This book explains how and why Belgium, a small but influential European country, was changed through its colonial activities in the Congo, from the first expeditions in 1880 to the Mobutu regime in the 1980s. Belgian politics, diplomacy, economic activity and culture were influenced by the imperial experience. Belgium and the Congo, 1885-1980 yields a better understanding of the Congo's past and present.

This book constitutes the collective response of the authors to all those who strive to give by their words, their writings and their images, a false image of the Belgians in the Congo, whether at the time of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908 or during the time of the Belgian Congo from 1908 to 1960. Those who are seriously interested in Belgian colonial history note the lack of objectivity, or even the lack of knowledge, of many others who today, under the guise of a "self-qualified work of historical research motivated by a duty to remember" publish articles and books or produce films on this period.

Belgium was a small, neutral country without a colonial tradition when King Leopold II ceded the Congo, his personal property, to the state in 1908. For the next half century Belgium not only ruled an African empire but also, through widespread, enduring, and eagerly embraced propaganda, produced an imperialist-minded citizenry. Selling the Congo is a study of European pro-empire propaganda in Belgium, with particular emphasis on the period 1908–60. Matthew G. Stanard questions the nature of Belgian imperialism in the Congo and considers the Belgian case in light of literature on the French, British, and other European overseas empires. Comparing Belgium to other imperial powers, the book finds that pro-empire propaganda was a basic part of European overseas expansion and administration during the modern period. Arguing against the long-held belief that Belgians were merely “reluctant imperialists,” Stanard demonstrates that in fact many Belgians readily embraced imperialistic propaganda. Selling the Congo contributes to our understanding of the effectiveness of twentieth-century propaganda by revealing its successes and failures in the Belgian case. Many readers familiar with more-popular histories of Belgian imperialism will find in this book a deeper examination of European involvement in central Africa during the colonial era.

With an introduction by award-winning novelist Barbara Kingsolver In the late nineteenth century, when the great powers in Europe were tearing Africa apart and seizing ownership of land for themselves, King Leopold of Belgium took hold of the vast and mostly unexplored territory surrounding the Congo River. In his devastatingly barbarous colonization of this area, Leopold stole its rubber and ivory, pummelled its people and set up a ruthless regime that would reduce the population by half. . While he did all this, he carefully constructed an image of himself as a deeply feeling humanitarian. Winner of the Duff Cooper Prize in 1999, King Leopold’s Ghost is the true and haunting account of this man’s brutal regime and its lasting effect on a ruined nation. It is also the inspiring and deeply moving account of a handful of missionaries and other idealists who travelled to Africa and unwittingly found themselves in the middle of a gruesome holocaust. Instead of turning away, these brave few chose to stand up against Leopold. Adam Hochschild brings life to this largely untold story and, crucially, casts blame on those responsible for this atrocity.

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 26. Chapters: Belgian Congo general election, 1960, Colonization of the Congo, Force Publique, Independance Cha Cha, Jean Cuvelier, List of birds on stamps of Belgian Congo, List of ministers of the Belgian Congo, National Institute for Agronomy in Belgian Congo, Nkutama a mvila za makanda, Thangata, Union Miniere du Haut Katanga, Victor Roelens, Zappo Zap. Excerpt: The Belgian Congo (French: , Dutch: .)) was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960. Leopold II, King of the Belgians and de facto owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Map of the Free Congo State, 1890. Congolese children and wives whose fathers failed to meet rubber collection quotas were often punished by having their hands cut off.Until the later part of the 19th century, the Europeans had not yet ventured into the Congo. The rainforest, swamps and accompanying malaria, and other diseases, such as sleeping sickness, made it a difficult environment for European exploration and exploitation. In 1876, King Leopold II of the Belgians organized the International African Association with the cooperation of the leading African explorers and the support of several European governments for the promotion of African exploration and colonization. After Henry Morton Stanley explored the region, a journey that ended in 1878, Leopold courted the explorer and hired him to help establish Leopold's interests in the region. While exploring the Congo, Stanley made contracts with native leaders. Few to none of these tribal leaders had a realistic idea of what they were signing. In essence these documents gave over all rights of their respective pieces of land to King Leopold...