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As part of the Treaty of Versailles, the major part of German East Africa was handed over to British control but Ruanda-Urundi, twice the size of Belgium but only about 2 percent of the size of the Congo, was confirmed as a Belgian colony by a League of Nations Mandate in 1924, later renewed as a United Nations Trust Territory. After the June 1960 elections, Lumumba became prime minister and Kasavubu the ceremonial president. (Colonizing other peoples, regardless of the justification . They favored the takeover of political power by the latter, a policy that succeeded in Rwanda but failed in Burundi. The lowest level of administration consisted of the indigenous authorities, the more or less "authentic" traditional African chiefs, who were strictly controlled by Belgian officials. From the late 1920s, some important mining companies had also developed a paternalistic policy aimed at stabilizing and controlling their labor force (Congo had one of the largest wage labor contingents in Africa). in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Only a tiny fraction of the Congolese population, the so-called volus, succeeded more or less in assimilating the European way of life, but their Belgian masters kept them at the bottom levels of the public service or private companies, without any short-term prospects of exercising responsible tasks. Rather than control the Congo as a colony, as other European powers did throughout Africa, Leopold privately owned the region. On 4 May 1843, the Guatemalan parliament issued a decree giving the district of Santo Toms "in perpetuity" to the Compagnie belge de colonisation[fr], a private Belgian company under the protection of King Leopold I of Belgium. Leopold had administered Katanga separately, but in 1910, the Belgian government merged it with the Belgian Congo. THE CAUSE OF DECOLONIZATION Belgian native policy, which had rigidified the ethnic boundaries between Tutsi and Hutu and consequently had exacerbated the ethnic identity of these groups, was largely responsible for the intensification of ethnic rivalry between these groups after the end of foreign rule. Why does an iron rod become a magnet when current is passed through a coil of wire wrapped around the rod? Belgians, including their government, adopted an ambivalent, even indifferent attitude towards their empire. However, the date of retrieval is often important. In 1877, the European country Belgium and King Leopold colonized the Democratic Republic of Congo. His regime in the Congo operated as a forced labor colony, with murder and mutilation as punishment for villagers who did not collect and supply the rubber quota they were given. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. New York: Barnes and Nobles. However, the Government was not in favor, arguing that this could result in political instability. Autocratic rule did not need to find ways of negotiating how different factions could cooperate within a sustainable, participatory system of governance or access a fair share of resources. In 1885 Leopold II secured U.S. recognition of his personal sovereignty over the Congo Free State. At the Berlin Conference in 1884, the USA, the Ottoman Empire and 12 European countries divided up most of the . On many occasions, the interests of the government and private enterprise became closely tied, and the state helped companies break strikes and remove other barriers raised by the indigenous population. Several Belgian colonial policies sowed the seeds of racial and ethnic rivalries that led to the killings of millions of Africans and also sent millions more into exile from the former Belgian colonies. When the Belgians took over the administration of Rwanda from the Germans in 1918, they significantly changed the Rwandese system of government and social relations. What is the meaning of healthcare system? The Congo From Leopold to Kabila. Belgiums other colony, Rwanda, was an independent monarchy until the Germans annexed it in 1899 and made it part of German East Africa. But from 1895 on, the Congo Free State, which Leopold ruled as an absolute monarch, was saved from bankruptcy by the growing demand for rubber. Their regime in the Congo used forced labour, and murder and mutilation on indigenous Congolese who did not fulfill quotas for rubber collections. In 1865 he succeeded his father, Leopold I, to the Belgian throne. While some Africans initially welcomed European rule, others opposed it from the start. No democratic institutions were established. POST-1945 HISTORICAL CONTEXTS These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. The large numbers of white immigrants who moved to the Congo after the end of World War II came from across the social spectrum, but were always treated as superior to black citizens. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"n0hifXIP06k4AZAYPfhaWe9Vz2rtENJE3ukkjTyT.f4-86400-0"}; This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Ruanda-Urundi was a part of German East Africa under Belgian military occupation from 1916 to 1924 in the aftermath of World War I, when a military expedition had removed the Germans from the colony. As a result, Lumumba asked the Soviet Union to help him bring Katanga back to Congo. The Belgians, in turn, gave the Tutsis privileged positions in politics, education, and business. Millions of Congolese died during this time. Despite Mobutus dictatorship, relative peace reigned during most of his regime. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. In precolonial Congo, established monarchies and kingdoms maintained order. Another notable kingdom was the Lunda kingdom of Nwata Kazembe, founded in the early eighteenth century and centered around the Luapula River near the Congo-Zambia border. Map of Africa in 1910. It is estimated that millions of Congolese died during this time. [17] Belgian colonizing efforts in Guatemala ceased in 1854, due to lack of financing and high mortality due to yellow fever and malaria, endemic diseases of the tropical climate. The age of modern colonialism began about 1500, following the European discoveries of a sea route around Africa's southern coast (1488) and of America (1492). Roughly 98% of Belgium's overseas territory was just one colony (about 76 times larger than Belgium itself) known as the Belgian Congo. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966. The new leader signed a peace treaty with the rebel groups and appointed four vice presidents hailing from former rebel groups. However, when independence came, the territories were ill-prepared for self-governance since little effort had been made to train and equip an African leadership. This well-planned genocide started when the Hutu presidents of Rwanda and Burundi were shot down, allegedly by Tutsi rebel soldiers. Le Congo: De la colonisation Belge l'indpendance, 2nd ed. By the 1870s, many European countries were looking to expand their control in Africa. Britain, France, Germany and Belgium had territories on the African continent. Stengers, Jean. The United States and Belgium provided the money that Mobutu used to bribe the Congolese army to commit treason against their properly elected government. ." When Belgium became a nation in 1830, it had almost no tradition of long-distance trade or colonial activity. It also had a small concession in China and was a co-administrator of the Tangier International Zone in Morocco. With support from a number of Western countries who saw Leopold as a useful buffer between rival colonial powers, Leopold achieved international recognition for the Congo Free State in 1885. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. As was the case with the other former German colonies, the League of Nations entrusted both of these territories to the victorious power as "mandates." Paris: Duculot, 1989. . Taking advantage of the political conflict between the president and the prime minister, Mobutu encouraged the military to revolt. These migrations created myriad problems both at the time and in subsequent periods. During both world wars, the Belgian Congo played a great role as purveyor of raw materials for the Allies, while the Congolese troops also engaged in warfare against the German and Italian forces. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. After several unsuccessful attempts in different parts of Asia and Africa, Leopold developed a keen interest in Central Africa. His rule was brutal and millions of Congolese died as a result. This was the situation until King Leopold II of Belgium made the Congo his personal possession, and it became the only colony owned and run by a single individual. The Belgians ruled over Congo from 1909 to 1960, while their rule over Rwanda lasted from 1918 to 1962. Yet, Leopold personally subscribed to what was sometimes called the "progressive" view of imperialism: That it had a moral justification as a civilizing mission. An agreement was reached between the Belgian and Chinese governments in August 1929 to return the concession to China. These countries accounted for more than 30% of Africa's population. The French first began colonizing Africa in the 17th century, although they did not start having a significant presence on the continent until the 19th century. In the Congo, the Belgians created an apartheid-like system between the Europeans (Belgians) living in Congo and the Congolese, thereby marginalizing the Congolese in their own society. King Leopold II of Belgium, frustrated by his nation's lack of international power and prestige, tried to persuade the Belgian government to support colonial expansion around the then-largely unexplored Congo Basin. "Belgium's African Colonies Along with several other European powers and the United States, as a result of the Boxer Rebellion, Belgium also gained a Concession of two square kilometers in Tientsin (or Tianjin; a Chinese Treaty port). They colonized Congo because the needed its resources like rubber to manufacture goods. Third, most of the ethnic tensions in these countries are caused by rapid population growth and the fight for scarce resources by the leaders of the various ethnic groups. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. Leopold II became known as the "Butcher of the Congo," where millions of Africans died as a result of the brutality of his rule. From early April 1994 through mid-July 1994, members, Africa, Modern U.S. Security Policy and Interventions, African American Catholics in the United States (History of), https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/africa-belgian-colonies. Although there were several political parties, the two most prominent were Joseph Kasavubus ABAKO, a party based among the Kongo people, and Patrice Lumumbas Congolese National Movement. Lumumba was assassinated within a few months of becoming Prime Minister. [3], Colonization of the Congo began in the late 19th century. Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. It was an apartheid type of social and political system. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. To summarize, the ethnic rivalries and tensions in the former Belgian colonies of Congo and Rwanda that escalated following independence and continued into the twenty-first century had their roots in the Belgian colonial administration. The so-called Colonial Charter of 1908 set out the main lines of the Belgian colonial system: a rigorous separation between the budgets of the colony and the mother country; a strict parliamentary control of executive power (in order to avoid the excesses of the former Leopoldian despotism); the appointment of a governor-general in Congo, whose powers were strictly limited by the metropolitan authorities; and a tight centralism in the colony itself, where provincial authorities were granted little autonomy. Kabilas inability to disarm the Hutu militia and to share power with his former Tutsi allies led to war with his allies. In 2001, when Kabila was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, he was succeeded by General Joseph Kabila, his son. [2] Belgian traders also extended their influence in West Africa but this too fell apart following the Rio Nuez Incident of 1849 and growing Anglo-French rivalry in the region. A third economic sector consisted of large-scale plantations (e.g., palm oil production by the enterprise founded by the British businessman William Lever [18511925]), also oriented toward export. The territory was granted independence in 1962, as the separate countries of Rwanda and Burundi in 1962, bringing the Belgian colonial empire to an end. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Which seven European countries placed virtually all of Africa under European control between 1880 and 1900?, What reforms did Muhammad Ali introduce during a 30-year reign in Egypt, What did Boers believe was ordained by God in relation to racial differences and more. Precolonial Rwanda under the monarchy was highly stratified. It was the activities of these extreme groups that led to the various episodes of genocide that reached appalling heights in 1994 with the killing of nearly one million people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, by extreme Hutus. ." New York: Macmillan. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. On July 14, the United Nations Security Council authorized a force to help to establish order in the Congo, but this force was unable to bring the seceded Katanga province to order. No foreign troops were to be allowed on the concession and Guatemalan troops were to garrison two forts that were to be built near the projected new town. It was during the Belgian colonial administration that the foundations for the postcolonial and present-day ethnic tensions and political instability were laid. In 1966 he renamed the Congolese cities of Lopoldville (Kinshasa), Stanley-ville (Kisangani), and Elisabethville (Lubumbashi). 1998. Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. . The final decade of the Belgian presence in the Congo was characterized by a notable improvement of the living standard of the growing black urban population. ." Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. On the Congo Free State's own domains, as well as on the vast tracks of land that had been conceded to private companies, brutal and repressive practices took the lives of large numbers of Africansthough exact figures are impossible to establish. that existed between the Europeans and the Africans. The whites had all the luxuries, and the native Africans lacked everything. During the 1940s and 1950s, the Congo had extensive urbanization, and the colonial administration began various development programmes aimed at making the territory into a "model colony". Relations among the Congolese peoples during the precolonial period were largely harmonious. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. All blacks saw this man as the devil of the Equator Before the European incursion into Rwanda and the Belgian colonization, Rwanda was united under the central leadership of an absolute Tutsi monarchy. Through intermarriage and socioeconomic contacts, interethnic strife was benign. Encyclopedia.com. These three protagonists had an enormous influence in the colony, and assisted each other in their respective ventures, even if their interests did not always coincide and, indeed, sometimes openly conflicted. The Belgian claim was never formally recognised and the proposal was dropped in 1908. EUROPEAN EFFORTS TO REINVENT OVERSEA, colony, any nonself-governing territory subject to the jurisdiction of a usually distant country. "[1] In 1876, he told delegates at an international conference on geography which he sponsored in Brussels that: To open to civilization the only part of our globe which it has not yet penetrated, to pierce the darkness which hangs over entire peoples, is, I dare say, a crusade worthy of this century of progress. Anticolonialism and nationalism found their way into the Congolese population comparatively lateindeed, not until the second half of the 1950s. Nairobi, Kenya: Paulines Publications Africa. These kingdoms, especially the Kingdom of Kongo, were comparably wealthy, and when the standard of living is high, people tend to get along well. [18], While the Compagnie belge de colonisation was granted the land in perpetuity, the concession did not become a colony in the political sense. In 1971, in a continuation of his Africanization policy, the Congo River was renamed the Zaire River and consequently, Congo was renamed the Republic of Zaire. The violence used by Free State officials against indigenous Congolese and the ruthless system of economic extraction had led to intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium to take official control of the country. Contents1 How did Belgium colonize Africa?2 Was [] Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. . He proclaimed himself king-sovereign of Congo Free State at a time when France, Britain, Portugal, and Germany also had colonies in the area. The United States, Belgium, and other Western governments aided Mobutu in overthrowing the government of Lumumba as part of their cold war rivalry with the communist bloc countries led by the Soviet Union. The term is also applied to a group of nationals wh, c. 1875 [15] By the 1950s the Congo had a wage labour force twice as large as that in any other African colony.[16]. 1972. OF DECOLONIZATION The Belgian colonial administration built some schools, railways, roads, plantations, mines, industrial areas, and airports. Anstey, Roger. For information concerning the period prior to that date, see Low Countries, history of. Immediately after independence on June 30, 1960, ethnic and personal rivalriesinfluenced by Belgium, other European nations, and the United Statessent the newly independent country into political crisis. In 1960, as the result of a widespread and increasingly radical pro-independence movement, the Congo achieved independence, becoming the Republic of Congo-Lopoldville under Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Kasa-Vubu. In the first years of the twentieth century, the Congo question became an important international issue, since the British government took this matter to heart, especially after an official enquiry commission, appointed by king Leopold, had confirmed the existence of excesses (1904). All the members of the castes seemed to be living in harmony until the Belgians came and brought ethnic conflict with them. The boundaries of Colonialism, like those of many literary eras, are difficult to draw. As the first census did not take place until 1924, it is difficult to quantify the population loss of the period and these figures have been disputed by some who, like William Rubinstein, claim that the figures cited by Adam Hochschild are speculative estimates based on little evidence. [4] By the turn of the century, however, the violence used by Free State officials against indigenous Congolese and the ruthless system of economic extraction led to intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium to take official control of the country, which it did in 1908, creating the Belgian Congo. The former colonial power cannot be solely blamed for all the atrocities and political instability that has characterized life in its now defunct empire, but a significant degree of responsibility is attributable. The Free State's expenses outstripped its incomes. Retrieved April 27, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/africa-belgian-colonies. Leopold II, King of the Belgiansas his coun, The Thirteen Colonies were British colonies in North America founded between 1607 (Virginia) and 1732 (Georgia). Many European countries wanted to colonize distant parts of the world in order to exploit the resources and "civilize" the inhabitants of these less-developed countries. N'Daywel Nziem, Isidore. The king imposed a harsh labor regime on the Congolese populations in order to extort ever-growing amounts of wild rubber. Belgium controlled several territories and concessions during the colonial era, principally the Belgian Congo (modern DRC) from 1908 to 1960 and Ruanda-Urundi (modern Rwanda and Burundi) from 1922 to 1962. From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over 10,000,000 km 2 (3,900,000 sq mi), the second largest empire in the world at the time behind only the Spanish Empire.During the 19th and 20th centuries, the French colonial empire was the second largest colonial empire in the world only behind the British Empire; it . Portugal's African ColoniesOne of the great ironies in the history of European colonialism is that the small country of Portugal established one of the first colonial empires and then retained its colonial possessions well after most other European nations had lost theirs. Such conditions led to opposition from other European powers, and the Congo Free State ceased to exist in 1908 when it was annexed by Belgium. Ethnic Conflict. Foreign Policy No. 2006. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). How can a teen start a clothing business? In 1876 Belgium's King Leopold II convened the Brussels Geographical Conference, which led to the formation of the African International Association. Any four countries? After Belgium began administering the colony, it generally maintained the policies established by the Germans, including indirect rule via local Tutsi rulers, and a policy of ethnic identity cards (later retained in the Republic of Rwanda). Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. The Portuguese colonial empire was the first and the last European empire overseas, from the conquest of Ceuta (1415), in Morocco, North Africa, until the formal handover of Macau to the People's Republic of China (1999). ." The aristocracy, who were essentially the Tutsi, owned all the land and earned tributes from the farmers, who were mainly Hutu. Hutus went on a rampage, killing Tutsis in their midst with the aim of exterminating them. Political instability created by tension between clan and central leadership in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, and tribal rivalry leading to genocide in Rwanda are at least in part the result of a colonial legacy that took far more from Africa than it gave. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. When did Germany colonize Tanzania? The city of Tianjin (Tientsin), a treaty port in China (18601945) included nine foreign-controlled concessions (Chinese: ; pinyin: zujie). When Belgium became a nation in 1830, it had almost no tradition of long-distance trade or colonial activity. If this small European country nevertheless succeeded in ruling a vast colony in Central Africa, this was due only to the tenacity of its second king, Leopold II (18351909). This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Although the figures are estimates, it is believed that as many as ten million Congolese died during the period,[7][8][9][10] roughly a fifth of the population. Very little money was invested in educationwhich was left to missionaries, mainly Roman Catholic, and consisted of basic literacy and numeracy. "Africa: Belgian Colonies Africans and Their History, 2nd ed. An increasing number of volunteers had joined the public service and the military in the Congo; Belgian Catholic missions had been protected and promoted by the Free State's authorities; the Belgian Parliament had granted loans to the Congo; and important private groups had started investing in colonial enterprises, particularly in 1906. North Africa experienced colonisation from Europe and Western Asia in the early historical period, particularly Greeks and Phoenicians . Mobutu was used as a Western stooge to stop an alleged communist incursion into Africa. Here are some facts about Belgian rule and the two countries' difficult bilateral ties since. In reality, Belgium's political parties and public opinion showed little interest in Congolese matters. Natives eventually faced dire conditions, characterized by displacement, forced labor, and taxation. Following the independence of both colonies, Belgium kept strong but eventful political and economical relationships with the three succeeding African republics, which still refer to the "special relationship" whenever that seems to suit: Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), Rwanda, and Burundi. Belgium's African ColoniesWhen Belgium became a nation in 1830, it had almost no tradition of long-distance trade or colonial activity. Leopold II, French in full Lopold-Louis-Philippe-Marie-Victor, Dutch in full Leopold Lodewijk Filips Maria Victor, (born April 9, 1835, Brussels, Belgiumdied December 17, 1909, Laeken), king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. The people, although classified as Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa, essentially spoke the same language. Revolts and violence against Tutsi, known as the Rwandan Revolution, occurred in the events leading to independence. Article 4 of the May 1842 Acte de concession clearly stated that the cession of the territory to the Belgian company did not involve, implicitly or explicitly, a cession of sovereignty over the territory, which would forever remain under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of Guatemala. After the assassination of Lumumba, many governments ruled Congo in rapid succession: variste Kimba, Joseph Ileo, Cyrille Adoula, and Moise Tshombe. It replaced the failed British Eastern Coast of Central America Commercial and Agricultural Company. He described his view of the colonial enterprise in these words: Our only program, I am anxious to repeat, is the work of moral and material regeneration, and we must do this among a population whose degeneration in its inherited conditions it is difficult to measure. The concept of internal colonialism has become so widely used and applied that almost every minority group in the world has b, The 1994 genocide in Rwanda represents one of the clearest cases of genocide in modern history. Harris, Joseph E. 1998. When France, in the early 1880s, started to develop a political hold along the banks of the lower Congo, the AIC (which, in the meantime, had hired the British explorer Henry Morton Stanley (18411904) as its local manager) also began to conclude treaties whereby African chiefs recognized the association's sovereignty. "Belgium's African Colonies Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. In 2006 a new constitution was written and approved for the Third Republic, and elections were conducted with Joseph Kabila emerging as victorious. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner. How do I move data from one tab to another in Excel? Belgium itself could not stay aloof, because of its growing involvement in the Congo Free State. They occupied a large part of this German colony. Tyrants: Historys 100 Most Evil Despots and Dictators. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. Germany had only been unified in 1871 and . In 1962, it got its independence from Belgium. So did Spain, Italy and Portugal by 1914. The Portuguese established a relationship with the king of Kongo but stayed in the modern Angolan coastal areas. Encyclopedia.com. Finally in 1908, Leopold was forced to hand over the Congo Free State, his personal fiefdom, to the Belgian state.