Podcast
Behind the Bastards
It was discussed as the source of information for the podcast episode, describing the attempted coup and the involvement of Simon Mann, among others. The book provided insights into the motivations, planning, and the eventual failure of the mercenary operation.
'Mann however was a little different.'' ''He was as likely to wear a crumpled business suit'' ''and rimless spectacles as camouflage or chest webbing.'' ''He was an early example of a new sort of merc...
— Episode: Part Two: The Dumbest Coup In World Hist...
Episode: Part Two: The Dumbest Coup In World History
It was discussed as the source of information for the podcast episode, describing the attempted coup and the involvement of Simon Mann, among others. The book provided insights into the motivations, planning, and the eventual failure of the mercenary operation.
'Mann however was a little different.'' ''He was as likely to wear a crumpled business suit'' ''and rimless spectacles as camouflage or chest webbing.'' ''He was an early example of a new sort of mercenary,'' ''the type familiar with company law,'' ''bank transfers and investor agreements'' ''as with the workings of a Browning pistol.'
'families told of husbands and fathers who scrabbled at the chance of well-paid work.'' ''No questions asked.'
'you can see why this is tempting. It's fun, it could work, you trust the leaders.'' ''Some of the guys did it for the kicks because life is boring.'
'it was a casual conversation at a drinks party around a swimming pool about a security project at an African mine.'
'The two most potent general threats are, one, as it is potentially a very lucrative game, we should expect bad behavior, disloyalty, rampant individual greed, irrational behavior, kids in toy shop style, backstabbing, bumfucking, and similar ungentlemanly activities. Two, if the result is not seen by the outside world as noticeably better than the current situation, our position there and anything other than the very short term will be hard to sustain, and our involvement will be more likely to be the subject of unfavorable scrutiny.'
Episode: Part One: The Dumbest Coup In World History
It was quoted to describe the state of Fernando Poe under Spanish colonialism and how it was ill-prepared for independence due to a lack of development and political rights for the native population.
So I'm going to quote next from a book called The Wonga Coup by Adam Roberts for a picture of how Fernando Poe fared under colonialism.
Quote, in 1936, the British novelist Graham Green, who was generally fond of West Africa, dismissed the dreadful little Spanish island where there existed a mild form of slavery that enabled a man to pawn his children.
Towards the end of its two centuries of rule, Spain did little to improve the lives of those it ruled.
The colonial power set up an economy based on cocoa plantations and a reasonable school system.
By the second half of the 20th century, equatorial Guineans were less poor than most Africans thanks to exports of cocoa.
But few Spaniards settled and native Africans were denied political rights and economic chances.
When independence loomed, the Spanish organized hasty polls to find a new government.
Spain, under its own dictator, General Franco, was hardly qualified to promote democracy, and equatorial Guinea was ill-prepared when in late 1968 it became the 126th member of the United Nations.
Episode: Part Two: The Dumbest Coup In World History
It was discussed as a book that was written about the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea, which was a successful book for the author despite the failed attempt.
But the first part was really just a more general description about the history of coups in Africa as both a literary tradition and as a real attempted thing ending with the terrible story of the dictators of Equatorial Guinea.
...where you like attempt to overthrow a sovereign nation in order to make a profit and fail but still get rich off of the book.
...by the turn of the year, Wales's ideas and presumably Mann's had expanded to something grander in Equatorial Guinea.
...He proposed forming a company controlled by Mann and his closest plotters to run Equatorial Guinea with Moto as a puppet leader.
...the two most potent general threats are, one, as it is potentially a very lucrative game, we should expect bad behavior, disloyalty, rampant individual greed, irrational behavior, kids in toy shop style, backstabbing, bumfucking, and similar ungentlemanly activities.
Episode: Part One: The Dumbest Coup In World History
It was quoted to provide a depiction of how Fernando Poe fared under colonialism, highlighting the lack of development and the exploitation of the native population.
Quote, in 1936, the British novelist Graham Green, who was generally fond of West Africa, dismissed the dreadful little Spanish island where there existed a mild form of slavery that enabled a man to pawn his children.
Towards the end of its two centuries of rule, Spain did little to improve the lives of those it ruled.
By the second half of the 20th century, equatorial Guineans were less poor than most Africans thanks to exports of cocoa.
No food in the shops, no water, no electricity, no kerosene for the lamps. At night we walked in blackness.
Nightclubs and schools closed. Missionaries were chased from the country.
Episode: Part One: The Dumbest Coup In World History
It provided a historical summary of the period of Spanish colonialism in Equatorial Guinea and details of the suffering inflicted on the local population.
Quote, in 1936, the British novelist Graham Green, who was generally fond of West Africa, dismissed the dreadful little Spanish island where there existed a mild form of slavery that enabled a man to pawn his children.
Towards the end of its two centuries of rule, Spain did little to improve the lives of those it ruled.
The colonial power set up an economy based on cocoa plantations and a reasonable school system.
Health campaigns reduced the impact of tropical diseases, at least on Fernando Poe.
But few Spaniards settled and native Africans were denied political rights and economic chances.
Episode: Part One: The Dumbest Coup In World History
It was quoted to provide context on the Spanish colonial history of Equatorial Guinea, including a mild form of slavery and a cocoa-based economy, that ultimately led to its poor state during independence.
Quote, in 1936, the British novelist Graham Green, who was generally fond of West Africa, dismissed the dreadful little Spanish island where there existed a mild form of slavery that enabled a man to pawn his children.
Towards the end of its two centuries of rule, Spain did little to improve the lives of those it ruled. The colonial power set up an economy based on cocoa plantations and a reasonable school system. Health campaigns reduced the impact of tropical diseases, at least on Fernando Poe.
But few Spaniards settled and native Africans were denied political rights and economic chances.
No food in the shops, no water, no electricity, no kerosene for the lamps. At night we walked in blackness. Yes, for 11 years we walked in blackness.
Nightclubs and schools closed. Missionaries were chased from the country. Macias, like Pol Pot in Cambodia, launched a campaign against the educated and they began to disappear.