Roger Casement was a human rights journalist and Irish revolutionary who was executed in 1916 by the British state for treason after trying to acquire military aid for Irish Republicans before the Easter Rising. Casement's work in the first decade of the 20th century exposed imperialist atrocities in the Congo and Peru.

Casement began his career working for Henry Morton Stanley and the African International Association, a front for King Leopold II of Belgium in his efforts to colonize the Congo.

In 1890, Casement met author Joseph Conrad, who had come to the Congo to pilot a merchant ship. According to author Liesl Schillinger, both were inspired by the idea that "European colonisation would bring moral and social progress to the continent and free its inhabitants 'from slavery, paganism and other barbarities.' Each would soon learn the gravity of his error."

In 1904, Casement published the "Casement Report", which, via interviews with workers, overseers, and mercenaries, exposed the enslavement, mutilation, and torture of natives on the rubber plantations. The report caused an international scandal and led to the creation of various reform organizations in the West.

A few years later, Casement traveled to the Putumayo District in South America, where rubber was being harvested in the Amazon Basin, and exposed the treatment of indigenous people in Peru. Finding conditions just as inhumane as what he witnessed in the Congo, Casement interviewed both the Putumayo and men who had abused them, publishing his findings in a first-person narrative that again caused an international scandal.

In November, 1914 Casement helped form the Irish Volunteers. He traveled to both the United States and Germany to both promote the Irish nationalist cause and acquire aid for it.

In 1916, Casement was captured by the British government and charged with high treason after he attempted to acquire military aid from Germany to aid the Irish nationalist cause. During trial proceedings, the government secretly circulated alleged excerpts from Casement's journals, the "Black Diaries", which detailed sexual acts with other men. The authenticity of these documents is still debated today.

Casement was hanged at Pentonville Prison on August 3rd, 1916 at 51 years old.

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  • Fartster [comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I would guess it's less the thing itself and more the feeling of being dismissed after asking for something repeatedly. They might think you were doing it on purpose, and combined with other life stress it just came to a head. I'm sure they will feel embarrassed about how they reacted. I find it's hard especially for men/masc people to address these kinds of situations. For your perspective, it's probably shocking but for them it likely built up over time and they don't have the skills to have addressed it earlier. Unless things get really nasty and personal, it sounds like it should just blow over.

      • Fartster [comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Yeah that doesn't sound too bad actually. I mean getting harshed on sucks, don't get me wrong but probably wont feel like a big thing in a few days. I think older friendships like that can be a bit more weird and have a level of intimacy to the friction. Just look after your own boundaries, maybe tell them you care but that you do better with a more calm style of communication.