Latest / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History / The 1893 Luluabourg Massacre: Belgium's Colonial War Crime
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the rubber terror, the Force Publique, the big structural horrors of Leopold's Congo. But I want to get into a specific event that really shows how the system worked at ground level — the Luluabourg Massacre of March 1893. Luna: I don't think I've heard of that one. What happened? Lucas: Well, Luluabourg was a station in the Kasai region — today it's the city of Kananga. In the early 1890s, the Congo Free State was pushing hard into the interior, demanding rubber from local communities. The Bena Lulua people, under their chief Mukamba, were resisting the quotas and the brutal methods of the state agents. Lucas: So the Free State dispatched a Force Publique column under a Belgian officer named Charles Lemaire. He was a career colonial soldier, known for his harsh discipline. His orders were to pacify the region and enforce rubber collection. Luna: And he decided to make an example of Luluabourg. Lucas: Exactly. On March 13, 1893, Lemaire's troops surrounded the village at dawn. They had modern rifles and a Maxim gun — a early machine gun. The Bena Lulua were armed with spears and a few old muskets. It wasn't a battle; it was a slaughter. Lucas: Accounts from missionaries who arrived afterwards described bodies piled up, the village burned. The official report from Lemaire claimed they killed about 200 warriors. But missionaries estimated the true number was much higher — including women and children, because the Maxim gun didn't discriminate. Luna: So the state basically wiped out the leadership of a whole community to make an example. Lucas: That's right. Chief Mukamba was captured and then executed. The surviving villagers were forced to flee or submit to the rubber regime. And the land was given to concession companies. This was the pattern — you resist, you get massacred, and then the rubber flows. Lucas: What's interesting is that the massacre wasn't hidden. Missionaries like the American Presbyterian William Sheppard documented it. He wrote about it in his reports back to the US. But within the colonial administration, it was covered up — Lemaire was promoted, not punished. Luna: And this kind of thing happened over and over across the Congo. Lucas: It did. The Luluabourg massacre is just one example among dozens. But it's useful because we have pretty good records from both the missionaries and the state. It shows how the rubber economy was built on violence — not just coercion, but outright war crimes. Luna: And what happened to Lemaire later? Lucas: He had a long career. He eventually became a colonial administrator in other parts of Africa. He even wrote a book about his experiences, where he defended his actions as necessary for civilization. He died in 1925, never facing any accountability. Lucas: That's the tragedy — the perpetrators were often rewarded, while the victims were forgotten. The Bena Lulua today still remember the massacre, but it's not widely known in Belgium or even in the broader history of the Congo Free State. Luna: It's a good reminder that the rubber terror wasn't just an abstract system — it was carried out by specific men making specific choices. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's why we dig into these individual events. Because when you put a name and a date on it, it becomes harder to dismiss as just 'the way things were.' These were decisions made by people who could have chosen differently. Luna: Speaking of keeping these stories alive — I imagine putting together these episodes takes a lot of research and time. Lucas: It does, but it's really rewarding. And honestly, the only reason we can keep doing this without ads or a big network is because some listeners chip in a few dollars a month. If you've been getting something out of these conversations, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It genuinely makes a difference — keeps the research going, keeps us independent. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to support something you value. And we're grateful for any bit. Luna: A museum that erases the massacre — that's fitting, in a dark way. Lucas: It is. And that's part of the colonial legacy Belgium still hasn't fully reckoned with. The physical structures remain, but the memory of the violence is often sanitized. So part of what we're doing here is trying to restore some of that memory. Luna: Well, I think you're doing a good job of it. This episode alone has given me a lot to think about. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. And to our listeners — if you want to learn more, there's a great book by Adam Hochschild called King Leopold's Ghost that covers this in detail. But for now, I think we've covered the Luluabourg massacre well enough. Next time, maybe we'll look at another forgotten atrocity, or maybe a story of resistance. There's always more to uncover. Luna: Looking forward to it.