Latest / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1908 Belgian Annexation of Congo Free State
In 1908, the Belgian state took over the Congo Free State from King Leopold II, ending one of history's most brutal personal fiefdoms. But what did annexation actually change for the Congolese? This episode traces the international pressure campaign that forced the handover, from Edmund Dene Morel's shipping manifestos to Roger Casement's Congo Report, and the 1904 King's Commission that whitewashed Leopold's crimes. We follow the negotiations in Brussels, the role of Catholic and Socialist members of parliament, and the terms of the Colonial Charter of 1908 that…
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