How King Leopold’s Colonial Legacy Still Haunts the Congo Today

July 26, 2022

Occupied by Belgians for almost 80 years, the effects of colonization still resonate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo decades after independence.

A refugee center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. United Nations Photo. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

As the leader of the small European country of Belgium in the 1880s, King Leopold II did not have much political clout with his fellow European statesmen. He wanted more political power so he achieved this by gaining personal control of a vast swath of Central Africa, which became the Congo Free State. King Leopold ruthlessly subjugated the local populations of the region in order to extract as much raw materials such as ivory and rubber as possible, committing human rights violations in the process. It was not until 1902 when Joseph Conrad published the novel Heart of Darkness criticizing Leopold’s administration of the Congo and in 1904 when Edmund Dene Morel published a report detailing the atrocities in the Congo did Western public opinion turn against King Leopold, who was forced in 1908 to relinquish control of the Congo Free State to the Belgian government.

Today, those atrocities committed by King Leopold and the Belgians are still felt by the area, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The relationship that the Belgian colonial administration espoused was one of paternalism, where the Congolese were treated like children, which resulted in them unprepared for self-determination. When the DRC gained independence in 1960, it plunged into a state of sporadic political conflicts due to the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko that lasted until the 1990s. The peace that ended that drawn out conflict only lasted a short time, and violence soon erupted again.

Currently, the eastern region of the country is held by at least 122 rebel groups, with the legitimate government struggling to control the region. That has caused more than 5 million people to be displaced between 2017 and 2019 and an additional 72,000 and counting since May 2022, with many fleeing areas controlled by rebel groups. Many areas receiving refugees are overwhelmed and do not have the proper infrastructure to support them.

The almost incessant warfare since independence may seem unconnected to the legacy of imperialism, but that is not the case. The seeds for the present political instability were sowed when the Congo was under Belgian rule. The Congo is a region with vast natural resources, from ivory and rubber of old to the mineral wealth of today. The abundance of raw materials and resources was exactly why Congo was colonized. When the borders of Africa were carved up by European powers, no regard was made to the various tribes already living in the area. Some groups of people were divided between different countries, and enemy tribes sometimes found themselves within the same domain. When the DRC gained independence, the various tribes were not united, leading to no coherent vision for the future of the country, thus sowing political instability.

In addition, since the purpose of the Congo Free State was solely to enrich King Leopold and later Belgium, there was no effort to develop a political or academic class among the local population. As such, at independence, there was no model of self-governance to follow after decades of infantilization by Europeans. That caused Mobutu Sese Seko to take advantage of the power vacuum and install himself dictator for more than 30 years.

The international response to the violence in the DRC has deprived the country of even more of its sustenance. International companies are refusing to do business with the DRC due to its human rights violations, depriving many of the mining jobs that they depend on. In order to survive, those people end up joining rebel groups, further perpetuating the violence.

The cycle of violence that started with Belgian occupation did not end in the 1990s. Subsequent leaders of the DRC used violence to consolidate their rule, since that was the only method they ever experienced. But, efforts have been made to ensure a sustainable future. The UN is stepping in by giving the DRC a peacebuilding fund to provide services to ex-rebels to reintegrate into their communities and to support over 300 women miners to better manage their sites and defend their rights. UNICEF also supports school reopenings, an essential indicator of peace. By prioritizing the reopening of schools in conflict zones, UNICEF ensures peaceful coexistence after prolonged conflict. The outside aid that the DRC is receiving gives local communities the agency to control their future.

To Get Involved

Cordaid is one organization providing humanitarian aid to the region. Another organization working to improve conditions by enabling local communities to form cooperatives that can successfully sustain peace in the communities in the DRC is Peace Direct.

Belgium’s Centuries-Old Procession of the Holy Blood Suspends its March

May 21, 2021

For over 700 years, Catholics have been gathering in Belgium to watch the Procession of the Holy Blood. The event features reenactments of biblical stories and centers around a holy relic, a scrap of cloth said to be stained with the blood of Christ.

Volunteers dressed to act out biblical stories at the Procession of the Holy Blood. VISITFLANDERS. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Each spring, thousands gather in the streets of Bruges, Belgium, to witness the Procession of the Holy Blood. The procession centers around a vial containing an ancient cloth said to be stained with the blood of Christ, which is paraded through the streets by more than 1,700 religious leaders who sing, dance and act out biblical scenes.

The “Relic of the Holy Blood,” as the cloth is known, has been kept in Bruges’ Basilica of the Holy Blood since the 1200s. According to legend, the blood liquefies on Fridays, the day of the crucifixion. The church is open on Fridays for believers to come through and worship. Once a year, the relic is removed from the church and paraded through the streets.

The Procession of the Holy Blood takes place 40 days after Easter, on Ascension Day, which is marked by Christians as the day that Christ ascended to heaven before his disciples. The first Procession of the Holy Blood took place in 1304, and the story of the relic itself dates back even further, to when the cloth stained with Christ’s blood is said to have come to Bruges.

According to the story, Joseph of Arimathea used a cloth to wipe drops of blood from Christ’s body at the crucifixion. During the Second Crusade, Count Thierry of Flanders came into possession of the bloodstained cloth and brought it back to Bruges in around 1150. There is no record of the relic until the mid-1200s, however, leading some to believe that it actually came to Bruges following the sack of Constantinople by the army of Count Baldwin IX. Regardless of how the relic made its way to Bruges, it has become the heart of an annual procession for over 700 years.

In modern times, the Procession of the Holy Blood is divided into four parts, intended to tell the story of the holy relic to observers. First, volunteers perform stories from the Old Testament, then from the New Testament. The third part of the procession details how the holy blood came to Bruges. Finally, at the end of the procession comes the Relic of the Holy Blood itself, held in a shrine and accompanied by the members of the Noble Brotherhood of the Holy Blood.

The shrine holding the Relic of the Holy Blood. Processsion_of_the_Precious_Blood_of_Jesus_Christ-The_Blood. CC BY-SA 2.5.

Though the subject matter of the procession is somewhat somber, the event itself is a festive one, with costumes and music reminiscent of medieval times. The Procession of the Holy Blood draws anywhere from 30,000 to 45,000 spectators from around the world eager to catch a glimpse of an important religious relic. In 2009, the procession was added to the UNESCO List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In 2021, for the second consecutive year, the centuries-old Procession of the Holy Blood did not take place. Though the event was initially scheduled for May 13, it was canceled due to the ongoing pandemic and the large crowds the procession typically attracts. The last time the procession was unable to proceed for more than a year at a time was during World War II.

Belgium Acknowledges Racist Past with Removal of King Leopold II Statue

June 17, 2020

The Black Lives Matter movement in the United States has encouraged many to speak up against the racism that continues to plague the world. Along with addressing present injustices, people are starting to take a look at the past. In the U.S., there have been numerous removals of statues of Confederate soldiers, leaders and slave owners such as Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis , and John B. Castleman. This movement to acknowledge the past has now sparked international attention.

On June 9, Belgium removed a statue in Antwerp of King Leopold II, a tyrant who took control of the Democratic Republic of Congo during the 19th century. Children in Belgian schools learn that King Leopold was a hero who brought civilization to Africa. While his reign expanded European colonization, it cost the lives of millions who were exploited due to brutal labor practices.

The reality of King Leopold II is much darker. He ruled the Congo between 1865 and 1909 as many other European countries were starting to settle into Africa for its resources and land. To Leopold, though, the Congo became his personal possession instead of a Belgian colony. Under his orders, troops worked men to death to meet his high demands for rubber and ivory. If a village was unable to produce the quota set by Leopold, its residents often had their hands severed as punishment. Women and children were often held captive and sent away to Belgium, and an estimated 10 million Congolese lost their lives. Congo became a part of Belgium only after Leopold’s death, and the country gained its independence in 1960.

After hearing about the death of George Floyd in the U.S., many young Belgians began protesting in the streets asking their government to acknowledge the truth of its past. Across the country, many have taken their frustrations out on Leopold’s statues by setting them on fire and painting them red to symbolize the bloodshed Belgium’s colonization brought to the people of the Congo. After gaining 64,000 signatures on a petition, Belgium is working to remove all of Leopold’s statues from the country.

Vandalized statue of King Leopold II near Brussels. Yves Herman. CC 2.0

There is a larger motive behind the removals, however. As mentioned, King Leopold II is praised for his contributions to Belgium’s colonization. These statues stand as a reminder of that racist past while also praising it. In this case, King Leopold is viewed as “doing what is best” for the country even as he forced millions into forced labor and killed them in the process. It has been embedded in the minds of Belgians that this behavior is somewhat acceptable. With the removal of statues like this, it is hoped that people’s minds will change to acknowledge that this type of behavior is never OK.

Occupied by Belgians for almost 80 years, the effects of colonization still resonate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo decades after independence.

To Get Involved

RELATED CONTENT:

For over 700 years, Catholics have been gathering in Belgium to watch the Procession of the Holy Blood. The event features reenactments of biblical stories and centers around a holy relic, a scrap of cloth said to be stained with the blood of Christ.

Also Check Out...