Cartoon depicting King Leopold II’s stranglehold on the people of Congo

Martin Scorsese and Harry Belafonte are working together to produce a mini-series about King Leopold II’s brutal reign in the Congo. The project is currently in the early stages of production. While specific details are not yet being divulged, it is speculated that Scorsese and Belafonte are conducting interviews in search for writers as well as compiling research on the historical aspects of the mini series. Scorsese is rumored to direct the first episode, with subsequent episodes featuring other top name directors.

The mini series will shed light on a macabre period in the Congo from 1865-1909. King Leopold II, who was also known as the Butcher of Congo, was a Belgian monarch who set his sights on the Congolian rubber trade. The process of exploiting the region’s natural resources, which entailed enslaving local people to work on rubber plantations, made Leopold the richest man at the world at one point. His Abir Congo Company created a corporate state that robbed Congo of its wealth and resources – many of these abuses were blatantly disregarded in Europe, and further ignored because of Leopold’s kinship to British Queen Victoria and the copious amounts of wealth it brought to the European continent. Leopold was said to have mutilated and murdered up to 10 million Congolese, cutting off their hands and genitals if they did not meet quotas. His reign is characterized by other horrors such as starving people, burning down villages and beating them to death. It was not until British Diplomat Robert Casement brought these atrocities to light that any action was taken (and even then very little was done). It was a period which embodied some of the worst colonialist atrocities committed, and Belafonte’s mini series may shed light and draw stark comparisons between the rubber trade of the late 19th Century, and the exploitation of Africa which continues today.

Belafonte is an American Calypso singer-songwriter. He is known for his strong voice as a humanitarian, social, and political activist. Building off his love of performing arts, Belafonte will contribute his own awareness and interest in the time period in order to make the show as historically accurate and compelling as possible.

Scorsese, who is known for directing particularly violent films such as Goodfellas and The Departed also has some experience depicting menacing historical figures in the show Boardwalk Empire. His renowned talent combined with Belafonte’s passion will hopefully deliver an authentic and entertaining mini series that will educate audiences on the Congo’s grisly history.

— Jada Green