what countries did belgium colonize in africa

The colony was founded in 1908 following the transfer of sovereignty from the Congo Free State, which was the personal property of Belgium's king, Leopold II. Rwanda also has a new constitution, and amnesty was granted for most of the Hutu genocide perpetrators. If this small European country nevertheless succeeded . The Congo was also characterized by the extraordinary development of huge mining industries (particularly in the province of Katanga, well known for its copper, and in the Kasai region, famous for its industrial diamonds). 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. The second king of Belgium, Leopold II, was a very ambitious man who wanted to personally enrich himself and enhance his country's prestige by annexing and colonizing lands in Africa. These mandatory identity cards removed the fluidity from the Rwandan stratification (caste) system, thereby confining people permanently as Hutus, Tutsis, and pygmies. The Belgians empowered the Tutsis so much that their exploitation of the Hutu majority reached new heights. Map of Africa in 1910. After several unsuccessful attempts in different parts of Asia and Africa, Leopold developed a keen interest in Central Africa. [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. No democratic institutions were established. Belgians, including their government, adopted an ambivalent, even indifferent attitude towards their empire. Leopold II, an ambitious and enterprising monarch, was fascinated by the Dutch colonial "model" in Java and wanted to enhance his country's grandeur by exploiting a vast colonial domain, destined to enrich the mother country. 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. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Cawthorne, Nigel. It also had a small concession in China and was a co-administrator of the Tangier International Zone in Morocco. However, the Government was not in favor, arguing that this could result in political instability. It was not until the eighteenth century that the Portuguese gained substantial influence in Congo. . The Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company (ABIR), among others, used force and brutality to extract profit from the territory. More or Less: Heroes and Killers of the 20th Century. Through the Royal Trust he left most of his property to the nation. These kingdoms, especially the Kingdom of Kongo, were comparably wealthy, and when the standard of living is high, people tend to get along well. 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 . ." Of Belgium's other colonies, the most significant was Ruanda-Urundi, a portion of German East Africa, which was given to Belgium as a League of Nations Mandate, when Germany lost all of its colonies at the end of World War I. What countries did Spain colonize in Africa? 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. Mobutu ruled for thirty-one years and pauperized the Congo. 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 economic system of the kingdom was organized into guilds based on agriculture and handicraft industries. Harris, Joseph E. 1998. Nevertheless, there were interethnic wars on some occasions. Le Congo: De la colonisation Belge l'indpendance, 2nd ed. 2004. 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. 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. 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. Nairobi, Kenya: Paulines Publications Africa. Which African countries did Belgium colonize? - Answers How long should I wait to text after being left on read? This ended with the seizure of power by Joseph-Dsir Mobutu. German colonists entered the area in the 1880s, and in 1891 the Germans declared the region a protectorate as part of German East Africa. 1998. colony, any nonself-governing territory subject to the jurisdiction of a usually distant country. [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. As a result, Leopold pursued his colonial ambitions without the support of the Belgian government. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"n0hifXIP06k4AZAYPfhaWe9Vz2rtENJE3ukkjTyT.f4-86400-0"}; The aristocracy, who were essentially the Tutsi, owned all the land and earned tributes from the farmers, who were mainly Hutu. Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. 2006. It was designated as a United Nations trust territory, still under Belgian administration, until 1962, when it developed into the independent states of Rwanda and Burundi. "Africa: Belgian 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. The killing stopped only when Paul Kagame, with the help of Uganda, led a Tutsi army that drove the Hutu-led military into exile in neighboring Congo. In precolonial Congo, established monarchies and kingdoms maintained order. . 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. [1] Greeks colonised Cyrenaica around the . Congo) in Africa, ruled by Belgium from 1908 until 1960. Vellut, Jean-Luc, Florence Loriaux, and Franoise Morimont, eds. 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). Leopold II personally accumulated considerable wealth from exports of rubber and ivory acquired at gunpoint. [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. In the Congo, political instability started as soon as the Congolese gained their independence from the Belgians in 1960. As early as 1860, he was urging his state to imitate its neighbors in acquiring overseas territory, "extend beyond the sea whenever an opportunity is offered," he said, "you will find there precious outlets for your products, food for your commerce and a still better position in the great European family. After a year, it was returned to the Italian State in 1920. Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. . The new colony comprised a land bigger than western Europe and seventy-four times larger than Belgium, and belonged to Leopold II as a personal possession. In 1966 he renamed the Congolese cities of Lopoldville (Kinshasa), Stanley-ville (Kisangani), and Elisabethville (Lubumbashi). 2023 . Like the 1994 genocide, it started when extremist Tutsis attacked a Hutu leader, and the Hutus retaliated by killing hundreds of Tutsis. [3], Colonization of the Congo began in the late 19th century. Second, these leaders exacerbated ethnic rivalries and tensions to stay in power. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966. Portugal's African Colonies | Encyclopedia.com What African countries were Colonized by the British? - Answers Lumumba in turn dismissed the president, creating a political stalemate. Encyclopedia.com. In the 1500s, Portugal colonized the present-day west . Encyclopedia of Western Colonialism since 1450. . At the Berlin Conference in 1884, the USA, the Ottoman Empire and 12 European countries divided up most of the . In reality, Belgium's political parties and public opinion showed little interest in Congolese matters. The other chief colonisers were France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Spain. 2006. 1992. Before the European incursion into Rwanda and the Belgian colonization, Rwanda was united under the central leadership of an absolute Tutsi monarchy. Ekwe-Ekwe, Herbert. Joseph Conrad's book, Heart of Darkness (1899), was based on an 1890 visit to the Congo.[4]. The colonial authorities also obliged these agriculturalists to produce export crops (e.g., cotton), which made them vulnerable to the ups and downs of world markets. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Colonisation of Africa - Wikipedia Stengers, Jean. 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). 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. As a latecomer in the struggle for colonies, Germany had to settle for four territories, called "protectorates," in . 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. (art. It was during the Belgian colonial administration that the foundations for the postcolonial and present-day ethnic tensions and political instability were laid. Why does an iron rod become a magnet when current is passed through a coil of wire wrapped around the rod? His rule was brutal and millions of Congolese died as a result. All the major decisions concerning the Congo were made in Brussels, and the Congolese were not allowed to participate in the running of their own country. All Rights Reserved 2022 Theme: Promos by. 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). Most of the ethnic groups speak languages of the widespread Bantu family: Kongo, Mongo, Luba, Bwaka, Kwango, Lulua, Luanda, and Kasai. 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. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. 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. The Former French Colonies - WorldAtlas 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 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. A number of lobbying groups formed after the unification, including the West German Society for Colonization and Export (1881) and the Central Association for Commercial Geography and the Promotion of German Interests Abroad (1878). [18], While the Compagnie belge de colonisation was granted the land in perpetuity, the concession did not become a colony in the political sense. (April 27, 2023). From the 1920s on, heavy investments in the exploitation of the colony's rich mineral resources transformed the Congo into a major actor in the world economy. 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. . Handelman, Howard. The most obvious result of the Congress and of nationalist yearnings, juxtaposed with a more structured European map, was a new and general scramble for colonies in other parts of the world. 27 Apr. In just a few months' time (from early 1959 to the beginning of 1960), the political prospects for the colony evolved from a long-term loosening of the ties between Belgium and the Congo, to the immediate independence of the African country. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article That the Tutsi and Hutu were originally two castes of the same people, speaking a common language, and that the antagonism had been created by Belgian colonial forces for their own purposes, were facts somehow lost in the international dialogue. New York: Barnes and Nobles. In 2001, when Kabila was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, he was succeeded by General Joseph Kabila, his son. The Congo From Leopold to Kabila. 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. The city of Tianjin (Tientsin), a treaty port in China (18601945) included nine foreign-controlled concessions (Chinese: ; pinyin: zujie). 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. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. Kanyandago, Peter, ed. Some argued for a gradual shift to self-governance because of the lack of personnel equipped to take over the responsibilities of governance. Starting in the 1880s, in what became known as the "Scramble for Africa," European countries raced to occupy the continent, seeking economic and strategic gains. Here are some facts about Belgian rule and the two countries' difficult bilateral ties since. Roughly 98% of Belgium's overseas territory was just one colony (about 76 times larger than Belgium itself) known as the Belgian Congo. Belgian colonial empire - New World Encyclopedia Relations among the Congolese peoples during the precolonial period were largely harmonious. After the Government assumed direct control, the treatment of the people did improve but only marginally. 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. Encyclopedia.com. All the members of the castes seemed to be living in harmony until the Belgians came and brought ethnic conflict with them. 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. Keen on establishing Belgium as an imperial power, he led the first European efforts to develop the Congo River basin, making possible the formation in 1885 of the . In 1865 he succeeded his father, Leopold I, to the Belgian throne. Western colonialism, a political-economic phenomenon whereby various European nations explored, conquered, settled, and exploited large areas of the world. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The main contenders in this region, particularly France and the United Kingdom, hoped to reap the benefits of Leopold's "whim," which, in their opinion, would not last long. Yet, Leopold personally subscribed to what was sometimes called the "progressive" view of imperialism: That it had a moral justification as a civilizing mission. After the June 1960 elections, Lumumba became prime minister and Kasavubu the ceremonial president. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. This led to him being remembered in Belgium today as the "Builder-King." Following the Rwandan Revolution, the mandate became the independent states of Burundi and Rwanda in 1962.[1]. GENEALOGY OF THE TERM DECOLONIZATION For information concerning the period prior to that date, see Low Countries, history of. German Colonial Rule - African Studies - Oxford Bibliographies - obo 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. In 2006 a new constitution was written and approved for the Third Republic, and elections were conducted with Joseph Kabila emerging as victorious. Can I leave an internship for another internship? The takeover of the administration by the Belgian government brought some improvements in the lives of the Congolese peoples, who had suffered untold hardships under Leopold II and his private militia. So did Spain, Italy and Portugal by 1914. Any four countries? "Africa: Belgian Colonies Despite Mobutus dictatorship, relative peace reigned during most of his regime. The Congo Free State, officially presented to the world as a humanitarian and civilizing enterprise destined to abolish slavery and introduce Christianity, became the target of an international protest campaign, led by the British activist Edmund Dene Morel (18731924) and his Congo Reform Association. 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. Although forced labor, repression, and a "color bar" (a form of racial segregation) persisted till the very end of their domination, the Belgians made serious efforts to promote indigenous wellbeing, particularly during the 1950s, by developing a network of health services and primary schools. But in 1965, after ruling from behind the scenes for four years, Mobutu finally overthrew Kasavubu in a coup widely believed to be sponsored by the CIA. 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. Rafael Carrera gave them the region in exchange for sixteen thousand pesos every year from the government of Guatemala. Histoire gnrale du Congo: De l'hritage ancien la Rpublique Dmocratique, 2nd ed. During World War I, Belgian colonial troops participated in the military campaigns against the Germans in East Africa. Despite the modest improvements in the lives of the Congolese, the Belgians created two separate societies in the Congo: the whites and the natives. In 1998 Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda jointly invaded Congo, and Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Chad, and the Sudan fought on the side of Kabilas Congo. Encyclopedia of Race and Racism. The United States and Belgium provided the money that Mobutu used to bribe the Congolese army to commit treason against their properly elected government. Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. In 1865 he succeeded his father, Leopold I, to the Belgian throne. 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". Because the United Kingdom, France, and Portugal had conflicting interests in this region, Leopold's skillful personal diplomacy succeeded in playing the contradictory ambitions of these countries against each other. [13] The privileging of Belgian commercial interests meant that large amounts of capital flowed into the Congo and that individual regions became specialised. By the time this was universally recognized in 1839, most European powers already had colonies and protectorates outside Europe and had begun to form spheres of influence. 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.

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