Latest / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1931 Katanga Mining Explosion: Congo's Deadliest Industrial Disaster
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a largely forgotten catastrophe: the 1931 gas explosion at the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga mines in Élisabethville that killed over 150 African workers. They discuss the lack of safety equipment, the racist medical triage that prioritized European lives, the subsequent cover-up by Belgian colonial authorities, and the long-term impact on labor organizing in the Congo. Along the way, they touch on the broader context of copper mining in Katanga, the Bwana Mkubwa system, and how this disaster foreshadowed later labor uprisings. This episode provides a…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.