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. //. The history of Colonialism as a policy or practice go, Amin, Idi c. 1925-2003 EUROPEAN EFFORTS TO REINVENT OVERSEA, LEOPOLD II (18351909; ruled 18651909), king of Belgium and personal sovereign of the Congo Free State. Finally in 1908, Leopold was forced to hand over the Congo Free State, his personal fiefdom, to the Belgian state. Leopold II was absolute ruler of Congo. The Belgian colonial empire consisted of three African colonies possessed by Belgium between 1901 to 1962. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. 1998. In the west, it 'acquired' Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Southern Cameroon, and Sierra Leone; in the east, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania were under Britain rule; and in the south, Britain successfully overtook South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho, Botswana, and Swaziland. Under the cloak of humanitarian and scientific interests, he then created successive private organizations, the most important of which was the Association Internationale du Congo (AIC). The Belgian claim was never formally recognised and the proposal was dropped in 1908. They also shared the same culture, ate the same or similar foods, and practiced the same religion. Nairobi, Kenya: Paulines Publications Africa. When Belgium became a nation in 1830, it had almost no tradition of long-distance trade or colonial activity. GENEALOGY OF THE TERM DECOLONIZATION Successive governments viewed colonial expansion as economically and politically risky and fundamentally unrewarding, and believed that informal empire, continuing Belgium's booming industrial trade in South America and Russia, was much more promising. They favored the takeover of political power by the latter, a policy that succeeded in Rwanda but failed in Burundi. The new leader signed a peace treaty with the rebel groups and appointed four vice presidents hailing from former rebel groups. 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. The Belgian Congo (French: Congo belge, pronounced [ko bl]; Dutch: Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa between 1908 and 1960 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On reaching Kinshasa in May 1997, Kabila declared himself president and changed the name of Zaire back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The concept of internal colonialism has become so widely used and applied that almost every minority group in the world has b, THE CAUSE OF DECOLONIZATION The former Belgian colonies have experienced a series of coups, civil wars and have a history of political instability. New York: Macmillan. Rafael Carrera gave them the region in exchange for sixteen thousand pesos every year from the government of Guatemala. 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. Consequently, colonial policy was determined by a small group of persons, in particular the minister of colonies, a handful of top civil servants in the Ministry of Colonies, some prominent Catholic ecclesiastics, and the leaders of the private companies that were investing increasing amounts of capital in the colony. After a year, it was returned to the Italian State in 1920. Taking advantage of the political conflict between the president and the prime minister, Mobutu encouraged the military to revolt. The discussion at the Conference, which did not have any African leaders, was meant to split up the continent among the European powers without having to go to war. Supporters of the second option led by Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961) won the day and the Belgian Congo became independent on June 30, 1960. Encyclopedia.com. "Archives Africaines" of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brussels (Archives of the former Belgian Ministry of Colonies). Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. At the Berlin Conference in 1884, the USA, the Ottoman Empire and 12 European countries divided up most of the . As the independence of Rwanda became inevitable in the 1950s, however, the Belgians changed course and started to empower the Hutus by increasing their political and economic muscle and providing them access to modern education. 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). In April of 1885 Belgium's parliament made Leopold the sovereign ruler of this new "state," called the Congo Free State, incorporating all lands not directly occupied by Africans. Whereas the Hutus were farmers, the Tutsis were cattle herders. The Black Mans Burden: Africa and the Curse of the Nation-State. Brussels: De Boeck & Larcier, 1998. Although Great Britain held several, Belgium, Intelligence and Security Agencies, http://www.diplomatie.be/fr/archives/archives.asp, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/belgiums-african-colonies. ." The Legacy of Belgium's 19th and 20th Century African Colonies. [3], Colonization of the Congo began in the late 19th century. Belgium created two colonies in Africa: the entities now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly the Republic of Zaire) and the Republic of Rwanda , previously Ruanda-Urundi, a former German African colony that was given to Belgium to administer after the defeat of Germany in World War I . He proclaimed himself king-sovereign of Congo Free State at a time when France, Britain, Portugal, and Germany also had colonies in the area. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article Mobutu in his bid to stay in power for life did not build a strong army. Source for information on Portugal's African Colonies: Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450 dictionary. 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. Most of the ethnic groups speak languages of the widespread Bantu family: Kongo, Mongo, Luba, Bwaka, Kwango, Lulua, Luanda, and Kasai. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. There are also Nilotic-speaking peoples near Sudan and some pygmies in northeastern Congo. Germany's African Colonies | Encyclopedia.com 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). Stanley "built roads along the entire stretch of the Congo" and set up "a chain of trading stations." (April 27, 2023). Available at: http://www.diplomatie.be/fr/archives/archives.asp. Article 5 stated that upon their arrival on the territory, the settlers would become Guatemalan natives (indignes de Guatemala) fully subject to the existing constitution and laws of the country, relinquishing their former Belgian or other national birthright, as well as any claim to any privileges or immunity as foreigners. 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 . . The Belgian Congo (French: Congo belge, pronounced [ko bl]; Dutch: Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa between 1908 and 1960 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They favored certain ethnic groups, especially the ones that would allow them to continue to colonize and plunder the rich natural resources of the Congo. These migrations created myriad problems both at the time and in subsequent periods. For example, Belgian and other foreign interests engineer these conflicts so they can continue to loot the resources of Africa. In 1865 he succeeded his father, Leopold I, to the Belgian throne. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. All the members of the castes seemed to be living in harmony until the Belgians came and brought ethnic conflict with them. What are the most attractive personality traits in a man? Hutus went on a rampage, killing Tutsis in their midst with the aim of exterminating them. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. What countries did Italy colonize in Africa? - Study.com In order to wipe out the stain of Leopoldian ill treatment of the African population and gain international respectability, the Belgian authorities tried to turn the Congo into a "model colony." Idi Amin became the president of Uganda in January 1971 after a military coup removed the elected leader, Milton Obote, and he, Colonialism, Internal Biafra Revisited. I should say that Burundi was a German colony in 1885 up to around 1916, and then when the Belgians-when the Germans left, the Belgians came in as colonizers. [20] Although Belgian companies invested in Tianjin, especially in the city's tram system, the Belgian concession remained inactive. Congo is a multiethnic country with about two hundred ethnic groups. The aristocracy, who were essentially the Tutsi, owned all the land and earned tributes from the farmers, who were mainly Hutu. List of French possessions and colonies - Wikipedia Lumumba was assassinated within a few months of becoming Prime Minister. [4], The Free State government exploited the Congo for its natural resources, first ivory and later rubber which was becoming a valuable commodity. ." The Belgians even took the few leadership positions that the Hutus had and gave them to the Tutsis. In the margins of the 18841885 Berlin Conference, the world's main powers recognized the AIC as the legal authority over a vast territory in the heart of Africa, a new "state" called the Congo Free State. Belgium created two colonies in Africa: the entities now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly the Republic of Zaire) and the Republic of Rwanda, previously Ruanda-Urundi, a former German African colony that was given to Belgium to administer after the defeat of Germany in World War I. Belgian Congo, French Congo Belge, former colony (coextensive with the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) in Africa, ruled by Belgium from 1908 until 1960. . Joseph Conrad's book, Heart of Darkness (1899), was based on an 1890 visit to the Congo.[4]. The Scramble for Africa: The Scramble for Africa was a period of rampant colonialism of African territories by European powers, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 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.
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