Nationalist Movement Of The Belgian Congo

flag-waving(a) Movement Of The Belgian congouBelgian congou represents todays Democratic nation of the congo (DRC). The country got her first name, Belgian congo, from her colonizer, Belgium, which was wellspringed by Ling Leopold II. This event took place in November 15, 1908. Belgium congou remained under the Belgians receive till June 30, 1960 when she assembleed her independence (Absolute Astronomy, par. 1).This paper is aimed at digging deeply into the events that took place in the Belgian Congo under Leopold IIs rule which eventu alwaysy last(predicate)y guide to the formation of the Nationalist Movement of the Belgian Congo.OverviewBelgiums control oer Congo dates back to 1885 when King Leopold II used the help of Henry Morton Stanley who was an adventurer to fulfill this interest. No other European monarch had expressed interest in Congo and this make Leopold II the first one. Among the things that attracted him to Congo included slave trade, rubber and minerals for w hich he made a golden mine. Congo remained under his control until 1908 when the Belgian presidential term took oer. Belgian remained powerful over Congo for 52 years until she got her independence in 1960. Patrice Lumumba made a great impact in Congos history as he headed Congos first ultranationalistic party. When Congo gained her independence, Lumumba was appointed Prime Minister. In the same breath, two provinces which were abounding in resources pulled taboo due to regional conflicts. Military struggles were rampant in Congo at the fourth dimension and Joseph Mobutu who was an multitude chief betrayed Lumumba. Lumumba was seen as a brat and this led to his kidnap and eventual murder in 1961. Those involved in his murder included foreign emissaries (Greenholt, par. 1).King Leopold IIs ruleLeopold II ruled with an compact hand and he fought demanding to control this truly profitable nation. He was the sole executive death chair and shareholder of the Belgian Congo. He was making huge money from sales of copper, rubber among other minerals non forgetting that he had capitalized on the lucrative slave trade which was prominent in many parts of the world. chthonic Leopold IIs rule, the natives were subjected to brutal mistreatment. The natural resources were overly plundered and thus benefited very few plenty. International scandals were also on the rise. In 1903, 122 Congolese natives were brutally murdered during a rubber collecting mission (Ankomah, par. 1).This event brought almost unrest and Roger Casement of the British Consul filed a report that victimized white officials under Leopold II. This report was taken in earnest and the perpetrators of this heinous crime were thoroughly punished upon arrest. The report filed by Roger Casement went ahead to pin point the hint causes of depopulation in Leopold IIs era. These he listed as indiscriminate war, tropical diseases, starvation and a reduced number of births. or so of these condition s were dehumanizing and this led to their exposure to the world. This was do by the United States and Europeans press. Leopolds rule came under much pressure from diplomats and the frequent public. This led to an end of his rule and Congo was now considered as a Belgiums colony (Ankomah).Life in Congo after Leopold IIs ruleAfter king Leopolds rule hit a snag, the Belgium government took over power. This led to reformation of Leopolds shortcomings and the situation improved. This recent government came with its recommendations which were geared at giving the Congolese natives a better lifetime. On 18th October, 1908, a Colonial Charter was put in place and its oblige 3 clearly stated that forced labor would no longer be exercised. This harmony brought about increased production in cotton and palm oil which increased the revenue. An education system was installed and the natives were even taught native languages like Swahili. Political administration was under the Belgian govern ment where the King of Belgians remained the president. The Congolese natives were moreover not happy about this arrangement as racial segregation was rampant. The blacks could not mingle with the whites and they were not welcome in places where whites dominated. Only whites were allowed in the city centers and this pushed the blacks to the less glamorous reserves. This segregation also affect the employment sector where blacks were only given the low ranks. A curfew that restricted their movement was operational. They were not allowed out of their houses at particular times (Ankomah).Nationalist Movements of the Belgian CongoNationalist movements were in place during Belgians rule but they looked down on them thus they went on unnoticed. Some religious and regional groups were opposed to these nationalist movements and organize their own. These movements pressurized Belgium to grant them independence as they were opposed to her rule. Belgian was not comfortable with this arrange ment because she mat up that this would evict her from her richest colony. A movement by the name ABAKO was formed in 1950 and this represented the ethno-religious groups (Breuilly 200).In 1956, the Nationalist Movement of the Belgian Congo was formed. It was otherwise known as the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) headed by Patrice Lumumba. This partys main agendum was to turn Congo into a self government. It gained popularity among the Congolese natives and spread widely to six provinces. Due to inside pressures within the party, a splinter group led by Albert Kalonji departed. This party took the title Mouvement National Congolais Kalonji. This better however did not affect the Lumumbas party which was now referred to as Mouvement National Congolais Lumumba. It proved to be very influential in the politics of Belgian Congo. It was seen as a threat to the Belgian government because they could savour their downfall. March 1959 saw national-wide riots which were dubbed Leopo ldville. This move further terrorized the Belgian government which saw to the legalization of the national movements which had been formed so far. This was a mighty revolution and the political parties formed an alliance (Absolute Astronomy, par.8).Factors that led to the rise of patriotismBelgian saw Congo as a tribal country that was only kept unneurotic through their rule. Patrice Lumumba was a unifying leader and worked hard to change this perceived attitude of the Congolese citizens by Belgians. He sought to bring them together by sowing in them seeds of unity and harmony against the Belgians who were typical racialists. He was not afraid to speak his mind before the Belgians whenever he had a chance. He publicly talked about the abuse the Congolese natives got from the government in power. He talked about the hard labor they were subjected to, the beatings and the taunts they suffered in the work force of the Belgians. altogether this they got because of their skin color th ey were black. He referred to them as mes freres du race meaning my brothers of race. This was supposed to signify the bond brought about by the stance they took against racial discrimination.Lumumbas calls for nationalism were not taken kindly by the Belgian government. The least they would hand wanted was rebellion from the tidy sum who gave them the layout they needed for their exploits. This landed Lumumba jail terms all now and then but he was not about to give up. He and his co-fighters would be supercharged with sedition. The key Nationalist Movement of the Belgian Congo led by Lumumba aimed at ensuring that the Belgian government lived to their promise of granting Congo independence with no strings attached. The movement also planned to boycott all the elections organized by the Belgian government. This they would use as a leeway to gain control over police, the armed forces and the colonial apparatus which were already in place. Their plan had been well made and they s aw themselves ridding Congo of the Belgian rule with time. They looked forward to end the dominance that Belgium had over Congo (Greenholt, par.2-4).The movement also looked at empowering the Congolese citizens by ensuring that they benefited from the countrys natural resources. This would raise their living standards and put them at par with other genuine nations of the world. This movement was peace loving and saw this whole transition as peaceful. This did not thereby direct the formation of armed forces. Lumumba was a dedicated leader who was determined to empower his people. He was a ardent speaker and in one of his speeches he said the following Mistakes have been made in Africa in the past, but we are ready to work with the powers which have been in Africa to create a powerful new bloc. If this effort fails, it will be through the fault of the West (Greenholt).This manoeuvered that his movement was more determined than ever to work out a clean deal with the colonizers not unless they were hard-hearted. Belgium honored her promise to grant Congo independence which came with so many strings attached. They saw Lumumba and his nationalist party as a threat to their plan and embarked on a war against him. This saw the Belgian bureaucrats vacate the offices with all records, files and telephones as they paved way for Lumumbas government. They were working hard literally to sabotage him (Revolutionary worker, par. 5).Impact of the Nationalist Movement of Belgian Congo to Congos politicsThe people of Congo had eagerly waited for this day when they would finally rid themselves of the colonialism demon which had chocked them for the longest time. These people had not known peace and hope did not exist in their vocabulary. They had been exploited and tormented by the Belgian colonialists. They had not lived to enjoy the fruits of their hard labor which benefited a few in the society. They worked tirelessly to flesh out these colonialists bank accounts with p roceeds from their rich heritage. They had someone to thank specially for this dream of liberty come true. This was none other than Patrice Lumumba. He takes much credit for the revolution that brought immense change in Congo (Revolutionary worker).Congos liberty Day was long awaited for and a Belgian King by the name Baudouin I had to show up in person to hand over the independence hat to the people of this nation. The independence ceremonial took place in Leopoldville. Joseph Kasavubu was verbalize in as the President and Patrice Lumumba as the Prime Minister. King Baudouin I came with the hopes that he would still be closely associated with this nation and somehow continue the exploits which his country, Belgium had enjoyed over the years (Revolutionary Worker). matchless Lumumba saw this coming and was not happy at all. This Prime Minister could not be hoodwinked nevertheless like that. It was with this spirit thereof that he addressed all the people who had assembled. He revisited the hardships and abuse that the Congolese natives had suffered under the Belgian governments rule. He went ahead to lay down his portfolio on the future and the hopes he had for his lovemaking people and country, Congo. This speech was a bitter pill for King Baudouin I to swallow and Lumumbas coalition partners were shocked. They had not seen this coming. This became Lumumbas most famous speech. In this speech he mourned the distress and the problems that they had to go through as the natives of Congo under the Belgian colonialism but celebrates that at least now the leadership of the country was under the natives (Revolutionary Worker).All that, my brothers, we have endured. But we, whom the vote of your elected representatives have given the right to direct our dear country, we who have suffered in our body and in our heart from colonial oppression, we tell you very loud, all that is henceforth ended. The commonwealth of the Congo has been proclaimed, and our country is now in the detention of its own children (Revolutionary Worker).This speech was so powerful and greatly moved the audience. The wounds they had suffered under the colonialists were now fresher than ever. The pain they felt was deep and they felt used. Their eyes were undefended once more to the atrocities that had been committed to them in their own country by these selfish people. What they overlooked was that Belgian still had control over their country through the military. The Belgians had under their arms Congos police force and army safely tucked. The countrys wealth was still under Belgians mineral corporations. Her strategy was to ensure that the country was in the hands of imperialists who they would manipulate to ensure that their stakes remained productive for their own selfish gain (Revolutionary Worker).Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was therefore a stumbling block to this move. This prompted the imperialist agents to assassinate him on 18th January 1961, soon after he was sworn in as Prime Minister at a tender age of 35. This was after he underwent a lot of injustices and mistreatment which included a house arrest, brutalization and torture in the hands of Colonel Mobutus men. Mobutu had been vie a key role in ensuring that the Belgian government stakes were safeguarded. He was their informer and they manipulated him to gain their ground. He was their puppet (The Internationalist, par. 1).Lumumbas assassination came as a great shock to the people he fought for relentlessly. It also served as an eye opener to them that it would take shedding of blood to gain total liberation from the colonialists. The people of Congo had viewed him as their savior and in fact saw him as a black savior who had sacrificed his life for the sake of his people. So many people were enraged at his death that numerous paintings were done depicting him as a great hero. One of such paintings was that of his portrait inside the map of Congo. some other painting shows him breaking off the chains off his arms and at the same time training the flag of Congo (The Museum of Arts). A week before his assassination, Lumumba wrote a letter to his wife, Pauline Lumumba. This is what the letter go out January 1961 hadNo brutality, mistreatment, or torture has ever forced me to ask for grace, for I prefer to die with my head high, my faith unshakable, and my confidence profound in the destiny of my country, rather than to live in submission and dislike of sacred principles. History will one day have its say, but it will not be the history that Brussels, Paris, Washington, or the United Nations will teach, but that which they will teach in the countries emancipated from colonialism and its puppets (Revolutionary Worker, par. 6). final stageThe nationalist movements of Belgian Congo worked hard to redeem a people who had been oppressed. The Congolese people had been subjected to hard labor, slavery, racial discrimination, starvation, murders and all sorts of mistreatment. These movements enlightened the people of Congo on the evils of the colonialists. Their aim was to get their country back, their freedom and their dignity, all which they had lost to the Belgian government. There was a price to pay and they were not afraid. Patrice Lumumba paid with his life but the struggle did not end there. He had indeed fought a good fight that led to the liberation of his people from this dehumanizing rule initiated by King Leopold II. Were it not for the nationalist movements of Belgian Congo, these atrocities would have act and independence would have been a far away dream for the Congolese people.