Latest / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Colonial Justice in the Courtless State: The 1911 'M'Boma Verdict'
Long before Belgium formalized its colonial legal system in the Congo, local chiefs and colonial agents clashed over authority. This episode zooms in on a single, extraordinary trial in 1911 at the port of M'Boma, where a Congolese chief named N'Goma was prosecuted for enforcing customary law against a European trader. Lucas and Luna explore how the case exposed the contradictions of Belgian rule: a 'civilizing mission' that had no written code, no independent judiciary, and no clear rule of law. They unpack the role of the so-called 'tribunaux de chefferie,' the…
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