The crimes of King Leopold II of Belgium are many and horrendous. If Dante was alive and writing "The Divine Comedy" at the start of the last century, he will surely have found a place on one of the lower levels of hell for Leopold II.

Leopold II's crime was to make the Congo his personal domain, and enslave the locals to produce rubber and ivory for Leopold's private profit. The quotas placed on the locals and the punishments meted out to them for failing to reach the quotas are harrowing, and the fact he got away with doing this for so long is nothing short of astonishing.

Ascherson covers the history of the Congo, tied in as it was with the Scramble for Africa, the barbarity of life in the Congo and the international move to eventually condemn Leopold II to give up the world's largest personal estate. There are other books that cover this piece of history but I would start with "The King Incorporated" to get the best introduction. ( )