Yellala Falls

The Yellala Falls (Rapides de Yelala or Chutes Yelala; also spelled as Ielala) are a series of waterfalls and rapids on the Congo River just upstream from Matadi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The falls are the lowest of a long series of rapids that render the river unnavigable, forcing colonial explorers to travel by foot as far as the Stanley Pool 350 kilometres (220 mi) upstream.  The Congo is the third largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, and the deepest in the world. The section of river that ends with the Yellala falls has over 300 species of fish.

The Yellala Falls were reached by Europeans as early as 1485, when the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão took a group of men as far as the falls before they were forced to turn back by disease, probably malaria.  In that place he set a padrão, a large stone cross-shaped semaphore, endemic to Portuguese exploration, which was not discovered until 1911. The stone bears the words: "Aqui chegaram os navios do esclarecido rei D.João II de Portugal - Diogo Cão, Pero Anes, Pero da Costa." ("Here arrived the ships of illustrious John II, King of Portugal – Diogo Cão, Pero Anes, Pero da Costa".).

Congo River

Joseph Conrad's 1902 novella "Heart of Darkness" illuminated a Congo that is multi-layered and complex. "Congo" refers to many aspects of that densely forested, alluring land. The name signifies the nation, the jungle and the river. Since the Congo's first European explorers -- the Portuguese, led by Diogo Cão -- the river has beckoned to imaginations and mercenary spirits around the world. And now, the river, forsaken by colonialism and shouldering rusty, Industrial Age steamers on its banks, is a sought-after resource in the face of environmental adversity. It wields more hydroelectric power potential than almost any other river in the world.

This time, the possibility of tapping into the Congo River's hydroelectric potential is to pull the Congolese out of darkness -- literally. Some advocate groups substantiate that this goal is just as mercenary as the conquests of past centuries. When the river was newly discovered, vast resources like rubber, gold and ivory appealed to greedy Europeans who wanted to build up their own treasuries. And much of these resources, discounted as inconsequential by the indigenous people, were extracted from the nation with no recompense for its inhabitants. What's more, the people were enslaved to produce wealth for foreign nations.

People say that the river is murky brown, but for centuries now, historians have written about the Congo's bloody waters. From cannibalism to colonialism, and from modern political strife to the fearsome creatures that await their prey along the river, fantastic tales of death and near misses have corroborated the Congo's reputation as the heart of darkness.

Casement Report (part 3)

The Casement Report consisted of individual statements gathered by Casement himself, which included many detailed accounts of killings, mutilations, kidnappings and cruel beatings of the native population by soldiers of the Congo Administration of King Leopold. Copies of the Report were sent by the British government to the Belgian government as well as to nations who were signatories to the Berlin Agreement in 1885, under which much of Africa had been partitioned.

The British Parliament then demanded a meeting of the fourteen signatory powers to review the 1885 Berlin Agreement. The Belgian Parliament, pushed by socialist leader Emile Valverde and other critics of the King's Congolese policy, forced a reluctant Leopold to set up an independent commission of enquiry. Its findings confirmed Casement's report in every detail. This led to the arrest and punishment of certain Belgian officials, but Leopold managed to retain personal control of the Congo until 1908, when the Parliament of Belgium annexed the Congo Free State and took over its administration as the Belgian Congo.

I am going to take a brief detour from the Casement Report series to tell the story of what would become of Roger Casement following his consular investigation into atrocities in the Congo.

Casement was born September 1, 1864, in Dublin, Ireland. From 1892 to 1904 and from 1906 to 1911, Casement made several noteworthy contributions to the field of British consular service. His investigation of the brutal working conditions of the Congolese on rubber plantations owned by Belgium led to drastic reforms in Africa. He subsequently performed a similar service for workers on British rubber plantations in South America. In 1911 he was knighted for his humanitarian efforts and in 1912 he resigned from foreign service due to illnesses contracted during his work in foreign countries.

Casement returned to Ireland and became interested in the movement for Irish freedom from British rule. He journeyed to Germany and the United States seeking support for an Irish insurrection. In April 1916 Casement received a pledge of aid from Germany but it proved inadequate. He returned to Ireland hoping to curtail the planned Easter Rebellion, but British authorities apprehended him upon his arrival.

Accused of treason, Casement was put on trial. To add to the

sensationalism of the proceedings and the case against him, several of Casement's diaries were publicly distributed. These diaries contained accounts of practices considered to be homosexual in nature. Casement was not given the opportunity to confirm or deny the validity of the diaries and the genuineness of the papers is still in question today.

The evidence against Casement was deemed sufficient for a conviction and he was sentenced to be executed. Originally a Protestant, Casement converted to Roman Catholicism shortly before his death. On August 3, 1916, he was hanged in Pentonville Jail in London, England.

Casement Report (part 2)

Prior to the Casement Report there had been accounts coming in from the Congo alleging egregious human rights abuses and exploitation of the native population by King Leopold. For example, British journalist E. D. Morel wrote several articles about the atrocities committed against the Congolese in Leopold’s Congo Free State, prompting the British House of Commons to pass a resolution in 1902 which called o the British government to conduct an investigation regarding possible violations of the Berlin Agreement. As a result, the British consul at Boma in the Congo, Roger Casement, was instructed to investigate. His report published in 1904, which confirmed Morel's accusations, had a considerable impact on public opinion.

E.D. Morel

Casement met and became friends with Morel just before the publication of his report in 1904 and realized that he had found the ally he had sought regarding the Congo matter. Casement convinced Morel to establish an organization for dealing specifically with the Congo question. With Casement's assistance, he set up and ran the Congo Reform Association, which worked to end Leopold's control of the Congo Free State. Branches of the association were established as far away as the United States.

Casement Report

The Casement Report was a document of 1904 written by the British diplomat  Roger Casement (1864–1916), detailing abuses in the Congo Free State which was under the private ownership of King Leopold II of Belgium. 

This report was instrumental in Leopold finally relinquishing his private holdings in Africa. Leopold had had ownership of the Congolese state since 1885, granted to him by the Berlin Conference, in which he exploited its natural resources (mostly rubber) for his own private wealth.