First Conquest

Although King Leopold II of Belgium was the first to “colonize” the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it was the Diogo Cão who first traveled to the Congo River in 1482, and later José Lacerdu e Almeida in 1789, both from Portugal. (C) Rich copper mines in the central area, ivory, and the abundance of rubber attracted many Europeans to the DRC. 

In 1876, King Leopold II of Belgium sent Henry M. Stanley to explore the Congo and make treaties with the natives. Leopold wished to take control of Congo Personally. (C) The Berlin Conference of 1884 gave Leopold power to colonize DRC under his own rule. His rules were extremely cruel and evil to the African people. They were considered uncivilized and were forced to give their own produce to Leopold. (B) Every village in Congo was also forced to give four people a year to be a full time slave. Slaves were told to collect rubber from the forests while women and children were held as hostages. (D) Leopold forced natives to follow his rule or their hands will be cut off. But these brutal acts would soon change. 

Second Conquest

As missionaries from Belgium traveled to the Belgian Congo to give education and peace, they were shocked and disturbed by their surroundings and how evil Leopold’s rule was to the Africans. (D) In 1908, Congo was transferred to Belgium, and was renamed to The Belgium Congo. (C) The Belgian rule was more peaceful and diplomatic to the natives. For the next 50 years, Belgium colonized the Congo, still, however, collected the raw materials and its profits from the Congo. (C) 

Independence

With time and persistence, Belgium gave Congo independence during the mid-1960s. It wasn’t very difficult for DRC to gain their independence. Self-government started in 1959, and Congo was ready for their liberation. But Belgium continued to give economic and government aid after their independence. (C) Even though DRC was considered free, it still was controlled by European and even American powers. 

Independence Brings Problems

On June 30, 1960, Patrice Lumumba took place as DRC’s first premier. But he brought economic, political, and social problems. (D) After ruling for a short time, separatist movements were formed and DRC was very weak without Belgium rule, so the country asked for their help. (D) Lumumba also caused problems with the UN. The UN did not like his ideas of democracy and thought he was a communist. Later, on January 14, 1961, Belgian and Katangan forces Kidnapped and executed Lumumba to "maintain order" within the new country. (D)

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Even though DRC gained independence in 1959, there was still chaos. People were lost without the help of Belgian powers, and the mayhem eventually started a downfall. Also, Belgium was still supporting them in many other ways, meaning there wasn’t a “real” freedom in the Congo. Their first premier was killed by outside powers while their next leader was a strict dictator named Mobutu who led DRC into a messy downfall financially by holding multiple debts with other nations. Although Congo was considered a free and independent country, the real question is: Did they have a successful independence? 

Want to Read More?

Here is a great article by Anup Shah about how DRC went downhill after their independence