Latest / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1921 Boma Rail Disaster: Belgium's Deadliest Colonial Accident
In January 1921, a passenger train from Matadi to Léopoldville derailed near Boma, killing over 200 Congolese passengers and a handful of Belgian officials. The disaster exposed the brutal priorities of Belgian colonial infrastructure: the railway was built for rubber and ivory exports, not for the safety of the Congolese workforce. Lucas and Luna explore the Matadi–Léopoldville railway's construction (1890–1898), which cost thousands of lives due to forced labor and disease, and how the 1921 crash became a catalyst for early Congolese labor activism. They discuss specific figures like…
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