Figure 1.--The colony shared a serious problem common with other European colonies--extremne social stratification based on race. The Europeand prospered, enjoying a life style usually above that which could be expected in Belgium itself. The Congolese native population in contrast lived in abject poverty. Her ewe see an example of the poverty. The press caption read, "Fight Against Disease: Two young boys of the Mutangobvillage drink theur first ratiin of milk, provided by UNICEF in a program of battle against protein-defiency diseases among children throughout Africa. Known as 'kwashiorkor', a combinatioin of conditions producing swollen stomachs and ugly skin blemishes, the sickness afflicting these young may someday be eliminated, as UNICEF supplies much-needed milk to 14 African countries." The village is nera Feshi. The phoohraoh was dated April 27, 1953. The questiin of course was why was UNICEF doing this and not the Belgian authoritiues.
The Belgian Parliament responding to reports of abuses and converted the Congo Free State into a Belgian colony. The worst excesses of Leopold's rule, especially forced labor, were ended.
Enforcement of the new regime ws at irst uneven as the concessionaire companies controlled large areas and the number of Belgian officials were small. The Belgian Government continued the basic approach of using the Congo to exploit its resources. Little effort was made to educate the Congolese people. The Belgians did make investments in railroads and other basic infrastructure, especially the infrastricture needed to exploit mineral and other resources. Beligian andother Europen companies developed large plantations and mines. The companies profited from both thge natural resources and cheap labor. The mineral resources of the south, both copper and diamonds, proved to be imensely profitable. As a region depending exclusively on the export of raw materials, the Belgian Congo suffers greatly during the slump of the 1930s. But by the same token World War II is a prosperous period. The Belgian Congo was one of the largest European colonies during World War II. It was also mineral rich and thus of some strategic importance. The major mineral was copper, but a liitlle known mineral (uranium) would take on enormous importance. Belgium as in World War I was a neutral country. The Germans lsaunched theie long-awaited western offensive with attacks in the Netherlsands and Belgium (May 10). The small Belgian Army resisted the, but was no match for the Wehrmacht ad Luftwaffe. After the German Army surrounded the Belgian Army, King Leopold III surrendered (May 27, 1940). The governor of the Congo, Pierre Ryckmans, recognized Pierlit's government-in-exile and the Germans did not have the capability to seize the Congo and other European collonies. The post-War period was a period of relative prosperity in the Belgian Congo. This drew increased immigration, mosdtly from Belgium. The European population tripeled in the post-War era from azmewre 34,000 in 1945 to to 113,000 in 1958. There was also a pronounced movement of the population to the expanding cities. Through World War II, the Congolese primarily lived in rural areas. The urban population began growing rapidly after the War. The population of the capital, Léopoldville, quadrupled from 100,000 to almost 400,000 in that same period. The colony shared a serious problem common with other European colonies--extremne social stratification based on race. The Europeand prospered, enjoying a life style usually above that which could be expected in Belgium itself. The Congolese native population in contrast lived in abject poverty. There was in the Belgian Congo until after World War II a complete absence of any effort to develop a local political structure beyond the Belgian colonial administration. No pne in the Belgian Congo, including the white settler had the right to vote and even elect advisory councils. This began to change only because of the pressure for independence in other European colonies, including actual grants of independence. In other colonies demands for chnge began before the War. Slowly this began to affect the native Congo population and by the 1950s there were political stirings even in the remote Belgian Congo.
Colonial Era (1908-1939)
The colonial era, as opposed to the King's personal estate began (1908). The Belgian Parliament responding to reports of abuses and converted the Congo Free State into a Belgian colony. The worst excesses of Leopold's rule, especially forced labor, were ended.
Enforcement of the new regime ws at irst uneven as the concessionaire companies controlled large areas and the number of Belgian officials were small. The Belgian Government continued the basic approach of using the Congo to exploit its resources. Little effort was made to educate the Congolese people. The Belgians did make investments in railroads and other basic infrastructure, especially the infrastricture needed to exploit mineral and other resources. Beligian andother Europen companies developed large plantations and mines. The companies profited from both thge natural resources and cheap labor. The mineral resources of the south, both copper and diamonds, proved to be imensely profitable. Mining companies built whole twons. Workers moved from the countryside to these new mining towns. The Belgian Colony was administered by a governor-general at Boma. A Colonial Council and colonial minister in Brussels set policy. The Congo was divided into 15 administrative districts. The new colonial adminstration made many improvements. The Belgian Government gave little attention to education. The Belgians to redeam their national reputation attempted to turn the Congo into a "model colony". The Belgians opened primary and and a few secondary schools. Christian missionaries (mostly Roman Catholic) were active in the Belgian Congo. They played a major role in building an educational as well as a public health system. The education system for the Congolese was almost entirely at the primary level. Officials finally founded two universities (mid-1950s). Unlike some colonial powers, many of the ethnic laguages were used in the new schools. Belgian doctors and medics worked on tropical diseases, an eradicated the sleeping disease. The Belgians set up perhaps the most comprehensive medical infrastructure in Africa. The Belgians developed the Congo economically, building railways, ports, roads and opening mines and plantations.
The Belgian Congo was one of the largest European colonies during World War II. It was also mineral rich and thus of some strategic importance. The major mineral was copper, but a liitlle known mineral (uranium) would take on enormous importance. Belgium as in World War I was a neutral country. The Germans lsaunched theie long-awaited western offensive with attacks in the Netherlsands and Belgium (May 10). The small Belgian Army resisted the, but was no match for the Wehrmacht ad Luftwaffe. After the German Army surrounded the Belgian Army, King Leopold III surrendered (May 27, 1940). The governor of the Congo, Pierre Ryckmans, recognized Pierlit's government-in-exile and the Germans did not have the capability to seize the Congo and other European collonies. Authorities in the Congo with the approval of the Belgian government-in-exile in London declared war on Italy (November 26, 1940), The step was more political and military. The Congo had very limited military caposabilities. The Belgians, however, wanted to establish their credentisals as a viable part of the anti-Axis coalition who wanted to be recognized as the legitiumate Belgian government after liberation. The Belgian force in the Comgo was known as the Force Publique commsnded by Major-General Gillaert. After the British defeated the Italian invasion force in Egypt (December 1940), they organized an offensive into Libya and East Africa (1941). The Germans came to the rescue of the Italians in Libya, but this was not possible in East Africa. The Brirish launcherd the East African campaign Sudan and Kenya. As the Cono bordered on Sudan, the Belgian colonia government supported the British offensive which was a multi-nationsal effort. South african troops played a major role. Two battalions of Congolese troops commanded by Gen. Gilliaert participated in the campaign. The Congo's minerals make an important contribution to the Allied war effort. And the Congo had uranium mines.
The post-War period was a period of relative prosperity in the Belgian Congo. This drew increased immigration, mosdtly from Belgium. The European population tripeled in the post-War era from azmewre 34,000 in 1945 to to 113,000 in 1958. There was also a pronounced movement of the population to the expanding cities. Through World War II, the Congolese primarily lived in rural areas. The urban population began growing rapidly after the War. The population of the capital, Léopoldville, quadruples from 100,000 to almost 400,000 in that same period. The colony shared a serious problem common with other European colonies--extremne social stratification based on race. The Europeand prospered, enjoying a life style usually above that which could be expected in Belgium itself. The Congolese native population in contrast lived in abject poverty. The Belgian officials made almost no effort to educate the Congolese and prepare them for good paying jobs. Christian missionaries did contruct a system of primary schools. Nor was there any effort to prepare the Congolese for self-government. In this regard, the Belgians have a worse record than the other European colonial powers. The Belgians persued a very paternalistic system--direct rule from Brussels. There was no effort to set up a political structure in the Congo, even among the European settlers. A reader has provided us some of his boyhood experiences from the Belgian Congo.
Political Stirings (early-1950s)
There was in the Belgian Congo until after World War II a complete absence of any effort to develop a local political structure beyond the Belgian colonial administration. No pne in the Belgian Congo, including the white settler had the right to vote and even elect advisory councils. This began to change only because of the pressure for independence in other European colonies, including actual grants of independence. In other colonies demands for chnge began before the War. Slowly this began to affect the native Congo population and by the 1950s there were political stirings even in the remote Belgian Congo. Important influences here were the colonial people educated in mission and other schools as well as those who went to the European mother countries or other modern countries. The Belgian Congo was more backward than most other colonies because the Belgians had done so lottle to educate the native population. Political parties began to organize. Here the
evolues (educated Congolese elites). By educated we mean mostly men who had some secondary education. Only a handful pf Congolese had university degrees which meant traveling abroad. Political parties meant that for the first time, the Congolese people had some kind of institutional representation within the colonial administration. And this include the future of the colony. The parties included a gammit of oinions about the Congo's future. One of the most radical parties was the Parti Solidaire Africain (PSA) which demanded immediate and complete independence. Belgian officials at first largely ignored the nacent political parties.
This soon proved impossible, largely because protests from the Congolese people began to destabilize the colony. The Belgians themselves contributed to this process. Before World War II, colonial officials had considerable autononomy. And during the War, with Belgium occupied by the Germans, colonial officials were left essentially independent. After the War the Belgian Government attempted to more closely administer their colonial empire. It did not work well. The basic impact was attempt to gain greater control over the colonial administration. They did this by increasing required reporting. The basic result was undermine the authority of the local administrators and their ability to control the colonies, especially the Colonies. So much reporting and paper work was required over incidents that local authorities who were reprimanded about the incidents began not reporting them. This occured at the same time that the Congolese people began to organize political parties and demand a role in governance.
Decolonization takes on greater force in Africa as Britain and France begin to grant independence to their colonies. The failure of colonial wars convince most Europeans , including the Belgians that indeoendence is inevitable. And the Belgians realize that they do not have the military capability to hold the vast Comngo by force. The Belgians as part of a belated effort to prepare the colony for the future held municipal elections in Léopoldville (modern Kinshasa) (1957). The Alliance des Ba-Kongo (Abako) won the election. This was a tribal-based party promoting the interests of the Bakongo tribal group. It was headed by Joseph Kasavubu. He championed a an independent Congo based on a federalist structure in which the Bakongo could enjoy adegree of autonomy in their area of the Congo. A firey, more radical political orator emerged during the transition period--Patrice Lumumba. Unlike Kasavubu, he belonged to a minor tribe and wanted a more centralized state. He founded the Congo's first nationwide party, the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) (1958). The Belgian Government sponsored talks in Brussels to consider the limited measures to to estanlish a degree of self rule. When they began there was no sense of urgency ad conditions in the Congo wre calm. This changed when riots begin in L?opoldville (January 1959). The riots are sparked when Belgian colonial authotities ban a scheduled political rally. Rioters loot and burn shops, break into houses, and attack Belgians and other Europeans. The police respondd with force and many Congelese are killed and wounded. The Belgium Givernments attempts to control the situation by commiting go independence and some unsocified future date. King Baudouin declares the Government's intention to offer full independence. Elections for a territorial assembly were previously set for December 1959. When Belgian authorities announce the elections, intense political activity begins. Political activity was a new phenomenon for the Congolese. They had had virtually no say in the colonial adminitration. The parties that emerged are primary established along tribal lines. For most Congolese the tribes were virtually theor only alleginces. The Congolese form a myriad of political partiesd. They register more than fifty parties are officially registered (November 1959). The only truly national party was Lumumba's MNC. There were, however, two other particularly important paries, both tribal-based parties with substantial regional support. Kasavubu's Abako party was supported by the Bakongo people in the coastal region. This was the region around L?opoldville and the powerful trading kingdom of Kongo (15th-17th centuries). The other was a party founded by Moise Tshombe in the mineral-rich southeastern province of Katanga. The elections were a non-event. Several parties boycotted them. This led to rising violence. The Belgian Government selected 96 party to a conference in Brussels (January 1960). Lumumba, Kasavubu and Tshombe are among the most important. The Belgians propose a 4r-year transition period leading to to independence. The delegates who agree on virtually nothing, do agree that they do not want to wait. Belgium which has no intention of fighting a colonial war, agrees to a hopelessly flawed rush to independence. Independence is set in 6 months (June 30, 1960).
