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The 1920s Coptis Revolt: Congo's Yellow Root Rebellion
In the early 1920s, the Belgian Congo saw a wave of resistance centered not on rubber or cotton, but on a medicinal plant: coptis, or yellow root. This episode explores the Coptis Revolt in the northeastern Ituri region, where local communities like the Lese and Mbuti fought back against a state-imposed monopoly on the harvesting of this valuable plant, used in traditional medicine and exported to China. Lucas and Luna discuss how the colonial administration, through the Office des Produits Agricoles du Congo (OPAC), tried to control the supply chain, sparking violent confrontations, forced…
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