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The Belgian Congo (French: Congo belge, pronounced [kɔ̃ɡo bɛlʒ]; Dutch: Belgisch-Congo) [a] was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Parliamentarians protested against the inhumane practices in the Congo Free State and Congo became a divisive issue in Belgian domestic politics. [3] The Belgian government urged the ageing and stubborn king to agree to the transfer of the Congo Free State to Belgium. The Belgian parliament started on an initial legislation for the future ...
Reports of widespread murder, torture, and other abuses in the rubber plantations led to international and Belgian outrage and the Belgian government transferred control of the region from Leopold II and established the Belgian Congo in 1908. Following unrest, Belgium granted Congo independence in 1960.
Prior to the creation of the Congo Free State, the International Association of the Congo (IAC) had signed treaties with over 300 native Congolese chiefs and in effect exercised sovereignty over a large area of the Congo Basin. The IAC was headquartered in Belgium and run by a committee under the presidency of Maximilien Strauch.
The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (French: État indépendant du Congo), was a large state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by King Leopold II , the constitutional monarch of the Kingdom of Belgium .
King Leopold II, whose rule of the Congo Free State was marked by severe atrocities, violence and major population decline.. Even before his accession to the throne of Belgium in 1865, the future king Leopold II began lobbying leading Belgian politicians to create a colonial empire in the Far East or in Africa, which would expand and enhance Belgian prestige. [2]
Roughly 98% of Belgium's overseas territory was just one colony (about 76 times larger than Belgium itself) – known as the Belgian Congo. The colony was founded in 1908 following the transfer of sovereignty from the Congo Free State , which was the personal property of Belgium's king, Leopold II .
Congo – A Political Tragedy is a 2018 independent documentary story of the Democratic Republic of Congo's political history, written by Patrick Kabeya and Mina Malu. [1] It chronicles the Congo Free State, The Belgian Congo as well as the key figures that played a role in its history such as Belgian King Leopold II, Patrice Lumumba, Joseph Kasa-Vubu, Joseph Mobutu, Moise Tshombe and Laurent ...