Congo - A Curse of Riches

Congo: A Curse of Riches is a companion historical documentary that accompanies Chapter 11:Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life in The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones. It appears on Disc 4 of Volume 2. It has a run-time of 32 minutes, 39 seconds.

Official Summary
''The Congo encompasses a million square miles of the richest land in Africa. Yet despite that wealth -- or perhaps because of it -- throughout their history the Congolese would nearly starve to death, economically and politically. Their vast riches would bring only suffering, corruption, and death.''

Summary
A history of the Congo, from Belgium's Leopold II, who owned it as his own private enterprise to Belgian colonial rule to Joseph Mobuto, who also exploited the resources for his own personal gain, and the modern civil war. The brutality of exploitation was only periodically interrupted by opportunities for self-determination, such as under Patrice Lumumba, the first democratically elected prime minister, who was assassinated.

Credits
Produced and Written by Karena O'Riordan.