‘A Training School for Elephants' Review: Stomping Through Africa
Joseph Conrad called the depredation of the Congo 'the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience.' In 1908, following British reports of atrocities, Leopold was forced to pass the Free State to Belgium's civil administration so that the looting of African ivory and rubber might continue on a more respectable footing.
In 'A Training School for Elephants,' the British travel writer Sophy Roberts revisits a false start to Leopold's rampage. Apart from being ethically challenged, Leopold had a transport problem: There were no finished roads between the entrepôts of the East African coast and the raw materials of the interior.
In 1879 Leopold sent the Welsh-born American journalist Henry Morton Stanley to the interior to strike deals with local chieftains and set up trading stations. The Belgian king hired the Scottish shipping magnate William Mackinnon, who began building a road inland from the coast in modern-day Tanzania. And he tapped an Irish adventurer named Frederick Carter to test-drive four Asian elephants west from the coast to Lake Tanganyika.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
18 minutes ago
How a tear or two spooked markets and dominated UK's political narrative
LONDON -- The weekly session in which the British prime minister is questioned by lawmakers in Parliament can be an ordeal for the government leader. For Cabinet members, it's usually simply a matter of backing their boss. But on Wednesday the spotlight ended up on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves during the Prime Minister's Questions session because it became evident that she was crying as she sat beside Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It's not known what triggered the tears, later said to have been personal. They came as Starmer sought to fend off attacks that his year-old government was losing its authority and that he was about to fire Reeves to regain the initiative. Traders got spooked, with the interest rate charged on the U.K.'s 10-year benchmark bond in the markets up sharply, and the pound down. The moves were a sign investors had lost confidence in U.K. financial assets. Reeves had become associated with fiscal discipline, in particular a rule of covering day-to-day government spending with tax revenue, said Andrew Wishart, an economist at Berenberg Bank. 'The markets are concerned that if the Chancellor goes, such fiscal discipline would follow her out of the door," he added. With Starmer insisting Thursday that Reeves would remain in post, the markets calmed down. Prime Minister's Questions, or PMQs, can come as close to a gladiatorial contest as is possible in a modern legislative chamber. Very little deference is given to the man or woman holding the highest office in the land. The prime minister is considered the first among equals. Like all other members of Parliament, the prime minister represents one of 650 constituencies. And nowhere is that shared connection more noticeable than at noon every Wednesday in the House of Commons. Starmer stands for half an hour every week to be quizzed by friends and foes. He may get soft balls, but there's always a potential zinger around the corner. The leader of the biggest opposition party, currently the Conservative Party's Kemi Badenoch, has the best chance to knock the prime minister off course. With six questions, she can lay traps and go for the jugular. Typically it's more theater than substance, and the weekly shouting match is consistently the most-watched parliamentary event, viewed around the world, including on C-Span in the United States. This week's session appeared to have more at stake than usual following a chaotic run-up to a welfare reform bill. With scores of Labour lawmakers opposed, Starmer was forced to scrap key planks of the bill — at a cost, politically and economically. For a prime minister, with one of the biggest majorities in history, it was a sign of weakness. Many Labour MPs blame Reeves, for her rigid adherence to her budget rules. As usual, Starmer was flanked to his left by Reeves, who didn't look her usual self, clearly bloated around the eyes. Badenoch showed little mercy, describing Reeves as 'absolutely miserable' and a 'human shield' for Starmer. She asked Starmer whether he could repeat a pledge that Reeves would stay in her post until the general election, which has to take place by the middle of 2029. While praising Reeves' handling of the economy, Starmer didn't give that assurance, and it was around this point that Reeves wiped away a tear. 'How awful for the Chancellor that he couldn't confirm that she would stay in place," Badenoch responded. Starmer's Downing Street operation faced questions over Reeves' teary appearance. Could it have been hay fever? Had Starmer told Reeves she would be fired for the government's recent woes, which has seen Labour's approval ratings slide? Starmer's press spokesman said it was a 'personal matter,' insisted Reeves was 'going nowhere' and had the prime minister's 'full backing.' Later, Starmer told the BBC that Reeves would be Chancellor for a 'very long time' and that it was 'absolutely wrong' to suggest her distress was related to the welfare U-turn. Images of Reeves' agitated state were emblazoned across newspapers and remained a key item on the news agenda. Starmer repeated on Thursday that Reeves would remain Chancellor 'for years to come" and sought to explain why he hadn't comforted Reeves during PMQs. 'In PMQs, it is bang, bang, bang," he said at an event where he and Reeves hugged. "That's what it was yesterday and therefore I was probably the last to appreciate anything going on in the chamber.' Reeves appeared more like her usual self. 'People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday," she told Sky News. 'I guess the thing that is different from my job and many of your viewers is that when I'm having a tough day, it's on the telly.'
San Francisco Chronicle
33 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
How a tear or two spooked markets and dominated UK's political narrative
LONDON (AP) — The weekly session in which the British prime minister is questioned by lawmakers in Parliament can be an ordeal for the government leader. For Cabinet members, it's usually simply a matter of backing their boss. But on Wednesday the spotlight ended up on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves during the Prime Minister's Questions session because it became evident that she was crying as she sat beside Prime Minister Keir Starmer. It's not known what triggered the tears, later said to have been personal. They came as Starmer sought to fend off attacks that his year-old government was losing its authority and that he was about to fire Reeves to regain the initiative. Markets spooked Traders got spooked, with the interest rate charged on the U.K.'s 10-year benchmark bond in the markets up sharply, and the pound down. The moves were a sign investors had lost confidence in U.K. financial assets. Reeves had become associated with fiscal discipline, in particular a rule of covering day-to-day government spending with tax revenue, said Andrew Wishart, an economist at Berenberg Bank. 'The markets are concerned that if the Chancellor goes, such fiscal discipline would follow her out of the door," he added. With Starmer insisting Thursday that Reeves would remain in post, the markets calmed down. Prime minister's weekly ordeal Prime Minister's Questions, or PMQs, can come as close to a gladiatorial contest as is possible in a modern legislative chamber. Very little deference is given to the man or woman holding the highest office in the land. The prime minister is considered the first among equals. Like all other members of Parliament, the prime minister represents one of 650 constituencies. And nowhere is that shared connection more noticeable than at noon every Wednesday in the House of Commons. Starmer stands for half an hour every week to be quizzed by friends and foes. He may get soft balls, but there's always a potential zinger around the corner. The leader of the biggest opposition party, currently the Conservative Party's Kemi Badenoch, has the best chance to knock the prime minister off course. With six questions, she can lay traps and go for the jugular. Typically it's more theater than substance, and the weekly shouting match is consistently the most-watched parliamentary event, viewed around the world, including on C-Span in the United States. This week was fraught This week's session appeared to have more at stake than usual following a chaotic run-up to a welfare reform bill. With scores of Labour lawmakers opposed, Starmer was forced to scrap key planks of the bill — at a cost, politically and economically. For a prime minister, with one of the biggest majorities in history, it was a sign of weakness. Many Labour MPs blame Reeves, for her rigid adherence to her budget rules. As usual, Starmer was flanked to his left by Reeves, who didn't look her usual self, clearly bloated around the eyes. Badenoch showed little mercy, describing Reeves as 'absolutely miserable' and a 'human shield' for Starmer. She asked Starmer whether he could repeat a pledge that Reeves would stay in her post until the general election, which has to take place by the middle of 2029. While praising Reeves' handling of the economy, Starmer didn't give that assurance, and it was around this point that Reeves wiped away a tear. 'How awful for the Chancellor that he couldn't confirm that she would stay in place," Badenoch responded. The immediate political aftermath Starmer's Downing Street operation faced questions over Reeves' teary appearance. Could it have been hay fever? Had Starmer told Reeves she would be fired for the government's recent woes, which has seen Labour's approval ratings slide? Starmer's press spokesman said it was a 'personal matter,' insisted Reeves was 'going nowhere' and had the prime minister's 'full backing.' Later, Starmer told the BBC that Reeves would be Chancellor for a 'very long time' and that it was 'absolutely wrong' to suggest her distress was related to the welfare U-turn. A day on Images of Reeves' agitated state were emblazoned across newspapers and remained a key item on the news agenda. Starmer repeated on Thursday that Reeves would remain Chancellor 'for years to come" and sought to explain why he hadn't comforted Reeves during PMQs. 'In PMQs, it is bang, bang, bang," he said at an event where he and Reeves hugged. "That's what it was yesterday and therefore I was probably the last to appreciate anything going on in the chamber.' 'People saw I was upset, but that was yesterday," she told Sky News. 'I guess the thing that is different from my job and many of your viewers is that when I'm having a tough day, it's on the telly.'
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China aircraft carrier 'Shandong' draws crowds in first Hong Kong visit
By Joyce Zhou and Jessie Pang HONG KONG (Reuters) -China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Shandong, sailed into Hong Kong waters on Thursday in its first visit to the Asian financial hub, accompanied by three People's Liberation Army vessels including missile destroyers. The five-day visit, coming soon after Hong Kong marked the 28th anniversary of its return from British to Chinese rule, is one of the biggest shows of Chinese military force in Hong Kong in recent years. China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was rebuilt from a decommissioned Soviet naval vessel and visited Hong Kong in 2017. Last month, both these Chinese ships had conducted the first known dual aircraft carrier operation in the Pacific, in what senior Taiwanese and Japanese officials said signified China's expansionist aims beyond its borders. Stretching 315 meters in length and weighing up to 70,000 tonnes, the Shandong passed through Hong Kong waters before anchoring on the western edge of Victoria Harbour with J-15 fighter jets and Z-18 helicopters on its flight deck. The Chinese missile destroyer Zhanjiang and the missile frigate Yuncheng docked at a PLA naval base on Stonecutter's Island, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The tradition of Hong Kong hosting some of the world's most advanced warships extends back to the decades before 1997, when the city returned to Chinese rule. It was once one of the most popular destinations in Asia for U.S. Navy port visits. After 1997, China still allowed some U.S. Navy ships to visit, including aircraft carriers like the USS Kitty Hawk in 2008, USS Nimitz in 2010, and USS Ronald Reagan in 2018, but as geopolitical tensions grew, these U.S. port visits became rarer and were eventually blocked altogether by Beijing. Hong Kong leader John Lee welcomed the Chinese strike group, noting that thousands of public tickets to visit the flotilla had been snapped up. Lee said the public could "gain a deeper understanding of the achievements in (China's) national defense modernisation." Some spectators gathered along the shoreline with binoculars and zoom lenses to catch a distant glimpse of the ships. "To see this kind of development, where within 20 to 40 years it has progressed to the current level, is very impressive," said Richard Yip, who travelled from his hometown of Dongguan in southern China's Guangdong province. "Not every country can achieve this."
