A visionary developer and master planner; James Rouse was a key figure in the story of how and why the United States was built the way it was during the last half century. This engaging biography touches upon all aspects of Rouses life.
#1018666 in eBooks 2004-04-01 2012-03-01File Name: B00A2B8DAQ
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Burrowing into Congo history and cultureBy Robert E. SmithAllen F. Roberts. A Dance of Assassins: Performing Early Colonial Hegemony in the Congo. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press; 2013.What a profound analysis of an incident in the colonial history of Congo (RDC). Roberts takes the power struggle between Emile Storms of Belgium and Lusinga lwa Ngrsquo;ombe of Congo 1882-1884; and turns it like a kaleidoscope to examine from three perspectives: colonial history; anthropology; and Belgian sociology/history.The incident itself is the attempt by Storms; a Belgian native (who ends up being a head-hunter!); to create an outpost of the Belgian empire at Lubanda on the southwestern shores of Lake Tanganyika; now Katanga Province. His three years there are described in abundant detail; thanks in part to the many documents he produced. He perceived Lusinga as a threat to his domination of the area; and in 1884 sent a band of armed men to defeat him; which they did by trickery; first dancing and bringing a gift of a rifle that Lusinga had requested. Then they attacked; cut off his head; and brought it back to Storms. Storms eventually sent the skull to the museum at Tervuren (now named the Royal Museum of Central Africa). The title of the book refers to the dancing of these assassins.The second perspective is that of anthropology; Robertsrsquo; profession. He spent two years in Lubanda in the mid 1970s; studying in depth the culture of the Tabwa people there and in the area; a culture influenced by Luba culture. Roberts uses this deep knowledge to analyze the dynamics of the bloody encounter between Storms and Lusinga a century earlier.A third perspective is that of Belgian sociology and history. Lusingarsquo;s skull ended up in the museum; where it joined scores of others being analyzed by anthropologists of that late 19th century; as they measured skulls and worked out schemas of what was popular at the time: tracing phony evolution from inferior (black) to superior (white) races. Roberts analyzes the displays of artifacts from Congo both in the museum and in the Stormsrsquo; upscale Brussels home (he ended up a general). He places these displays in the context of the scientific and artistic fads of the day. Overall; one sees the colonial push to create the impression of the gift of Belgiumrsquo;s ldquo;superiorrdquo; civilization to the benighted colonized Africans. And; in Congo; one sees the violent conquest of the country during King Leopoldrsquo;s reign.Roberts has a rich vocabulary and a profound knowledge of the issues currently debated by historians and anthropologists. The bibliography is impressive; with 31 pages of small print entries. Sometimes his statements are speculative; and the book can make difficult reading at points; but it leads to new insights into this amazing encounter between two ambitious and aggressive leaders; one European and one African.