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Minerals and Violence

Jonathan Freedland takes the Long View of conflict over valuable resources in America in the 1870s and the Democratic Republic of Congo today.

In 1875, the US 7th Cavalry, led by Colonel Custer announced they’d found gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota, leading to a gold rush and the outbreak of the so-called Great Sioux War. 150 years later, today in the Democratic Republic of Congo, armed militia fight for control of gold mines, and mining for copper and cobalt leads to mass displacement of people. Jonathan Freedland investigates links between mineral extraction and armed conflict, then and now.
With:

Professor Kathleen Burk, Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary History at University College London
Guillaume de Brier, Researcher at the International Peace Information Service in Antwerp

Reader: Jason Barnett
Producer: Luke Mulhall

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28 minutes

Last on

Wed 25 Jun 2025 21:00

Broadcasts

  • Tue 24 Jun 2025 09:00
  • Wed 25 Jun 2025 21:00

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