Léopoldville riots
The Léopoldville riots were an outbreak of civil disorder in Léopoldville (modern-day Kinshasa) in the Belgian Congo which took place in January 1959 and which were an important moment for the Congolese independence movement. The rioting occurred when members of the Alliance des Bakongo (ABAKO) political party were not allowed to assemble for a protest and colonial authorities reacted harshly. The exact death toll is not known, but at least 49 people were killed and total casualties may have been as high as 500. Following these riots, a round table conference was organized in Brussels to negotiate the terms of Congo's independence, The Congo received its independence on 30 June 1960, becoming the Republic of the Congo.
Background
During the latter stages of
On 28 December 1958, Lumumba organized a major MNC rally in Léopoldville where he reported on his attendance of the All-African Peoples' Conference in Accra, Ghana earlier that month. Noting the success of the rally, Kasa-Vubu decided to organize his own event one week later, on Sunday January 4, 1959[6] to discuss African nationalism.[9] ABAKO requested permission to hold the meeting at Léopoldville's YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) building,[9] but the municipal government, having been given short notice, communicated that only a "private meeting" would be authorised.[10] Belgian officials also warned that if the event became political, ABAKO leaders would be held responsible.[9]
Riots
Interpreting the administration's warnings as a prohibition of the meeting, ABAKO leadership attempted on 3 January to postpone their event, but on Sunday, 4 January, a large crowd gathered at the YMCA anyway.[6] Kasa-Vubu and other ABAKO officials arrived to send the protesters home. They were unable to calm the crowd,[9] and the violence began following the protesters' refusal to disperse.[11]
The crowd began throwing rocks at police and attacking white motorists. The initial group of protesters were soon joined by 20,000 Congolese leaving a nearby soccer stadium.[6] At the time press accounts estimated that 35,000 Africans were involved in the violence, which quickly spread as the rioters attempted to enter the European section of the capital.[12] Rioters allegedly smashed and looted storefronts, burned Catholic missions and beat Catholic priests.[12] Many demonstrators chanted "indépendance immédiate".[6]
Order was restored with the use of African police officers in the employ of the colonial government and with armored cars under the direction of General Émile Janssens.[12][13] Colonial authorities arrested as many as 300 Congolese, including Kasa-Vubu, who would later become the newly independent Congo's first president, Simon Mzeza[14] and ABAKO vice-president Daniel Kanza and charged them with inciting the riot.[12]
Aftermath
Estimates of the riot's final death toll vary, but estimates of total casualties range to as high as 500.[15] The official casualties were tallied as 49 Africans killed and 241 wounded.[16] Many Africans did not seek treatment at hospitals and many of those that died were inconspicuously buried.[17] The January riots marked a turning point in the Congolese liberation movement, forcing colonial and Belgian authorities to acknowledge that serious issues existed in the colony.[18] Unlike earlier expressions of discontent, the grievances were conveyed primarily by uneducated urban residents, not évolués. Many évolués, like the Europeans, were perturbed by the destruction.[17]
In the immediate aftermath, Belgian authorities laid blame on unemployed Africans, but claimed the majority of the city's 250,000 African residents were not involved.
Legacy
4 January is now celebrated as a public holiday in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as Day of the Martyrs. The events marked the radicalization of the independence movement and are often considered to be the "death knell" for Belgian control of the Congo.[17] This radicalization occurred on both sides, with a Congolese group signalling a willingness to use violence to achieve independence for the first time[17] as well as many in the white community also becoming increasingly prepared for violence. Some whites planned to attempt a coup d'état if a black majority government took power.[15]
The riots also marked a period of rising tension and a break for the MNC, the main political rivals for the ABAKO. Starting with the unrest in January, both of the nationalist parties' influence expanded outside the major cities for the first time, and nationalist demonstrations and riots became a regular occurrence over the next year,[19] bringing large numbers of black people from outside the évolué class into the independence movement. With the bulk of the ABAKO leadership was arrested, the MNC was left in an advantageous political position.[20]
See also
Notes and references
References
- ^ Gibbs 1991, pp. 39–42.
- ^ Gibbs 1991, pp. 46–49.
- ^ Gibbs 1991, p. 70.
- ^ Young 1965, pp. 274–275.
- ^ Young 1965, p. 277.
- ^ a b c d e Nzongola-Ntalaja 2002, pp. 84–6.
- ^ Hoskyns 1965, pp. 8–9.
- ^ Hoskyns 1965, pp. 9–10.
- ^ a b c d Reuters 1969.
- ^ Nzongola-Ntalaja 2002, p. 85.
- ^ a b Gilroy 1959a.
- ^ a b c d AP 1959.
- ^ "Décès du général Janssens". Décès. Le Soir. 5 December 1989.
- ^ Gilroy 1959b.
- ^ a b Zeilig 2008, p. 70.
- ^ a b Hoskyns 1965, p. 10.
- ^ a b c d Nzongola-Ntalaja 2002, p. 86.
- ^ Swarthmore 2012.
- ^ Reuters 1959b.
- ^ Zeilig 2008, pp. 70–73.
Bibliography
- "Joseph Kasavubu Dies in Congo; Was His Nation's First President" (PDF). The New York Times. Reuters. 24 March 1969. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- "Congolese win independence from the Belgian Empire, 1959-60". Swarthmore College - Global Action Nonviolent Database. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- Gibbs, David N. (1991). The Political Economy of Third World Intervention: Mines, Money, and U.S. Policy in the Congo Crisis. American Politics and Political Economy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226290713.
- Gilroy, Harry (8 January 1959a). "Belgium Lays Riot To Congo Jobless". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- Gilroy, Harry (9 March 1959b). "Belgians Absolve 3 Congo Leaders" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- Hoskyns, Catherine (1965). The Congo Since Independence: January 1960 – December 1961. London: Oxford University Press. OCLC 414961.
- "Order Restored In Congo Capital After Riots Fatal to 34 Africans" (PDF). The New York Times. Associated Press. 6 January 1959. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- "Congo Policy Drafted" (PDF). The New York Times. Reuters. 11 January 1959a. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- "Unrest Spreads in Belgian Congo" (PDF). The New York Times. Reuters. 2 November 1959b. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
- Zeilig, Leo (2008). Lumumba: Africa's Lost Leader. London: Haus. ISBN 978-1-905791-02-6.
- ISBN 1842770535.
- Young, Crawford (1965). Politics in the Congo: Decolonization and Independence. Princeton: Princeton University Press. OCLC 307971.