Congo Free State (1885–1908) posing with a victim of the
Congo atrocities Colonization of the Congo began in the late 19th century. King
Leopold II, 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. Their refusal led Leopold to create a state under his own personal rule. 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. The Free State government exploited the Congo for its natural resources, first
ivory and later rubber which was becoming a valuable commodity. With the support of the Free State's military, the
Force Publique, the territory was divided into private concessions. The
Abir Congo Company (ABIR), among others, used force and brutality to extract profit from the territory. Their regime in the Congo used forced labour, and murder and mutilation on indigenous Congolese who did not fulfill quotas for rubber collections. Millions of Congolese died during this time. 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. 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. Although the figures are estimates, it is believed that as many as ten million Congolese died during the period, roughly a fifth of the population. As the first census did not take place until 1924, it is difficult to quantify the population loss of the period and these figures have been disputed by some who, like
William Rubinstein, claim that the figures cited by
Adam Hochschild are speculative estimates based on little evidence. Although the Congo Free State was not a Belgian colony, Rubber profits brought Leopold immense personal wealth, which he used to construct several buildings in
Brussels and
Ostend intended to glorify himself and his country.
Lado Enclave (1894–1910) The Lado Enclave was a colony of the Free State itself, and existed from 1894 and alter Belgian Congo until 1910, situated on the west bank of the Upper Nile in what is now Central Equatoria province in South Sudan and northwest Uganda. Its capital was the town of Lado. British desire for a
Cape to Cairo railway led them to negotiate with the Belgians to exchange the area that became the Lado Enclave for a narrow strip of territory in eastern Congo between Lakes
Albert and
Tanganyika. These negotiations resulted in the 1894 British-Congolese Treaty, signed on 12 May, under which the British leased all of the Nile basin south of the 10° north latitude to King
Leopold II for the period of his lifetime. This area, called the Lado Enclave, linked the Congo with the navigable Nile. The Lado Enclave was important to the Belgian Congo as it included
Rejaf, which was the terminus for boats on the
Nile, as the rapids there proved a barrier to further travel. Rejaf was the seat of the commander, the only European colonial official within the enclave, who were in place from 1897 to June 1910. Efforts were made to properly defend Lado against any possible incursion by another colonial power, with twelve heavy
Krupp fort guns installed in November 1906. However, there continued to be uncertainty in the enclave with the knowledge that the enclave would revert to British rule upon Leopold's death. As a result, the Belgians were unable to create an effective government, leading to civil unrest within the enclave. At Leopold's death, the Belgians handed over Lado to the British in 1910.
Belgian Congo (1908–1960) '' soldiers in 1943 Leopold achieved international recognition for the Congo Free State in 1885. 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. Belgian rule in the Congo was based on the "colonial trinity" (
trinité coloniale) of
state,
missionary and
private company interests. The privileging of Belgian commercial interests meant that large amounts of capital flowed into the Congo and that individual regions became
specialised. On many occasions, the interests of the government and private enterprise became closely tied, and the state helped companies break strikes and remove other barriers raised by the indigenous population. The country was split into nesting, hierarchically organised administrative subdivisions, and run uniformly according to a set "native policy" (
politique indigène). This was in contrast to the British and the French, who generally favoured the system of
indirect rule whereby traditional leaders were retained in positions of authority under colonial oversight. 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 Congo had a high degree of
racial segregation. The large numbers of white immigrants who moved to the Congo after the end of
World War II came from across the social spectrum, but were always treated as superior to black citizens. , 1938 Congolese troops
participated in World War II and were instrumental
in forcing the Italians out of their East African colonies during the
East African Campaign. 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". One of the results was the development of a new middle class of Europeanised African "
évolués" in the cities. By the 1950s the Congo had a
wage labour force twice as large as that in any other African colony. In 1960, as the result of a widespread and increasingly radical
pro-independence movement, the Congo achieved independence, becoming the
Republic of Congo-Léopoldville under
Patrice Lumumba and
Joseph Kasa-Vubu. Poor relations between factions within the Congo, the continued involvement of Belgium in Congolese affairs, and intervention by major parties of the
Cold War led to a five-year-long period of war and political instability, known as the
Congo Crisis, from 1960 to 1965. This ended with the seizure of power by
Joseph-Désiré Mobutu. == Ruanda-Urundi ==