I'm watching the 1933 production of the Emperor Jones, and it is giving me a severe case of deja vu.
In the movie, Brutus Jones (Paul Robeson) is sentenced to a chain gang for murder, escapes, and manages to trick his way into taking over a Carribean island country.
Once in power he crowns himself Emperor Jones, a pomp-loving and totally corrupt Mugabe-like ruler. He plans to drain the country completely dry in three years, then go into a very wealthy exile.
It was at this point that I began to get the deja-vooey feeling.
One day Jones goes to far. To punish a rebelleous village he orders his troops to burn it to the ground. The next day, his many servants and courtiers are gone -- they just don't show up. Emperor Jones impotently shouts orders in his empty hall. He soon comes to a sticky end.
Sic transit.
(P.S. if you're thinking about watching the film (it's on Turner Classic Movies once in awhile) a word of warning -- the film is very racially insensitive (it could never be made today).)