Belgian Congo



The Belgian Congo was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.

Quotes

 * Leopold II was able to push through his imperial wish and obtained that the fate of what would then be called the Congo Free State was linked to his own. He gave Congo its shape and dimensions, as well as a financial-capitalist structure. However, the debt burden that had become too heavy meant that the king handed over his colony to Belgium, a gift that the parliament was hesitant about but did not dare to refuse.
 * Manu Ruys' far-reaching view of Congo over the period 1958-2000. (Lore Bertrem) 4.1: the pre-colonial period - Leopold II - Belgian Congo Histoire du Zaïre, blz. 357.


 * This part of the State, that is to say the east of the Congo, is inhabited by happy blacks who often and without bringing them there, compared before me the happy present with the misery and the terror of when the Arabs had established themselves as slave traders in the region.
 * Pierre Vercauteren: A king unjustly maligned. (Page 6) Sir Harry Johnston, former Governor of the Uganda Protectorate, 1908.


 * The Tambatamba, Bokusu, Batetela, and other followers of Arab families are congregated at Stanley Falls on both banks as far down as'La Romee. These two latter tribes live in large mud wall houses, detached, with yards or courts. They are both farmers and stock breeders. The former are clean, clothed, and polite, while the latter are like the Arabs, superior in appearance, dress, and manners in fact, the aristocracy of the land. Their fields are tilled by women and dependents and slaves. They are not true Arabs, though there are a few of these too among them. In all things except religion the Tambatambas follow their Arab conquerors of earlier days, but of religion they have only the superstitions without the bonds, rules, or system of worship of the Mahommedans.
 * Belgian Congo, Great Britain. Foreign Office. Historical Section, London, H.M. Stationery off., 1920. (Page 48) British Consul MacKie in a report after travelling to the Eastern Congo in 1911.


 * The Belgians were there to educate the negroes, for the agriculture, for everything. But missionaries are also to blame; It's their fault there are so many children there. Condoms didn't exist either, but the women put the pill in their guy's soup.
 * Congo en plein public, Page 48.


 * They always smile, even in the face of adversity. They are enthusiastic people who are affectionate.
 * Congo en plein public, Page 48.


 * One of the consequences of the Second World War was the collapse of the colonial system. All the old colonies, often under pressure, obtained the recognition of their independence. Belgium also granted autonomy to Congo.
 * s Land's Glory. Brussels: Historia Publishers. Quoted in: Verschaffel, Tom. “Congo in the Belgian self-representation.” In Congo in Belgium. Colonial culture in the metropolis. Viane, Vincent, David Van Reybrouck and Bambi Ceuppens, 63-79 (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2009), 77-78.


 * Although the celebration on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Belgian colony did not occupy the motherland for long, the significance of 50 years of Belgium in Africa can hardly be overestimated. It means that for half a century the black tribes have not been able to kill each other, however much they would like to do it today. It means they are no longer starving to death, rotting away from syphilis or dying from sleeping sickness. It means that schools, dispensaries, bridges, harbors were everywhere, in short, the beginning of the infrastructure of a modern state. It means that the grandsons of the losers, who were sold on the slave market by Tippo Tip and his Arabs, are now studying at university, Roman bishop, judge, journalist and mayor, and tomorrow doctor, lawyer and engineer.
 * Manu Ruys' far-reaching view of Congo over the period 1958-2000. (Lore Bertrem) 4.1: the pre-colonial period - Leopold II - Belgian Congo NZIEM, Histoire du Zaïre. De l’héritage ancien à l’âge contemporain, blz. 293.


 * It is clear that the white man did not only come to the Congo out of sheer philanthropy. Large companies settled there to earn a lot of money. But that capitalism immediately realized grandiose social works, from which hundreds of thousands of blacks now profit. Native friends in Leo and elsewhere agree that the balance for the black is not completely in deficit, but, they added, the time has now come for us to hand over the helm.
 * Manu Ruys' far-reaching view of Congo over the period 1958-2000. (Lore Bertrem) 4.1: the pre-colonial period - Leopold II - Belgian Congo Histoire du Zaïre, 6.11.1958


 * Who sees his life's work in jeopardy before it stands on solid ground. While Minister Buisseret and Governor-General Pétillon endear themselves to the blacks by expressing themselves energetically in this sense, the best of the whites argue that the Congo is far from ripe for independence, moreover they believe that a too strong emphasis on the emancipation policy will deter the white element, which is still so desperately needed, to such an extent that it will inhibit and damage further evolution. Ultimately to the detriment of the short-sighted, hot-headed blacks themselves.
 * Manu Ruys' far-reaching view of Congo over the period 1958-2000. (Lore Bertrem) 4.1: the pre-colonial period - Leopold II - Belgian Congo Histoire du Zaïre, 15.1.1959


 * Belgium has partially failed in its role as guardian. While the French and British took their duty to safely channel the urge for independence that arose after the Second World War, we remained passive. Hence the not entirely unfounded doubt and fear of letting the pupil walk on his own two feet now. A Congolese nation never existed. Once upon a time there was an old kingdom of Congo, but the borders of that negro kingdom did not coincide with those of “our” Congo. The whites have done little or nothing, beyond the strong tribal consciousness, to create a general Congolese mentality, a Congolese sense of nationality. What we still call Belgian Africa today is a construction of the whites, a conglomerate of very different areas and peoples, put together as it was customary in the days of the colonial touts around the green conference tables of Wiesbaden and Berlin.
 * Manu Ruys' far-reaching view of Congo over the period 1958-2000. (Lore Bertrem) 4.1: the pre-colonial period - Leopold II - Belgian Congo Histoire du Zaïre, 30.6.1960


 * In 1885, the whole of Africa was colonized or placed under trusteeship, but Congo climbed to the podium of the three existing sovereign countries. The borders that have been, since 1894, the crucible of Congolese identity were acquired, by treaty, by Leopold II. Thus, Congo has absolutely no debt to Belgium for its international existence. Later, it was through a bilateral treaty, between two sovereign states, regularly ratified, that the Kingdom of Belgium became the metropolis of the Belgian Congo (1908-1960). The little-known truth is that in 1960, Belgium did not grant Congolese independence, but it returned it.
 * The Greatest Fake News of All Time: Leopold II, the Genius and Builder King of Lumumba, Chapter: A Story never told before, page 28, Marcel Yabili, Lubumbashi, AFNIL, 2021. ISBN 9791094969809