The 1959 Léopoldville Riots: Congo's Urban Uprising

The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History · May 18, 2026 · 6m · transcript

This episode zooms in on the January 1959 Léopoldville riots, a pivotal but often overshadowed event that cracked open the Belgian Congo's colonial edifice. Lucas and Luna walk through the crowded streets of the Kalamu and Matonge neighborhoods, where a banned ABAKO political meeting spiraled into three days of destruction, repression, and death. They explore the role of the Force Publique's clumsy crackdown, the colonial administration's panicked concession of reforms, and the way the violence jolted both Congolese nationalists and Belgian politicians into a new timeline for…