The Failed Equatorial Guinea Coup of 2004: When Margaret Thatcher’s Son Tried to Take Over an African Country

When a group of moneyed English gentlemen and ex-South African soldiers set out to take over an oil-rich African country, they didn’t bank on the fact that Africa has changed since the days of colonialism.

Way back in 1883, King Leopold of Belgium wrote the following letter to a group of missionaries who would travel to Congo. Two years later, Leopold would become the absolute monarch of Congo, a land of fabulous resource wealth and terrible human poverty. He won the agreement of other European states by convincing them that his aims were philanthropic; that he would help the Congolese people. However, he went on to use his rule to enrich only himself.

“Reverends, Fathers and Dear Compatriots: Your task is delicate and requires much tact. You will go to the Congo to evangelize, but your evangelisation must inspire above all Belgian interests. Your principal objective is not to teach the niggers to know God. They know him already…