Belgian rule of the Congo 's modern borders|left
Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century.
King Leopold II of Belgium, frustrated by Belgium's lack of international power and prestige, attempted to persuade the Belgian government to support colonial expansion around the largely unexplored
Congo Basin. The Belgian government's ambivalence about the idea led Leopold to eventually create a state on his own account, achieving international recognition for the
Congo Free State in 1885. By the turn of the century, however, the violence of Free State officials against indigenous Congolese and the ruthless system of economic extraction had led to intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium to take official control of the country, which it did in 1908, creating the
Belgian Congo. The colony was divided into six provinces: Léopoldville,
Équateur,
Orientale,
Kivu,
Kasaï, and
Katanga. The city of
Léopoldville was designated as the capital in 1923. Belgian rule in the Congo was based around the "colonial trinity" (
trinité coloniale) of
state,
missionary and
private company interests. The privileging of Belgian commercial interests meant that capital sometimes flowed back into the Congo and that individual regions became
specialised. The country was split into nesting, hierarchically organised administrative subdivisions, and run uniformly according to a set "native policy" (
politique indigène). As early as the 1920s, the Congo possessed one of the densest colonial regimes in Africa. The administration was heavily involved in the life of the Congolese; Belgian functionaries (government civil servants) closely monitored and enforced agricultural production, provided medical services to many residents, and frequently toured even the most rural territories to oversee their subjects. There was also a high degree of
racial segregation between the native and white populations, the latter of which grew considerably after the end of
World War II due to immigration from Europe.
Rise in Congolese political activity During the latter stages of World War II a new social stratum emerged in the Congo, known as the
évolués. Forming an African middle class in the colony, they held skilled positions (such as clerks and nurses) made available by the economic boom. While there were no universal criteria for determining
évolué status, it was generally accepted that one would have "a good knowledge of French, adhere to Christianity, and have some form of post-primary education." Early on in their history, most
évolués sought to use their unique status to earn special privileges in the Congo. Since opportunities for upward mobility through the colonial structure were limited, the
évolué class institutionally manifested itself in elite clubs through which they could enjoy trivial privileges that made them feel distinct from the Congolese "masses". Additional groups, such as labour unions, alumni associations, and ethnic syndicates, provided other Congolese the means of organisation. Among the most important of these was the
Alliance des Bakongo (ABAKO), representing the
Kongo people of the Lower Congo. However, they were restricted in their actions by the administration. While white settlers were consulted in the appointment of certain officials, the Congolese had no means of expressing their beliefs through the governing structures. Though native chiefs held legal authority in some jurisdictions, in practice they were used by the administration to further its own policies. Up into the 1950s most
évolués were concerned only with social inequalities and their treatment by the Belgians. Questions of self-government were not considered until 1954, when ABAKO requested that the administration consider a list of suggested candidates for a Léopoldville municipal post. That year the association was taken over by
Joseph Kasa-Vubu, and under his leadership it became increasingly hostile to the colonial authority and sought autonomy for the Kongo regions in the Lower Congo. In 1956 a group of Congolese intellectuals under the tutelage of several European academics issued a manifesto calling for a transition to independence over the course of 30 years. The ABAKO quickly responded with a demand for "immediate independence". The Belgian government was not prepared to grant the Congo independence and even when it started realising the necessity of a plan for decolonisation in 1957, it was assumed that such a process would be solidly controlled by Belgium. In December 1957 the colonial administration instituted reforms that permitted municipal elections and the formation of political parties. Some Belgian parties attempted to establish branches in the colony, but these were largely ignored by the population in favour of Congolese-initiated groups.
Nationalism fermented in 1958 as more
évolués began interacting with others outside of their own locales and started discussing the future structures of a post-colonial Congolese state. Nevertheless, most political mobilisation occurred along tribal and regional divisions. In Katanga, various tribal groups came together to form the
Confédération des associations tribales du Katanga (CONAKAT) under the leadership of
Godefroid Munongo and
Moïse Tshombe. Hostile to immigrant peoples, it advocated provincial autonomy and close ties with Belgium. Most of its support was rooted in individual chiefs, businessmen, and European settlers of southern Katanga. It was opposed by
Jason Sendwe's Association Générale des Baluba du Katanga (BALUBAKAT). , founding member and leader of the MNC In October 1958 a group of Léopoldville
évolués including
Patrice Lumumba,
Cyrille Adoula and
Joseph Iléo established the
Mouvement National Congolais (MNC). Diverse in membership, the party sought to peacefully achieve Congolese independence, promote the political education of the populace, and eliminate regionalism. The MNC drew most of its membership from the residents of the eastern city of
Stanleyville, where Lumumba was well known, and from the population of the
Kasai Province, where efforts were directed by a
Muluba businessman,
Albert Kalonji. Belgian officials appreciated its moderate and anti-separatist stance and allowed Lumumba to attend the
All-African Peoples' Conference in
Accra, Ghana, in December 1958 (Kasa-Vubu was informed that the documents necessary for his travel to the event were not in order and was not permitted to go). Lumumba was deeply impressed by the
Pan-Africanist ideals of Ghanaian president
Kwame Nkrumah and returned to the Congo with a more radical party programme. He reported on his trip during a widely attended rally in Léopoldville and demanded the country's "genuine" independence. Fearing that they were being overshadowed by Lumumba and the MNC, Kasa-Vubu and the ABAKO leadership announced that they would be hosting their own rally in the capital on 4 January 1959. The municipal government (under Belgian domination) was given short notice, and communicated that only a "private meeting" would be authorised. On the scheduled day of the rally the ABAKO leadership told the crowd that had gathered that the event was postponed and that they should disperse. The mass was infuriated and instead began hurling stones at the police and pillaging European property, initiating three days of
violent and destructive riots. The
Force Publique, the colonial army, was called into service and suppressed the revolt with considerable brutality. In wake of the riots Kasa-Vubu and his lieutenants were arrested. Unlike earlier expressions of discontent, the grievances were conveyed primarily by uneducated urban residents, not
évolués. Popular opinion in Belgium was one of extreme shock and surprise. An investigative commission found the riots to be the culmination of racial discrimination, overcrowding, unemployment, and wishes for more political self-determination. On 13 January the administration announced several reforms, and the Belgian King,
Baudouin, declared that independence would be granted to the Congo in the future. Meanwhile, discontent surfaced among the MNC leadership, who were bothered by Lumumba's domination over the party's politics. Relations between Lumumba and Kalonji also grew tense, as the former was upset with how the latter was transforming the Kasai branch into an exclusively Luba group and antagonising other tribes. This culminated into the split of the party into the MNC-Lumumba/MNC-L under Lumumba and the MNC-Kalonji/MNC-K under Kalonji and Iléo. The latter began advocating federalism. Adoula left the organisation. Alone to lead his own faction and facing competition from ABAKO, Lumumba became increasingly strident in his demands for independence. Following an October riot in Stanleyville he was arrested. Nevertheless, the influence of himself and the MNC-L continued to grow rapidly. The party advocated for a strong unitary state, nationalism, and the termination of Belgian rule and began forming alliances with regional groups, such as the Kivu-based Centre du Regroupement Africain (CEREA). Though the Belgians supported a unitary system over the federal models suggested by ABAKO and CONAKAT, they and more moderate Congolese were unnerved by Lumumba's increasingly extremist attitudes. With the implicit support of the colonial administration, the moderates formed the Parti National du Progrès (PNP) under the leadership of
Paul Bolya and
Albert Delvaux. It advocated centralisation, respect for traditional elements, and close ties with Belgium. In southern Léopoldville Province, a socialist-federalist party, the
Parti Solidaire Africain (PSA) was founded.
Antoine Gizenga served as its president, and
Cléophas Kamitatu was in charge of the Léopoldville Province chapter.
The Belgo-Congolese Round Table Conference After the riots of 4 January 1959 Belgian leaders became increasingly fearful of a violent political conflict emerging in the Congo. The security situation in the country deteriorated over the course of the year, especially in the Lower Congo and in Kasai, where violent clashes between Baluba and Lulua were taking place. Fearing the degeneration of the unrest into a colonial war and facing intense pressure for reform, in late 1959 the Belgian government announced that it would host a
round table conference in Brussels in 1960 with the Congolese leadership to discuss the political future of the country. On the eve of the conference the Congolese delegations banded into a "Common Front" and demanded that all decisions be made binding on the Belgian government and that the Congo be granted immediate independence. The conference formally opened on 20 January. In the first speech, the Belgian prime minister assured that the Congo would be granted independence but did not specify a date. Serious negotiations did not commence until the following day. Kasa-Vubu demanded that a Congolese government be formed immediately, but his request was denied. Disagreements between him and the Belgians over the competence of the conference led to the former walking out during the negotiations. It was then suggested that the date of independence be discussed. Lumumba, meanwhile, was released from prison and flew to Brussels to participate in the conference. On 27 January he made his first appearance and voiced his support for independence. After some discussion the Common Front accepted the date of 30 June 1960 for sovereignty to be granted to the Congo. The decisions of the delegates were ratified in a series of resolutions on 19 February and the conference closed the following day.
The Loi Fondamentale It was decided at the Round Table Conference that the resolutions the participants adopted would serve as the basis for the Loi Fondamentale (Fundamental Law), a
transitional constitution for the Congo until a permanent one could be promulgated by a Congolese parliament sitting as a
constituent assembly. Summarising the similarities between the Loi Fondementale and the
Constitution of Belgium,
Raymond Scheyven, Minister-in-charge of Economic Affairs for the Congo, observed, "We have presented the Congolese with a political system similar to ours....It features communes, provincial assemblies, a bicameral system, and a political system where the head of state is irresponsible." The division of executive power between a presumably symbolic head of state and head of government was the most noticeable and potentially troublesome feature borrowed from the Belgian constitution. As in a
parliamentary system, such power was to be exercised by a prime minister and a cabinet responsible to Parliament. If the cabinet lost the confidence of Parliament, a
motion of censure would be passed (either with a simple majority in both houses of a two-thirds majority in a single house) and it would be dismissed. By comparison, the head of state (a President) was irresponsible and only had the power to ratify treaties, promulgate laws, and nominate high-ranking officials (including the Prime Minister and the cabinet). A parliament was to be composed of a lower chamber and an upper chamber. The lower chamber (
Chamber of Deputies) would consist of 137 members directly "elected by universal suffrage according to the procedure fixed by the electoral law" with one deputy for every 100,000 people. The upper chamber (
Senate) would be composed of 14 members from each province, elected by the members of their respective provincial assemblies. Senators and deputies that assumed a ministerial post in the central government were allowed to retain their seats in Parliament. The provincial assemblies were unicameral and varied in size, depending on the population of the provinces they served. Articles 219 and 220 delineated the authority of the central and provincial governments. The division of authority, a compromise between the federalist and unitarianist politicians, was dubbed by Belgian lawyers as "quasi-federalism". ==Campaign==