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Belgian Congo

1908–1960 Belgian colony in Central Africa / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Belgian Congo (French: Congo belge, pronounced [kɔ̃ɡo bɛlʒ]; Dutch: Belgisch-Congo[lower-alpha 1]) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.

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Belgian Congo
1908–1960
Motto: Travail et Progrès
"Work and Progress"
Anthems: 
La Brabançonne
("The Brabantian")

Vers l'avenir[1]
("Towards the future")
The Belgian Congo (dark green) shown alongside Ruanda-Urundi (light green), 1935
The Belgian Congo (dark green) shown alongside Ruanda-Urundi (light green), 1935
StatusColony of Belgium
CapitalBoma (1908–1923)
Léopoldville (1923–1960)
04°18′24″S 15°16′49″E
Common languages
Religion
Catholicism (de facto)[5]
King 
 1908–1909
Leopold II
 1909–1934
Albert I
 1934–1951
Leopold III
 1951–1960
Baudouin
Governor-General 
 1908–1912 (first)
Théophile Wahis
 1958–1960 (last)
Hendrik Cornelis
History 
15 November 1908
30 June 1960
CurrencyBelgian Congo franc
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Flag_of_Congo_Free_State.svg Congo Free State
Republic of the Congo Flag_of_the_Republic_of_the_Congo_%28L%C3%A9opoldville%29_%281960%E2%80%931963%29.svg
Today part ofDemocratic Republic of the Congo
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Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. King Leopold II of the Belgians attempted to persuade the Belgian government to support colonial expansion around the then-largely unexploited Congo Basin. Their ambivalence resulted in Leopold's establishing a colony himself. With support from a number of Western countries, Leopold achieved international recognition of the Congo Free State in 1885.[7] By the turn of the century, the violence used by Free State officials against indigenous Congolese and a ruthless system of economic exploitation led to intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium to take official control of the country, which it did by creating the Belgian Congo in 1908.[8]

Belgian rule in the Congo was based on the "colonial trinity" (trinité coloniale) of state, missionary and private-company interests.[9] The privileging of Belgian commercial interests meant that large amounts of capital flowed into the Congo and that individual regions became specialised. On many occasions, the interests of the government and of private enterprise became closely linked, and the state helped companies to break strikes and to remove other barriers raised by the indigenous population.[9] The colony was divided into hierarchically organised administrative subdivisions, and run uniformly according to a set "native policy" (politique indigène). This differed from the practice of British and French colonial policy, which generally favoured systems of indirect rule, retaining traditional leaders in positions of authority under colonial oversight.[clarification needed]

During the 1940s and 1950s, the Belgian Congo experienced extensive urbanisation and the colonial administration began various development programs aimed at making the territory into a "model colony".[10] One result saw the development of a new middle-class of Europeanised African "évolués" in the cities.[10] By the 1950s, the Congo had a wage labour force twice as large as that in any other African colony.[11]

In 1960, as the result of a widespread and increasingly radical pro-independence movement, the Belgian Congo achieved independence, becoming the Republic of the Congo under Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and President Joseph Kasa-Vubu. Poor relations between political factions within the Congo, the continued involvement of Belgium in Congolese affairs, and the intervention by major parties (mainly the United States and the Soviet Union) during the Cold War led to a five-year-long period of war and political instability, known as the Congo Crisis, from 1960 to 1965. This ended with the seizure of power by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu in November 1965.