Congo Free State
1885-1908 		History of Central Africa Belgian Congo
1918-1939









Belgian Congo, 1908-1918



Governors General
1892-1912
1912-1916
1916-1921 		Theophile Wahis, Baron
Felix Fuchs
Eugene Henry

In 1908, the Belgian Government took over the highly indebted, scandal-ridden Congo Free State, which was renamed BELGIAN CONGO. A COLONIAL CHARTER was passed in Belgium's parliament, outlawing forced labour. BOMA continued to be the capital. The notorious rubber tax was abolished in 1912.
In 1910 a Conference was held at Brussels, where British and German claims regarding the Congolese borders were discussed. Belgium ceded a stretch of territory east of the Ruzizi river to British Uganda, a stretch of western Ruanda (the stretch Britain had aimed to acquire in 1890) to Germany. Britain officially recognized the Belgian takeover of the Congo Free State in 1913.
The new colonial administration encouraged immigration, the establishment of a plantation economy and mining, which flourished in Katanga.

In 1914, World War I broke out. Belgium, despite declaring it's neutrality, was invaded, and for the most part occupied by German forces in the first weeks of the war. The Belgian Congo shared a common border with German East Africa. In 1916, Belgian forces invaded German East Africa, occupying areas in the northeast. In 1920, these areas - RUANDA and URUNDI - were given to Belgium as a MANDATE of the LEAGUE OF NATIONS and administrated as an annex to the Belgian Congo.












EXTERNAL
FILES 		The Belgian Congo, from Democratic Republic of Congo Homepage
Library of Congress, Country Studies : Zaire
DOCUMENTS Flag of Belgian Congo, from FOTW
Maps : The Belgian Congo 1914, Physical and Administrative. Administrative & Political (the latter focussing on neighbours), from Roland & Duchesne 1914, posted at this site
Texts : J. Roland et E. Duchesne, Cours Complet de Geographie : Le Congo Belge (complete course of geography : the Belgian Congo), Namur : Wesmael-Charlier 1914; in English translation posted at this site.
Map : Carte de l'organisation administrative en 1910, from CoBelCo
E.D. Morel, L'etat actuel de la question Congolaise, 1910, posted by CoBelCo Online Stamp & Post Card Catalogue Belgian Congo, by Guy van Rijn, in French
REFERENCE Robert Cornevin, Histoire du Congo des origines prehistoriques a la Republique Democratique du Congo, Paris : Berger Levrault 1970, 391 pp.
Article : The Belgian Congo, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1913 pp.969-971 [G]
Article : Belgian Congo, in : Statesman's Year Book 1910 pp.644-650 [G]



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2001, last revised on August 22nd 2007

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