How Congo was colonised very badly is one of the worst stories in history, and it is the root of all their problems today.
How Congo was colonised very badly is one of the worst stories in history, and it is the root of all their problems today.
1.Congo as a Personal Property (1885-1908):
Most colonies belonged to a country, but Congo belonged to one man King Leopold II of Belgium. At Berlin Conference in 1885, European powers gave him Congo as his private farm, 76 times bigger than Belgium.
He did not come to develop. He wanted only rubber and ivory. He created a private army called Force Publique. Every village was given a rubber quota. If they failed, soldiers would cut off hands, k!ll children, burn villages. About 10 million Congolese d!ed. Hands were even collected as proof. No school, no hospital, no road was built for Congolese – only to carry rubber to the river.
2.Belgian Government Colony (1908-1960):
When world saw the evil, Belgium took Congo from Leopold. But they still colonised badly:
-No Education for Leadership: Belgians built primary schools run by Catholics, but banned higher education. Congolese could not go beyond primary or small vocational school. By 1960, in a country of 14 million people, there were only 16 university graduates and ZERO Congolese doctors, engineers, lawyers, or army officers. They were trained to be clerks and labourers only.
-No Politics: No political parties allowed until 1959, just one year to independence. Congolese had no experience in democracy, debate, or managing a country.
-Divide and Rule: Belgians issued identity cards classifying people as Hutu, Tutsi, Luba, etc and favoured some groups over others to cause jealousy.
-Economy for Belgium: All big companies were owned by Belgians. Copper, diamonds, gold all shipped to Belgium. No Congolese owned anything. Roads and railways only went from mines to the port, not to connect Congolese people.
So on June 30, 1960 when they gave independence, they left a huge country with no leaders, no army, no managers, and with tribes that had been divided. After 5 days the country collapsed into crisis. That is why Congo never recovered – it was built to fail from the start.
