Latest / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Belgium's Congo: The Art of Colonial Extraction
This episode moves beyond the well-trodden paths of slave ships and sugar plantations to examine how Belgian colonial power was visually constructed and economically enforced in the Congo Free State. We focus on the dual role of the Société Générale de Belgique as both an industrial giant and a financial arm of King Leopold II’s private domain, exploring how its executives facilitated the rubber and ivory trade through coercive labor systems like the corvée. We also look at the architectural legacy left behind in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) and Brussels, specifically how the Palais de la…
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