Latest / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History / The 1892 Luluabourg Siege: Congo's First Anti-Colonial War
Transcript
- Luna: So, we've talked a lot about the rubber terror, the Force Publique mutinies, the uprisings in Uele and Ituri... but I'm wondering, what was the very first big armed resistance to Belgian rule in the Congo? Lucas: That's a great question, and it takes us back before most of those events—to 1892, even before the Congo Free State was fully consolidated. We're talking about the Luluabourg Siege, a three-month standoff between the Luba Kingdom and Leopold II's agents that nearly succeeded in driving the Belgians out of the Kasai region. Luna: Wait—the Luba? I know they were a major pre-colonial kingdom, but I thought their resistance was mostly in the 19th century against the Swahili-Arab slave traders? Lucas: Right, that's a common narrative, but it's not the whole story. The Luba kingdom, under its king Ilunga Sungu, fought both the Swahili-Arab traders—allies of Tippu Tip—and the Belgians. By 1892, the Belgians were pushing into the Kasai region, ostensibly to suppress the slave trade, but really to grab ivory and establish control. Lucas: The Luba saw through that. They had a sophisticated state structure with a centralized kingship, tribute systems, and a powerful army. When the Belgian officer Alexandre Delcommune led a Force Publique column into Luba territory, Ilunga Sungu mobilized tens of thousands of warriors—some accounts say up to 20,000—and laid siege to their fortified camp at Luluabourg. Luna: Whoa—20,000? That's huge. And it's 1892, so the Belgians are still using mostly Zanzibari and Congolese mercenaries, right? Lucas: Exactly. Delcommune's force was a mix of Zanzibari askaris, Congolese porters, and a handful of Belgian officers—maybe 600 men total. They had modern rifles and a few cannons, but the Luba had numbers, knowledge of the terrain, and a fierce determination to defend their homeland. Lucas: The siege lasted from March to June 1892. The Luba cut off supply lines, attacked patrols, and tried to starve the Belgians out. At one point, Delcommune was nearly killed by a spear thrust. But the Luba lacked artillery, and the Belgians' fortified position—with trenches and a stockade—held out. Luna: So how did the siege end? Did the Luba just give up? Lucas: No, they didn't give up. What broke the siege was the arrival of a relief column from the south, led by another Belgian officer, Paul Le Marinel. He brought reinforcements and supplies. Meanwhile, Ilunga Sungu's coalition began to fracture—some Luba chiefs, tired of the long campaign, made separate peace deals. Lucas: But even after the siege was lifted, the Luba didn't surrender. They fought a guerrilla war for years. It took the Belgians until 1917 to fully pacify the region, and even then, the Luba maintained their cultural identity and political structures underground. Luna: That's incredible. And yet I've never heard of this siege before. It's like the whole story was buried. Lucas: It was. Belgian colonial historiography downplayed Luba resistance, painting them as either collaborators or passive victims. But the Luluabourg Siege was a major event—it showed that the conquest of the Congo was not a walkover. And it's a reminder that the Congolese fought back, fiercely and intelligently, from the very beginning. Luna: You know, speaking of stories that deserve to be heard... if listeners find today's episode useful—and I hope they do—the way we keep this show ad-free is through listener support. You can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It really helps us keep digging into these under-told histories. Lucas: Absolutely. Every bit of support means we can spend more time on research and bring you these deep dives. And speaking of deep dives—let's go back to the siege itself. One of the most dramatic moments was when Ilunga Sungu himself led a night attack on the Belgian camp. Lucas: According to Luba oral traditions, he had a special war charm that he believed would make his warriors invulnerable. They charged the stockade with spears and shields, but the Belgians had set up trip flares and fired blindly into the dark. The attack failed, but it spooked the defenders badly. Luna: So the Luba used magic? That's fascinating. Was it a common practice? Lucas: Very common. Many Central African armies had ritual specialists who prepared warriors for battle with charms and oaths. It wasn't just superstition—it was a form of psychological warfare and social cohesion. The Belgians, of course, dismissed it as primitive, but they also feared it. Lucas: After the siege, Delcommune wrote in his memoirs that the Luba were 'the bravest and most disciplined savages' he had ever faced. That's a revealing comment—even in his racism, he had to acknowledge their skill. Luna: What happened to Ilunga Sungu after the siege? Lucas: He survived for several more years, leading a mobile resistance. But eventually, the Belgians caught up with him. He was captured in 1895 and exiled to Boma, the colonial capital. He died there a few years later, but his legacy lived on—the Luba continued to resist, and his name became a symbol of defiance. Lucas: There's also a fascinating side-story about the Swahili-Arab traders. During the siege, some of them actually helped the Luba by supplying weapons and intelligence. They saw the Belgians as a bigger threat to their own slave and ivory networks. Luna: So it wasn't just a simple colonizer versus local story—there were shifting alliances. Lucas: Exactly. The politics were fluid. The Luba sometimes allied with the Arabs against the Belgians, sometimes fought both. And the Belgians played the same game—they used Arab allies against the Luba, then turned on the Arabs. Lucas: One key figure was a man named Tippu Tip's nephew, Rashid bin Muhammad. He controlled a vast territory in the east and had his own private army. The Belgians eventually outmaneuvered him, but for a time, he was a major power broker. Luna: This is so much more complex than the simple 'Belgians came and conquered' narrative. It's a story of African agency, strategy, and resistance. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's why we're telling it. The Luluabourg Siege is not just a footnote—it's a window into how the Congo was actually won, and at what cost. It also helps explain the deep roots of anti-colonial sentiment that erupted later in the 20th century. Lucas: If you want to read more, I recommend Jan Vansina's work on the Luba, or the memoirs of Delcommune—though you have to read them critically. The best source is probably the oral traditions collected by the Belgian anthropologist Edmond Verhulpen in the 1930s. Luna: I'll definitely check those out. Thanks for bringing this story to light, Lucas.