (1911–1940)

Benoît Henriet

Volume 3 in the series Africa in Global History

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110652734

Overview
Contents

About this book

In Colonial Impotence, Benoît Henriet studies the violent contradictions of colonial rule from the standpoint of the Leverville concession, Belgian Congo’s largest palm oil exploitation. Leverville was imagined as a benevolent tropical utopia, whose Congolese workers would be "civilized" through a paternalist machinery. However, the concession was marred by inefficiency, endemic corruption and intrinsic brutality. Colonial agents in the field could be seen as impotent, for they were both unable and unwilling to perform as expected. This book offers a new take on the joint experience of colonialism and capitalism in Southwest Congo, and sheds light on their impact on local environments, bodies, societies and cosmogonies.

Author / Editor information

Benoît Henriet, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.

Reviews

"This is a major contribution to the historiography of colonial central Africa and the growing literature on the concessionary model used in many different colonial contexts." – Jeremy Rich, Professor of History, Marywood University

***

"This compelling book unveils the importance of hubris and self-deception in the deployment of colonial capitalism.　Henriet recreates Leverville as a capitalistic site and a matrix of emotions and affects, of virtuous excesses and moral failures. His concept of 'impotence,' broadly conceptualized as a sexual, social, political, and economic formation, is an important addition to our knowledge of relations of power in the colony." – Florence Bernault, Centre d'histoire, Sciences Po (Paris)

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Table of figures Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Introduction: “Congo Atrocities!!!” Open Access Download PDF	1
Chapter 1: The virtuous enclave Open Access Download PDF	28
Chapter 2: Impotent agents Open Access Download PDF	47
Chapter 3: Ordering and evading Open Access Download PDF	71
Chapter 4: An indescribable ugliness Open Access Download PDF	95
Chapter 5: The concession embodied Open Access Download PDF	120
Chapter 6: A war against nature Open Access Download PDF	146
Conclusion: The concession experience Open Access Download PDF	169
Bibliography Open Access Download PDF	178
Index Open Access Download PDF	189

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg
Pages
- Front matter: 11
- Main content: 191
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 10
- Tables: 1
Keywords: Capitalism; Colonialism; Palm oil; Unilever

eBook

Published: June 21, 2021
ISBN: 9783110652734

Hardcover

Published: June 21, 2021
ISBN: 9783110648782

Paperback

Published: May 8, 2023
ISBN: 9783111257433