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The 1892 Luluabourg Revolt: Railway Labor and Congo's First Strike
In 1892, the Congo Free State's railway project from Matadi to Léopoldville hit a crisis: workers at Luluabourg, forced into brutal labor, rose up in a revolt that would reshape colonial policy and labor relations. This episode follows the revolt's spark—a hut tax and a chain of command gone wrong—and its aftermath, from the arrival of Francis Dhanis to the creation of the Compagnie du Chemin de Fer du Congo. We explore the daily life of the corvée workers, the role of the chicotte, and how this rebellion forced the colonial administration to rethink its methods, leading to the…
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