The 1881 Boma Tax Revolt: How a Hut Tax Shook Congo

The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History · Aug 22, 2026 · 7m · transcript

In 1881, the Congo Free State under Leopold II imposed a hut tax on the Bakongo people around Boma, its capital on the lower Congo River. The result was a series of violent revolts that exposed the brutal mechanics of early colonial administration. This episode follows the revolt from its spark — a punitive expedition led by a German officer named Hermann von Wissmann — to its suppression, and looks at how the tax shaped later colonial policy, including the infamous chicotte and forced labor. We also meet the local leaders who resisted, like the prophetess Kimpa Vita's legacy, and ask…