Jules Marchal

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Jules Marchal (born September 5, 1924 in Limbourg , † June 21, 2003 in Hoepertingen ) was a Belgian diplomat and historian who researched and published extensively on the history of colonial exploitation in the Belgian Congo since 1975 . He was the Belgian ambassador in various African countries ( Ghana , Liberia and Sierra Leone ). He originally wrote in Dutch under the pseudonym A. M. Delathuy , and later published in French under his own name . According to the book Censorship of Historical Thought , Marchal is said to have not been given access to the archives of the Foreign Ministry for eight years, in particular those of the official investigation commission of 1904-5 into King Leopold II's misgovernment of the Free State of the Congo .

The American author Adam Hochschild praised Marchal's work in his bestseller King Leopold's Ghost on the Belgian crimes in the Congo as by far the best scientific overview, encyclopedic in scope .

In his work Missie en Staat in Oud-Kongo, 1880-1914 on the history of missions , Marchal dealt with the role of the White Fathers , Scheutists and Jesuits (Vol. 1) as well as the Redemptorists , Trappists , Sacred Heart Priests and Fathers von Mill Hill (Vol. 2).

Well-known quote

“Lorsque j'ai été ambassadeur au Liberia, j'ai lu dans un journal ce qui est bien connu dans tous les pays de langue anglaise à savoir que la colonization du Congo par Léopold II ya diminué de moitié la population, entraînant un nombre de morts estimé à 10 millions. J'ai aussitôt cherché à rassembler les preuves que ce n'était qu'un mensonge, et cela pour défendre la réputation de la Belgique dont j'étais responsable en tant qu'ambassadeur. Mais les preuves que c'était un mensonge, évidemment, je ne les ai jamais trouvées. Je me suis mis alors à chercher, chercher et j'ai écrit plusieurs milliers de pages sur le Congo en compulsant à l'infini les archives. Quand Hochschild a eu le projet d'écrire son livre sur le Congo de Léopold II, il a contacté l'un des grands historiens belges spécialistes de la colonization, Van Sina qui enseigne à l'Université du Wisconsin. Van Sina n'a pas recommandé ses propres collègues à Hochschild, ni Stengers, ni Vellut (etc.), mais il a dit à Hochschild d'aller me trouver. L'histoire, la recherche scientifique sur le Congo ... Ces gens devraient s'offusquer de ce que j'ai fait leur travail. Car tous ces historiens n'ont jamais exposé le système à l'exception de Jean-Philippe Peemans mais qui n'a écrit que sporadiquement. Savez-vous que l'Union minière finance encore aujourd'hui une chaire africaine à Louvain-la-Neuve?

Free German translation: When I was ambassador to Liberia , I read in a newspaper what is well known in all English-speaking countries, namely that the colonization of the Congo by Leopold II halved the population, which led to a number of deaths, estimated at ten million dead. I immediately tried to gather evidence that it was a lie and to defend Belgium's reputation, for which I was responsible as ambassador. But the evidence that it was a lie I never found. I began searching, searching, and wrote several thousand pages about the Congo, going through the archives endlessly. When Hochschild had his book project on the Congo Leopold II, he contacted one of the great Belgian historians of colonialism, Van Sina , who teaches at the University of Wisconsin . Van Sina did not recommend Hochschild, Stengers or Vellut (etc.) to his own colleagues, but told Hochschild to come and see me. The history, the scientific research on the Congo ... These people should be offended that I did their job. Because none of these historians have exposed the system, with the exception of Jean-Philippe Peemans , who only wrote sporadically. Do you know that the Union Minière in Louvain-la-Neuve is still funding an African professorship? "

Publications

  • (as AM Delathuy) ED Morel to Leopold II en de Kongostaat , 1985
  • (as AM Delathuy) Jezuïeten in Congo met zwaard en kruis , 1986
  • (as AM Delathuy) De Kongostaat van Leopold II: het lost paradijs, 1876–1900 , 1988
  • (as AM Delathuy) De Geheime documentatie van de Onderzoekscommissie in de Congo State , 1988
  • Missie en Staat in Oud-Congo, 1880–1914. Witte paters , scheutisten en jezuïeten , 1992 ( Review by Jean-Luc Vellut in Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire , 1995, Volume 73, n ° 73-2, pp. 530-536)
  • Missie en Staat in Oud Congo, 1880–1914. Redemptorists , Trappists , priests van het H. Hart , paters van Mill Hill , 1994
  • L'Etat libre du Congo: paradis perdu: l'histoire du Congo 1876–1900 , 2 vols., 1996.
  • ED Morel contre Léopold II: l'histoire du Congo, 1900-1910 , 2 vols, 1996.
  • Forced labor in the gold and copper mines: a history of Congo under Belgian rule, 1910–1945 , Popenguine, Senegal: Per Ankh, 2003. Translated by Ayi Kwei Armah from the French Travail forcé pour le cuivre et pour l'or , 1999 .
  • Travail forcé pour le cuivre et pour l'or. L'Histoire du Congo 1910-1945, Tome 1 , 1999
  • Travail force pour le rail. L'histoire du Congo 1910–1945, Tome 2
  • Travail force pour l'huile de palm de Lord Leverhulme. L'Histoire du Congo 1910-1945, Tome 3 , 2002
  • Lord Leverhulme 's ghosts: colonial exploitation in the Congo , London: Verso, 2008. Translated by Martin Thom from the French Travail forcé pour l'huile de palme de Lord Leverhulme . Introduction by Adam Hochschild .

literature

  • Adam Hochschild : King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa (1998; new edition 2006), ISBN 0-330-49233-0 ( partial online view )
    • German: shadow over the Congo. The story of one of the great, almost forgotten crimes of humanity , Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-608-91973-2
  • Guy Vanthemsche: "The historiography of Belgian colonialism in the Congo." In: Csaba Lévai (Ed.): Europe and the world in European historiography. PLUS-Pisa University Press, 2006, ISBN 978-88-8492-403-2 .
  • Gustaaf Janssens: "The Belgian Monarchy and Albert I: Knight King and Prince of Peace?" In: Martin Wrede (Ed.): The staging of the heroic monarchy: Early modern royalty between knightly inheritance and military challenge (= historical magazine / supplements, volume 62) . Oldenbourg Verlag Munich 2014 ( partial online view )

Web links

References and footnotes

  1. ↑ Antoon de Baets (Ed.): Censorship of Historical Thought: A World Guide, 1945-2000. 2001, p. 66 ( partial online view )
  2. ↑ Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja: The Congo: From Leopold to Kabila: A People's History . Zed Books, 2002, ISBN 978-1-84277-053-5 , p. 56. ("the best scholarly overview by far, encyclopedic in scope")
  3. ↑ Poursuite du travail forcé après Léopold II , interview with Jules Marchal, Toudi mensuel n ° 42-43, decembre-janvier 2001–2002
personal data
SURNAME Marchal, Jules
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Delathuy, AM (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian diplomat and historian
DATE OF BIRTH September 5, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Limbourg
DATE OF DEATH June 21, 2003
Place of death Hoepertingen