State independent of Congo

The State independent of Congo was a territory on which the king Léopold {{Romain|II}} of Belgium exerted a sovereignty in fact of 1885 to 1908. This State was consisted the currently known territory under the name of Democratic republic of Congo. Léopold started to nourish colonizing ambitions with regard to Congo in 1877 (after having to have sought other territories, of which the China, the Japan, Borneo, Fiji, the High-Nile, etc), and was ensured of an international recognition of its rights on the territory in 1885, before an annexation by the Belgium in 1908. Under the control of the administration of Léopold, the State independent of Congo saw the application of a mode of forced labor. Starting from 1900, information concerning the work conditions in the State independent of Congo started a wave of indignation and protest in the United Kingdom mainly, then in the United States and in some European countries. In 1908, the pressure of the public opinion and the operations diplomatic led at the end of the sovereignty of Léopold and the annexation of Congo by the Belgium as a colony, from now on known under the name of Belgian Congo.

History

Genesis of the State independent of Congo

Léopold managed to make primarily recognize the sovereignty of the AIC (the International association of Congo) on Congo for three reasons:

it promised to make a State without customs of it (as well French governments as British imposed important customs duties with the entry and the exit on the territories of their colonies);

it granted France, in 1884, a right preferably on the territories of the future State independent of Congo (what meant that in the event of disappearance or of dissolution of the future State independent of Congo, the sovereignty of the territories would be proposed in first in France);

as well the United Kingdom as France (and to a lesser extent, Prussia), preferred to entrust the territories of Congo to a small neutral nation that with their competitor in the imperialism.

But the renewed interest for the richnesses generated by the territory were going to limit the integrity of the discounted territory. The French claimed northern bank of the river (current the République of Congo) and the British (mainly Cecil Rhodos) tried to adapt the rich person area of the Katanga. Léopold could finally count on a territory practically merging with the central basin of the basin of Congo, whose economic future remained dubious.

The French expansion badly put the United Kingdom at ease, and this last had a claim on Congo which dated from the forwarding of Lieutenant Cameron in 1873. This forwarding had started from Zanzibar to bring back the body of David Livingstone, but did not wish to take possession of a large not very productive supposed colony. The Portugal had an older claim, dating from the voyages of Diogo Cão with the mouth of Congo in 1482. After be unaware ofhaving been unaware of it during centuries, this claim reappeared. The Portuguese sought initially a French support, but the British proposed theirs in exchange of a promise of free trade on the river. The Germany of Bismarck had new possessions under development in the South-western African, and did not have ambition for Congo, but was charmed to see its British and French rivals thus disputing central Africa.

Léopold began an information campaign to the the United Kingdom, pinning the bloody reports/ratios relating to the slave system in the Portuguese colonies, and let imply with the large British commercial companies which it could leave in the United Kingdom a statute more advantageous than that promised by the Portuguese for the trade in the territory. At the same time, Léopold promised in Bismarck that it would not give to any foreign nation particular favor on the territory of Congo, and that German could exploit it like all others. Léopold then offered to France the privilege that, if it could not only provide for the means necessary to exploit the territory (what seemed at the time being the case), this one would return in priority to France. Finally, he asked the assistance of the the United States, sending to President Arthur copies of the treaties concluded by the British explorer Henry Morton Stanley with the chiefs from local tribes, proposer that within the framework of its humanitarian action, the AIC would manage Congo to bring the benefits of civilization to the populations " indigènes".

In November 1884, Bismarck convened a conference of 14 states (the Conférence of Berlin) to find an out-of-court settlement for the division of central Africa. And after 3 months of negotiation, Léopold obtained satisfaction. France accepted 666.000 km ² on northern bank of the river (current the République of Congo and Central African Republic, Portugal 909.000 km ² in the south (current the Angola), and Léopold obtained in the name of the AIC the 2.344.000 km ² which were going to constitute the State independent of Congo.

The conquest of Léopold

Léopold did not need more the frontage of the AIC and replaced it by a cabinet made up of Belgians who would ensure the management of the State. April 30th, 1885, Léopold II takes the title of sovereign of the State independent of Congo. The first appointed chief of this immense territory is an English, to sir Francis de Winton, which had the title of general administrator and officially proclaims with Vivi the foundation of the State independent of Congo and the advent of Léopold II like sovereign of this state. The capital was transferred later to Boma and Léopold constituted in 1888 a militia called the Police force, thanks to white mercenaries, Belgian soldiers, children black soldiers (removed in their villages) and of the freed black slaves. The vast basin of Congo was divides into 14 administrative districts, each district in several zones, each zone in several sectors, and each sector in several stations. Each district were directed by an European Commissioner.

The Police force at the same time Armée and police force national was increased and counted as follows: 19000 men in 1910. In blue uniform with a fez red, the soldiers léopoldien had an advantage on resistant African, of rifles which draw a dozen from blows without having to reload, further, more precisely and especially also in rainy weather. African in rainy weather had only antiquated rifles of the XVIIIe century, useless. Nevertheless the Boa, the Budja and Sanga will be devoted to a Guérilla baited and Yaka will be subjected only in 1906. In 1908, the Police force will count 313 military stations and often carries out patrol with a dozen black soldiers and 2 white officers. The Congolese populations were to provide to eat with the army. From 1892 to 1894, the difficult relations between the State independent and the states arabo-swahilis of Maniema degenerated into a open fight, which was perhaps the military test hardest and most constant which accompanied the consolidation by European control. The defection of the most effective Congolese auxiliary of the chief-merchants arabo-swahilis, Ngongo Lutete, and its passage to the Belgian camp with its army of Bakusu - Tetela in 1892 marked a decisive turn in the balance of power. Ngongo Lutete itself was summarily carried out the following year by an independent government official, event which was to know a durable repercussion in the area. The plundering of the ivory and the raids of slaves by armed bands reached the states arabo-swahilis, and the devastations of the war carried out between those and the independent State dislocated and devastated seriously an important part of center-is Congolese.

Three important problems were done day in these first years. First of all, beyond the 8 counters developed by Stanley, there was only the jungle, which did not offer commercial interest. Then, Cecil Rhodos, then Prime Minister for the British colony of the Cape (left current the South Africa) sought to progress of advantage towards north and to occupy the south of Congo in infringment with the recognition of the territorial limits of the State independent of Congo by the United Kingdom. And finally, slave the zanzibarites of Tippo Tip had established a strong presence in the east and the north of the territory, like on the territory of current the Uganda. Tippo Tip had thus founded a true independent state.

Léopold II was a rich man, but not enough to support the expenditure necessary to the development of the territory of Congo. He wanted to draw from the richnesses of Congo, and not to ruin himself. From 1885 to 1889 Congo did not bring back anything to him and in spite of the appropriations of Rothschild he realized but the construction of Congo outward journey to exhaust his full fortune. Indeed in 1889 Léopold only 430 employee with Boma had. It is into 1890 that the Belgian Parliament granted a credit of 25 franc million to him Belgian.

The first great change was the installation of the domanial mode , which consisted in nationalizing any territory which had not been colonized yet. The grounds were granted the State and the employees of the State were in charge of their exploitation. The Africans and the Europeans established apart from the historical places of colonization (with the mouth of the Congo river) saw themselves thus dispossessed of swears of their own grounds. It thus required that a maximum output was drawn from the colony and the Police force thus exploited rubber and the ivory thanks to the local populations. But under the British pressures the sovereign agreed to share the exploitation of Congo.

The territory was divided into two economic zones: the zone entrusted to concessionary companies and the domanial zone, which was the state-owned property independent of Congo, and thus of Léopold. From 1892 the concessionary companies the 4 companies concessionary, ABIR, the from Antwerp Company, the Company of Kasaï and the special Comité of Katanga exploitérent rubber and the ivory and versérent a tax with Léopold II. On this basis, Congo started to be economically autonomous about 1895, that is to say ten years after its recognition by the international community. Quickly, the problem of the British expansionism in the south of the territory arose. The district distant and vulnerable of the Katanga on High-Congo was occupied by a powerful chief called Msiri, and which had already rejected the offers of Cecil Rhodos. Léopold did not embarrass a négociations : it sent forwardings armed to occupy its capital. Msiri was withdrawn in the forest, was captured but refused to be subjected. On order of Léopold, Msiri was assassinated and a more flexible leader was set up.

Campaigns against Arabo-Swahilis

The taking possession of the territory by the EIC went against the interests of the eclavagists established in the east since several tens of years. After several disputes beginning of the Years 1890, the open war burst beginning 1892 following attacks of stations of the EIC on the Lomami. The stations of Lusambo and Albertville were besieged, but resisted the various attacks. Kasongo on the other hand fell. The counter-attack of the Police force carried out as from November by Francis Dhanis against Sefu made it possible to take Nyangwe in March and Kasongo in April 1893. The head office of Albertville had been raised in January with the assistance of reinforcements come from the east. The station of Stanley Falls attacked as from May was helped by Louis Napoleon Chaltin, which had just taken Riba Riba.

Final confrontation intervened in the Maniema starting from the autumn 1893. Rumaliza, which had besieged Albertville, united the various Arabo-Swahilis vassal sultans of Tippo Tip against the troops of the EIC. The fortress of Rumaliza is taken the January 9th 1894, and the last Arabo-Swahilie position, Kabambare, fall the January 25th. The troops defeats flee towards the German Eastern Africa or are subjected.

Revolts of Batetela

After the victory against Arabo-Swahilis, the territory of the EIC henceforth was entirely acquired to him. But the transportation routes were still limited, the country badly known, and held by weak garrisons for good portion made up enlisted soldiers of force. Among these troops, the Batetela, ethnos group originating in the borders of the Kasaï and Maniema were of number. Ngongo Lutete, one of their main leaders, had besieged Lusambo at the beginning of the war against Arabo-Swahilis. Rejoined a time with the forces of the EIC, it was however summarily carried out in 1893.

A first revolt of Batetela intervened in July 1895 with the garrison of the Police force of Luluabourg. She definitively was subdued only in December 1896.

A second revolt Batetela burst the February 14th 1897 in the valley of the Uele within the avant-garde of the forwarding of the Nile, the very same day where the column Chaltin reached the river in the Enclave of Lado. Francis Dhanis, which ordered the principal column of what was to be the forwarding of the Nile, could not quickly control the situation, itself in prey with defections during confrontations. From now on active with the Kivu and the Maniema, the mutineers definitively were demolished only in December 1898.

The last revolt Batetela was limited. It burst the April 17th 1900 with the Fort of Shinkakasa. She was subdued at the end of three days. She however saw the bombardment of the close town of Boma by the mutineers.

Administration of Léopold

Léopold II was not interested in the administration of Congo on the territory of the concessionary companies. On its grounds, all the means were good as well as possible to benefit from the populations and resources thanks to the Police force with the orders of the companies. On the domanial grounds, it is the king him even which sent by station the orders to the officers of the Police force. On the territories where these resources were findable, the State independent of Congo imposed production quotas of ivory and of rubber, the prices fixed and also imposed the supply of vivres on the counter. The techniques to push the populations to be worked were simple, the Police force threatened the usual chiefs, who in their turn gave the order on their subjects to go to collect wild rubber in the forest. Until the populations do not obey their notable any more, at this point in time one created camps where the women and the children were taken as an hostage, the men could release the members of their family against ivory or rubber. The detention conditions were such as much would die of disease (Diphtérie, Tétanos) before being released. Once released, the hostages and the man become useless, even an obstacle with the production knowing the tactics of taking of hostage and must thus be killed. All this exploitation resting on the blind obedience of the black soldiers of the Police force to their white officers and the king, the main issue for Léopold II quickly becomes the mutinies of the black soldiers. There be three great mutinies in 1895, 1897 and 1900.

The first diamond was found in Kasai in 1907.

Cut hands

The question of the cut hands remains discussed. Thus, the Commission of international survey dispatched in Congo in 1904 and 1905 recognized that soldiers, in well delimited areas, had received for instruction to cut the hands of the natives killed to the combat in order to prove the good use of the provided cartridges. However, several photographic evidence shows of the alive Congoleses with mutilations (ends of the members crossed or crushed), but certain historians (whose Jean Stengers) advances purely medical reasons to explain them, namely of the various wounds which would have imposed the mutilation to stop infections.

Many deaths

The estimates of the full number of deaths remain extremely difficult, just like the determination of the cause of these deaths.

The first estimate of the Congolese population, that on which all the detractors of the State independent of Congo based themselves, was the fact of the Stanley explorer in The Congo and the founding off its Free State , which counted the number of natives who observed it whereas it went up the Congo river and some affluents. After having counted them, it multiplied the number obtained by the total territory of Congo, without holding account owing to the fact that the population density is always largely higher near the ways of water than inside a country, and than from innumerable natives had come to see it because it constituted a surprising spectacle.

Stanley thus arrived at the figure of: 42608000 inhabitants. However, in addition to to have carried out the " recensement" in a gigantic territory by counting the natives who pressed themselves along the Congo river, Stanley was mistaken in the multiplication in its own data. Indeed, while not making his miscalculation (a bad multiplication of the number of miles traversed in boat), one arrives at a population of: 27694000 inhabitants, quantifies who will make besides authority in France and Belgium (the French translator of the book of Stanley having corrected itself the error during its translation of the book).

This figure: 27694000 natives, is however largely subject to deposit for the reasons explained above.

The second estimate of the Congolese population, that on which Adam Hochschild bases itself to quantify the full number of deaths, goes back to 1924. This estimate (and not census) carried out by the Belgian administration of the time rose with: 10000000 of natives. However, there is either no reason to think that this figure either exact (in 1948, or 24 years later, the Belgian colonial administration declared that it did not have, in the facts, no idea of the population of Congo).

The historians are thus confronted with an complete absence of reliable figures to count the indigenous population of Congo. Some, being based on testimonys of colonists or missionaries present in certain villages of Congo, are authorized with launching figures which strongly vary: thus, the report/ratio of the British diplomat Roger Casement in 1904 gives a figure of 3 million people, Forbath speaks about at least 5 million, Adam Hochschild, of 10 million, the Encyclopædia Britannica gives a loss of population from 8 to 30 million.

At the time of independence in 1960, the total population of the territory was of approximately: 12000000 people, and had believed appreciably since the resumption of the supervision on the territory by Belgium in 1908.

Problems of the State independent of Congo

Léopold II was in difficulty with the contracted loans, before the investments granted Congo are not profitable with the beginning of the world boom on rubber in the Années 1890. The prices climbed out of arrow with each new innovation implying the use of rubber: such manufacture of pipes, insulating sleeves for the wire of telegraph and telephone, the manufacture of tires. At the end of the Years 1890, the harvest of rubber had by far exceeded the ivory as an independent source of income of Congo. The top of this exploitation intervened in 1903, when the price of rubber arrived at highest. The opening in 1898 of the line of Railroad Matadi-Léopoldville in addition made it possible to convoy quickly and with few expenses the goods of and towards the interior of the country. This transport was done before by Portage with back of man, extremely expensive as well at the financial level, as in human lives.

The Congolese concessionary companies had however quickly to face competitors originating in the Southeast Asia and Latin America, when the Plantation S of Hévéa S multiplied in other more exploitable tropical regions, generally controlled by rival British firms. At this point in time the prices of rubber started to go down. The competition brought to misuse the forced labor to lower the production costs. During this time, the cost of the recruitment of the labor nibbled the profit margins, which would also decrease by the exhaustion of the raw material. With the rise of competition with the other nations for the market of rubber, the private management of Léopold II became vulnerable to the attacks of the other nations, in particular of the United Kingdom.

To visit the country was difficult. The missionary S were tolerated there. The white employees could not leave the country before the end of their contract. However, of the rumors circulated since 1896 and Léopold was the first surprised one. As it did not deal at all with the management of the colony, it is necessary any to think that it did not know anything the exactions made by certain individuals in territories and at times delimited well.

Léopold declared thus, in private letters:

"If there are abuses in Congo, we must make them cease. If they remained, it would be the end of État" (letter of September 13rd, 1896 with van Eetvelde).

"It is necessary to vigorously repress the horrible abuses which were raised. It is necessary that these horrors finish or I will withdraw myself from Congo. I will let myself splash neither with blood, nor of mud and it is necessary that these turpitudes cessent" (letter of January 17th, 1899 with Liebrechts).

However, since 1900, after having spoken with colonial civils servant and according to the attitude of the press and the opinion Belgian, Léopold questioned the reality of the exactions, which it took for a propaganda campaign of the United Kingdom to try to take the sovereignty of Congo. Léopold launched out then in expensive advertizing campaigns, creating even a " Commission on the protection of the indigènes" to counter the " some instigators of abus". Certain journalists were thus remunerated by the State independent of Congo to write the marked articles, critics to serve the interests of the United Kingdom and testimonys of the Protestant missionaries discredited to be marked to be caught some to the catholic missionaries. The State independent of Congo countered these attacks during several tens of years. The situation in Congo was known, but few Belgians believed in it. However, the threat for the mode of Léopold II came from with dimensions unexpected. Edmund Dene Morel, ex-employee of a large transport company of Liverpool, become journalist of full-time investigation, published its articles with the assistance of tradesmen of Liverpool, wishing the end of the monopoly of Léopold II on the country, of which the millionaire of the chocolate William Cadbury. In 1902, the news of Joseph Conrad Heart off Darkness was published. Based on its short experiment as captain of the one of the steamers on the river 10 years before, it contributed to sensitize of advantage the public opinion in connection with what occurred to Congo. Mark Twain and Arthur Conan Doyle also denounced the situation in their writings (respectively the soliloquy of the King Léopold and the Crime of Congo ). In 1903, Morel and its partisans with the House of Commons succeeded in making vote for a resolution asking the British government to carry out survey in connection with the violations of treaty of Berlin. In 1904, Sir Roger Breaking, then British consul, gave a detailed report/ratio of what he had seen in Congo, report/ratio which was made public. The British Congo Reform Association, founded by Morel with the assistance of Breaking, required that one act. Other European nations, as well as the United States followed. The British Parliament asked for the convocation of a new meeting of the 14 signatories of the treaty of Berlin of 1885, for a revision of this one. The Belgian Parliament, with at his head the socialist director Emile Vandervelde and other detractors of the Congolese policy of Léopold II, forced this last to set up an independent commission to inquire into Congo. In 1905, this commission confirmed that abuses had been made.

Léopold II offered to reform its mode, but little took it with the serious one. Belgium, to which Léopold had been rather committed yielding Congo to its death, was reticent. The decision of resumption of Congo was finally accepted by the Belgian government, after two years of debates and following the installation of a new Parliament.

Finally, the November 15th 1908, four years after the Report/ratio Breaking and six years after the exit of Heart off Darkness , the Parliament of Belgium voted the annexation of the State independent of Congo, and dealt with its administration.

Humane tragedy

Adam Hochschild recently pointed out this combat for the end of the State independent in his book the Phantoms of the king Léopold . It is extremely difficult to evaluate the extent of the humane tragedy caused by the 23 years of administration of the territory by the State independent of Congo. Initially, there exist great uncertainties as for the population of the territory in 1885. Stanley estimated it at 30 million individuals, basing its calculations starting from its observations starting from the river. This figure generally is regarded as overestimated. The population of the territory largely suffered from this administration, by direct violences, but also by a fall of the birthrate, the disturbance of the lifestyles, the destruction of the habitats and cultures, the diseases, the famine, the exoduses. The figures given for the losses of population go from a few hundreds of thousands of people to 30 million.

Only certainty, the population estimated at the time of the resumption of the territory by the Belgium in 1908 was of approximately 10 million people, and 12 million with independence. -->

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