ANTWERP 1894, TERVUREN 1897: FOURTEEN CONGOLESE NEVER RETURNED HOME

ANTWERP 1894, TERVUREN 1897: FOURTEEN CONGOLESE NEVER RETURNED HOME

1️⃣ A Propaganda That Was Repeated

Between 1894 and 1897, Belgium staged the same spectacle twice: Congolese people were exhibited in reconstructed “villages” to convince the public and investors of the value of King Leopold II’s colonial project.

2️⃣ Antwerp, 1894: The First “Human Zoo”

In 1894, 144 Congolese people were brought to Antwerp for the World’s Fair. Many became sick during the journey or while living in the reconstructed village. Seven died from dysentery and pneumonia. They were buried in graves at Kiel Cemetery reserved for Antwerp’s poorest residents graves that have since disappeared.

3️⃣ Tervuren, 1897: The Same Tragedy, on a Larger Scale

Three years later, 267 Congolese people were brought to Tervuren, near Brussels, for an even larger exhibition. After a month-long voyage, they were put to work the very day after their arrival: dancing, singing, making weapons and racing canoes in front of more than a million visitors.

4️⃣ A Summer That Killed Again

A cold, rainy summer and inadequate living conditions in the Belgian climate took a devastating toll. Influenza and pneumonia spread among people who had little or no immunity to European strains. One young man died shortly after arriving. Six others followed within weeks.

Yet the public continued to come to “see the Negroes,” and the performances continued despite the mounting deaths.

5️⃣ Protest Already Existed at the Time

A Belgian newspaper in July 1897 described the Congolese as being “confined like animals in a competition” showing that criticism and indignation existed even at the time, not only in modern historical debates.

6️⃣ Denied Dignity Even in Death

In both Antwerp and Tervuren, the deceased were denied ordinary burial places. They were buried in unconsecrated ground, alongside the poor and indigent.