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The 1946 Léopoldville Riots: When Congolese Soldiers Demanded Equality
In February 1946, a mutiny erupted among Congolese soldiers of the Force Publique in Léopoldville (modern-day Kinshasa). The veterans, fresh from fighting for Belgium in World War II, demanded equal treatment with their white officers—the same pay, the same rations, the same right to pin a medal on their chest. The Belgian colonial administration, led by Governor-General Pierre Ryckmans, was caught off guard. This episode dives into the events of the Léopoldville Mutiny of 1946: the soldiers' grievances at Camp Tshatshi, the negotiations with General Émile Janssens, the violent crackdown…
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