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The Eyes of Another Race: Roger Casement's Congo Report and 1903 Diary

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Roger Casement's Congo Report (1903)

"The people have not easily accommodated themselves to the altered condition of life brought about by European government in their midst...Complaints as to the manner of exacting service are . . frequent . . . If the local official has to go on a sudden journey men are summoned on the instant to paddle his canoe, and a refusal entails imprisonment or a beating. If the Government plantation or the kitchen garden require weeding, a soldier will be sent to call in the women from some of the neighboring towns. . .; to the women suddenly forced to leave their household tasks and to tramp off, hoe in hand, baby on back, with possibly a hungry and angry husband at home, the task is not a welcome one."

Roger Casement's Congo report, 1903

Roger Casement was Britain's Consul-General in the Congo when he received orders to investigate reports of mistreatment of Congolese Natives by agents of Belgian King Leopold II.

Casement pursued these reports, and found ample evidence of atrocities, including the mutilation and cutting off of hands of Slaves who didn't pull their weight.
Casement's reports back to London helped seal the fate of Leopold's empire.
At the same time, Casement himself was being demonized for the so-called "Black Diaries" which purported to show homosexual propensities.
After his arrest, Scotland Yard found the diaries in Casement's home and copied them...distributing them to his political enemies in an attempt to discredit his Congo Report.
As World War I approached, Casement became an ardent proponent of Irish nationalism. He believed that Germany posed a potential answer to the Irish Question, and allied himself with the Axis. That misguided allegiance resulted in his trial and execution for Treason.
Casement's legacy was the public exposure of the villainy of colonialism; and his tragedy was his personal life; which had little to do with his professionalism and much to do with his reputation.