“Belgium had no prior history in the slave trade, nor of African slaves. Léopold could fight against slavery without any hint of hypocrisy, even of the ahistorical type advanced by Hochschild. And it was slavery, not rubber operations, that contemporary observers viewed as the biggest threat to the people of the Congo.” SlaveryCongoLeopold IiCongo Free StateArab SlaveryCongo Slavery Book:King Hochschild’s Hoax: An absurdly deceptive book on Congolese rubber production is better described as historical fiction. Source: King Hochschild’s Hoax: An absurdly deceptive book on Congolese rubber production is better described as historical fiction.