Latest / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1950s Belgian Colonial Housing Crisis in Leopoldville
In the 1950s, Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) underwent a dramatic transformation as tens of thousands of Congolese moved to the city, straining the colonial administration's ability to control urban life. This episode delves into the infamous 'cités indigènes' — segregated African neighborhoods like Kintambo and Matonge — where overcrowding, police surveillance, and the hated chicotte coexisted with the birth of the Congolese jazz scene and the emergence of a literate African elite. We explore the 1957 municipal elections, the first democratic vote for Africans in Belgian Congo…
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