In spite of this legacy of the colonial period, political developments in the Congo and Rwanda (peace agreements, new constitutions, and new elections) show that there is a new hope for the former African colonies of Belgium. 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. Kanyandago, Peter, ed. [20] Although Belgian companies invested in Tianjin, especially in the city's tram system, the Belgian concession remained inactive. https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/belgiums-african-colonies, "Belgium's African Colonies According to one estimate, casualties were as high as 66 percent of the local population. It also had a small concession in China and was a co-administrator of the Tangier International Zone in Morocco. Bibliographie historique du Zare l'poque coloniale (18801960): Travaux publis en 19601996. Through the Royal Trust he left most of his property to the nation. 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. During World War I, Congolese troops participated in offensives against German forces in the area of modern-day Rwanda and Burundi which were placed under Belgian occupation. The Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company (ABIR), among others, used force and brutality to extract profit from the territory. As a result, Leopold pursued his colonial ambitions without the support of the Belgian government. The Belgians found willing elites to help them rule Rwanda. Precolonial Rwanda under the monarchy was highly stratified. It was, however, the third largest colonial territory in Africa; in contrast, the possessions of Belgium's more powerful neighbor, Germany, came sixth in size. 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. However, one of the main failures of Belgian colonial policy was the choice not to develop an indigenous elite. In Rwanda, independence brought increased ethnic tensions because of the policies of the Belgian colonial administration. How long should I wait to text after being left on read? These conflicts resulted in many wars and episodes of genocide. The other chief colonisers were France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966. Christian missionaries were very successful in the Congo, where the Catholic Church is one of the largest in Africa (approximately 30 million members, or 55 percent of the population). Under Egypt 's Pharaoh Amasis (570-526 BC) a Greek mercantile colony was established at Naucratis, some 50 miles from the later Alexandria. The Belgian colonial empire consisted of three African colonies possessed by Belgium between 1901 to 1962. Towards the end of colonial rule, the governor general at the time, Lon Antoine Marie Petillon (in office 1952-1958), wanted to grant Africans more civil rights. Belgian Congo | History & Facts | Britannica Like the 1994 genocide, it started when extremist Tutsis attacked a Hutu leader, and the Hutus retaliated by killing hundreds of Tutsis. This led to him being remembered in Belgium today as the "Builder-King." Subnationalism in Africa: Ethnicity, Alliances, and Politics. On January 17, 1961, the government of Moise Tshombe in Katanga, with the full support of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), murdered Lumumba and two of his associates in cold blood. It also annexed Katanga, a territory under the Congo Free State flag, which Leopold had gained in 1891, when he sent an expedition which killed its king, Msiri, cut off his head and hoisted it on a pole. Finally, the constant interventions of the Belgians in the affairs of their former colonies of Congo and Rwanda have made ethnic and political rivalries worse. The whites had all the luxuries, and the native Africans lacked everything. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner. The Congo survived mainly through the king's personal funds. 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. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Burundi is a small country in Central Africa, which borders with Rwanda, Zaire, and Tanzania. 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. Harris, Joseph E. 1998. Fourth, European and American governments and the multinational business and interests have fueled ethnic conflicts in Africas former Belgian colonies for their own purposes. 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. Retrieved April 27, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/belgiums-african-colonies. Anticolonialism and nationalism found their way into the Congolese population comparatively lateindeed, not until the second half of the 1950s. Factbox: Belgium's colonial rule in Congo and what happened next However, the date of retrieval is often important. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. A People's History. What countries did Spain colonize in Africa? - Study.com colony, any nonself-governing territory subject to the jurisdiction of a usually distant country. Belgians, including their government, adopted an ambivalent, even indifferent attitude towards their empire. [3], Although the Congo Free State was not officially a Belgian colony, Belgium was its chief beneficiary, in terms of its trade, the employment of its citizens, and the wealth which Leopold extracted which was used for the construction of numerous fine public buildings in Brussels, Ostend, and Antwerp. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. They favored the takeover of political power by the latter, a policy that succeeded in Rwanda but failed in Burundi. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. 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.. Did Portugal colonize Africa? 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. Subsequent political problems led to military intervention by the Belgians, who claimed that they intervened to protect Belgian citizens from attack. What African countries were Colonized by the British? - Answers 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. German colonists entered the area in the 1880s, and in 1891 the Germans declared the region a protectorate as part of German East Africa. Brussels: De Boeck & Larcier, 1998. Belgium, a constitutional monarchy, gained its independence in 1830 from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. 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). 1992. This ended with the seizure of power by Joseph-Dsir Mobutu. The many horrors and atrocities which disgrace humanity give way little by little before our intervention. 7 What were the former British colonies in Africa? . Finally in 1908, Leopold was forced to hand over the Congo Free State, his personal fiefdom, to the Belgian state. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The period ended after World War I, and by the 1970s most of the European colonies in Africa had become independent. 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". 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. . The first wave of genocide by the Hutus against the Tutsis took place earlier, however, under the administration of the Belgians in 1959. Very little money was invested in educationwhich was left to missionaries, mainly Roman Catholic, and consisted of basic literacy and numeracy. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article The second king of Belgium, Leopold II, was a very ambitious man who wanted to personally enrich himself and enhance his countrys prestige by annexing and colonizing lands in Africa. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Other notable empires included the Luba empire, founded in the sixteenth century and centered around Lakes Kisale and Upemba, located in central Shaba; the Lunda kingdom of Mwata, founded in the fifteenth century and centered in southwestern Congo; and the Kuba empire of the Shonga people, founded in the seventeenth century and centered around the Kasai and Sankura rivers in southern Congo. A rich Hutu who purchased a large herd of cattle could become a Tutsi, while a Tutsi who became poor would drop into the Hutu caste. [6], A sharp reduction of the population of the Congo through excess deaths occurred in the Free State period but estimates of the deaths toll vary considerably. Belgium's African Colonies | Encyclopedia.com In 1865 he succeeded his father, Leopold I, to the Belgian throne. Roughly 98% of Belgium's overseas territory was just one colony (about 76 times larger than Belgium itself) known as the Belgian Congo. A classic image depicts the Belgian Congo as being run by the "Trinity" of administration, capital, and the (Catholic) Church. Leopold II tried to interest his government in establishing colonies, but it lacked the resources to develop the candidate territories and turned down his plans. Belgium's African ColoniesWhen Belgium became a nation in 1830, it had almost no tradition of long-distance trade or colonial activity. POST-1945 HISTORICAL CONTEXTS First, the post-colonial political leaders of Congo and Rwanda continued the Belgian colonial policies. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In 1966 he renamed the Congolese cities of Lopoldville (Kinshasa), Stanley-ville (Kisangani), and Elisabethville (Lubumbashi). Belgium controlled 3 colonies and 3 concessions during its history, the Belgian Congo (modern DRC) from 1908 to 1960, and Ruanda-Urundi (Rwanda and Burundi) from 1922 to 1962. Summary. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Retrieved April 27, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/africa-belgian-colonies. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. A map, published in Portugal in 1623, showing a representation of Africa as understood by colonizers. During the 1840s and 50s, King Leopold I tentatively supported several proposals to acquire territories overseas. It does not store any personal data. A governor general exercised more or less absolute power. How can a teen start a clothing business? Lumumba in turn dismissed the president, creating a political stalemate. Mobutu in his bid to stay in power for life did not build a strong army. Much of this was spent on public buildings in, Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eastern Coast of Central America Commercial and Agricultural Company, "Early Belgian Colonial Efforts: The Long and Fateful Shadow of Leopold I", "King Leopold's legacy of DR Congo violence", "New Physical, Political, Industrial and Commercial Map of Central America and the Antilles", Colonisation dans l'Amrique centrale du District de Santo-Tomas de Guatemala, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belgian_colonial_empire&oldid=1151384224, This page was last edited on 23 April 2023, at 18:24. France began to rule a large territory in the west and north. [5] Many deaths can be attributed to new diseases introduced by contact with European colonists, including smallpox which killed nearly half the population in the areas surrounding the lower Congo River. More or Less: Heroes and Killers of the 20th Century. In the 1500s, Portugal colonized the present-day west . We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Vocabulary. [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. His inability to disarm the ex-Rwandan soldiers and perpetuators of the 1994 genocide who were now living in Congo led to the invasion of the Congo by a combined army of Tutsi-led governments of Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda and the Congolese rebel leader Laurent Kabila. ." The history of Colonialism as a policy or practice go, Amin, Idi c. 1925-2003 The Belgian claim was never formally recognised and the proposal was dropped in 1908. 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. 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. Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. . By the time independent Belgium might have been in a position to consider an overseas empire, major imperial powers such as the United Kingdom and France already had the most economically promising territories for colonization within their spheres of influence. The rural masses were primarily engaged in a neglected and stagnating indigenous agriculture, aimed at self-subsistence but facing growing difficulties feeding the increasing population, particularly from the 1950s. [22], In 1919, the island of Comacina was bequeathed to King Albert I of Belgium for a year, and became an enclave under the sovereignty of Belgium. Egypt was also under colonialism, but it did have a unique history . Their regime in the Congo used forced labour, and murder and mutilation on indigenous Congolese who did not fulfill quotas for rubber collections. An agreement was reached between the Belgian and Chinese governments in August 1929 to return the concession to China. 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. In 1842, a ship sent by King Leopold I of Belgium arrived in Guatemala; the Belgians observed the natural riches of the department of Izabal and decided to settle in Santo Tomas de Castilla and build infrastructure in the region. New York: Barnes and Nobles. The Belgian colonial administration built some schools, railways, roads, plantations, mines, industrial areas, and airports. 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. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here: The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia: Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed. With these events sea power shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and . [11], Although the Congo Free State was not a Belgian colony, Belgium was its chief beneficiary in terms of trade and the employment of its citizens. The most notable of these empires was the Kingdom of Kongo, which was founded in the fourteenth century and centered around present-day western Congo and northern Angola. What countries did Spain colonize in Africa? Besides the cold war rivalry, the other main reason for killing Lumumba and supporting the secession in the provinces of Katanga and Kasai was for Belgians to secure controlling interests in the rich mineral resources of the Congo. By 1899 the British vice consul confirmed and further reported the brutality of Leopolds misrule in Congo. Leopold II personally accumulated considerable wealth from exports of rubber and ivory acquired at gunpoint. In 1962, it got its independence from Belgium. For information concerning the period prior to that date, see Low Countries, history of. 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. 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. With the support of the Free State's military, the Force Publique, the territory was divided into private concessions. The Belgian colonial empire consisted of three African colonies possessed by Belgium between 1901 to 1962. The Belgian administration of the Congo was run by a relatively modest corps of civil servants (in 1947 only about 44,000 whites, 3,200 of whom were public employees, were present in this vast country, inhabited by some 11 million Africans). Nevertheless, there were interethnic wars on some occasions. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. The Rwanda genocide of 1994 helped exacerbate ethnic and political tensions in the Congo. For example, Belgian and other foreign interests engineer these conflicts so they can continue to loot the resources of Africa. Ethnic Conflict. Foreign Policy No. Supporters of the second option led by Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961) won the day and the Belgian Congo became independent on June 30, 1960. The scramble for colonies. 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. By 1900, the French had colonies in present-day Senegal , Mauritania , Mali , Niger , Burkina Faso , Guinea , Ivory Coast , and Benin, just to name a few. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The Challenge of Third World Development, 4th ed. Africa: Belgian Colonies | Encyclopedia.com 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. Here are some facts about Belgian rule and the two countries' difficult bilateral ties since. In 1877, the European country Belgium and King Leopold colonized the Democratic Republic of Congo. Others cited Belgian's ratification of Article 73 of the United Nations Charter (on self-determination) and argued for a swifter hand-over of power than the 30 years favored by some. 27 Apr. Arguably, in comparison with other colonial powers in Africa, Belgium did less to prepare its overseas subjects for political independence, investing little in education and training, and extracted the riches of its colonies at enormous human cost. What did Belgium colonize in Africa? - YourSageInformation However, the date of retrieval is often important. Germany's African ColoniesThe unification of Germany in 1871 constituted a watershed in Germany's imperial agenda of acquiring colonies in Africa. There were other small LubaLunda states in Congo. 2023
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