Shows / The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Belgium: a patchwork of Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia, a cobbled-together buffer state that punched far above its weight. In its short 1830s independence, it carved out a brutal African empire under King Leopold II—a personal colony that became a byword for atrocity in the Congo Free State (1885-1908). The show traces the arc from the Burgundian and Spanish Habsburg rule, through the Austrian Netherlands and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, to the revolutionary…
Episodes
The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo HistoryThe 1903 Congo Reform Association: How Morel Took on Leopold
In this episode of The History of Belgium, hosts Lucas and Luna explore the founding and early years of the Congo Reform Association, the British-led pressure…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1897 Congo Free State Railway: Leopold’s Iron Road to Ruin
In this episode of The History of Belgium, Lucas and Luna explore the construction of the Congo Free State Railway, an engineering nightmare built on the backs…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1926 Flemish Concentration Camp: Belgium's Other Colonial Crime
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a dark chapter in Belgian colonial history that is rarely discussed: the 1926 establishment of a 'reeducation…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1900 Brussels International Exposition and the Human Zoo
In 1900, Brussels hosted a World's Fair that drew millions to marvel at technological wonders—and at a Congolese village inhabited by 267 Africans brought…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1900 Brussels Exposition: Belgium's Colonial Dream on Display
In this episode of The History of Belgium, Lucas and Luna explore the 1900 Brussels International Exposition, a world's fair that showcased Belgium's…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1911-1916 Lever Villages: Soap, Palm Oil, and Colonial Control in the Congo
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Lever Villages scheme, a bold experiment by British industrialist William Lever to extract palm oil from the…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1921 Kitawala Movement: Congo's Religious Rebellion Against Belgian Rule
In 1921, a Congolese man named Simon Kimbangu began healing the sick and preaching a gospel of African redemption in the village of Nkamba. Within months, his…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1911 Congo Rail Strike: When African Workers Shut Down the Katanga Mines
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1911 railway strike in the Belgian Congo, when African workers on the Katanga railway line — mostly Luba, Bemba…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1913 Élisabethville Strike: Congo's First Labor Uprising
In 1913, just three years after the founding of Élisabethville (now Lubumbashi) in Katanga, African workers at the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga copper mines…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1899 Congo Rubber Decree: Belgium's Brutal Tax on a Colony
In 1899, King Leopold II of Belgium issued a decree that turned the Congo Free State into a vast forced-labor camp. The rubber tax required Congolese villagers…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The Lado Enclave: Leopold's Secret African Empire
After the international outcry over atrocities in the Congo Free State, King Leopold II quietly carved out a secret second colony—the Lado Enclave—a wedge of…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1891 Congo-Arab War
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1891-1892 Arab Campaign, a brutal conflict that cemented Belgian control over the eastern Congo. They examine the…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1959 Léopoldville Riots That Ended Belgian Congo Rule
In January 1959, the Belgian Congo's capital erupted. A banned political rally turned into a riot that left hundreds dead, and within a year…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1922 Elisabethville Riots: Race and Labor in Belgian Congo
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1922 Elisabethville riots, a violent confrontation between European workers and the colonial state in Katanga. They…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
King Baudouin's 1955 Congo Tour: Belgium's Last Colonial Gamble
In 1955, King Baudouin of Belgium embarked on a highly publicized tour of the Belgian Congo, meant to showcase the colony's progress and loyalty. But…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Leopold's Ghost: The Congo Reform Association and the Fight Against Rubber Terror
In this episode of The History of Belgium, Lucas and Luna explore the rise of the international human rights movement against King Leopold II's Congo Free…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1894 Luluabourg Revolt: Tetela Soldiers vs Belgian Rule
In this episode, Lucas and Luna delve into the 1894 Luluabourg Revolt, a pivotal uprising of Tetela soldiers in the Force Publique against Belgian colonial…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1897 Tervuren Human Zoo: Belgium's Colonial Spectacle
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1897 Tervuren Human Zoo, a cornerstone of Belgium's colonial propaganda. They discuss how Leopold II's…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1896 Corps des Travailleurs Arabes: Belgium's Forced Arab Labor
In 1896, the Congo Free State created the Corps des Travailleurs Arabes, a brutal labor corps of forced Arab and Swahili workers, many captured during the Arab…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1892-1894 Batetela Revolt: Congo's Forgotten Uprising
Long before the rubber atrocities made headlines, the Batetela people of the Kasai region rose up against Belgian rule in a series of coordinated rebellions…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1888 Banalya Massacre: Stanley's Darkest Day in the Congo
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1888 Banalya massacre, a brutal but often overlooked event in Henry Morton Stanley's last Congo expedition…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1891-1892 Arab Campaign: Belgium's War for the Congo
Long before the rubber terror and the forced labor scandals, Belgium's grip on the Congo was tested in a brutal military campaign against Arab and Swahili…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1895 Battle of Tabora: Belgium's Forgotten Victory in East Africa
In 1895, a Belgian-led force of Congolese soldiers marched over a thousand miles to capture the Arab-Swahili stronghold of Tabora in German East Africa. This…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1908 Reform Edict: Belgium's Colonial Handover
In 1908, after years of international pressure over atrocities in the Congo Free State, King Leopold II was forced to cede his personal colony to the Belgian…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1900 Antwerp Congo Exhibition: Colonial Propaganda and Profit
In 1900, the port city of Antwerp hosted a massive world's fair, and at its heart was an elaborate 'Congo Village' showcasing the colonies. This…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1899 Congo Rubber Decree: Belgium's Brutal Tax
In 1899, King Leopold II issued a decree that transformed the Congo Free State into a brutal rubber extraction machine. This episode focuses on the actual…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Ngongo Lutete: The Tetela Warlord Who Fought for Belgium and Was Executed
In 1893, the Tetela warlord Ngongo Lutete, who had allied with the Congo Free State and led thousands of warriors in the Congo-Arab War, was executed by the…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1894 Luluabourg Revolt: Congolese Soldiers vs Belgian Rule
In January 1894, Congolese soldiers of the Force Publique stationed at Luluabourg rose up against their Belgian officers. The revolt, led by Mulumba Nsanda and…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1882 Stanley Falls Station: Belgium's First Congo Foothold
Before Leopold II's rubber terror or the Force Publique's mutinies, there was a single outpost on the upper Congo River: Stanley Falls Station…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1897 Tervuren Human Zoo: Belgium's Colonial Spectacle
In 1897, as part of the Brussels International Exposition, King Leopold II erected a replica Congolese village at the Tervuren estate, complete with 267…
- 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 History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1901 Boma Mutiny: Congolese Soldiers vs Belgian Officers
In 1901, the Force Publique garrison in Boma, the capital of the Congo Free State, staged a mutiny that shook the Belgian colonial administration. This episode…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1892 Luluabourg Trial: Belgium's Colonial Justice Farce
In 1892, a Congolese soldier named Mulumba Nsanda faced a military tribunal in Luluabourg for leading a mutiny against Belgian officers. This episode unpacks…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Belgium's 1884 Anglo-Congolese Treaty: Imperial Boundaries
This episode dives into the 1884 Anglo-Congolese Treaty, a pivotal but often overlooked agreement that defined the borders of King Leopold II's Congo Free…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1897 Tervuren Museum: Belgium's Imperial Showcase
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the origins of the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium, built for the 1897 World Exhibition. They…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1896 Corps des Travailleurs Arabes: Congo's Forced Arab Labor
In 1896, after crushing the Arab-Swahili slave trade in eastern Congo, Belgian colonial authorities faced a dilemma: what to do with thousands of captured…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1894 Luluabourg Revolt: Congolese Soldiers vs Belgian Rule
In this episode of The History of Belgium, Lucas and Luna explore the 1894 Luluabourg revolt, a pivotal uprising by Congolese soldiers in the Force Publique…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1897 Tervuren Museum: Belgium's Imperial Showcase
In 1897, the Brussels suburb of Tervuren hosted a massive colonial exhibition that later became the Royal Museum for Central Africa. This episode follows the…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1913 Congo Inquest: Belgium's Rubber Atrocity Cover-Up
In 1913, a Belgian lawyer named Félicien Cattier published a damning report detailing the violent rubber quota system in the Congo Free State. This episode…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1911 Congo Reform Association Trials: Belgium's Colonial Conscience
In 1911, a Brussels courtroom became the stage for a landmark legal battle that forced Belgium to confront the brutal realities of its Congo colony. When…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1895 Tetela Uprising: Congo's Forgotten Resistance
In 1895, the Tetela people of the Kasai region in the Congo Free State rose up against Belgian colonial rule in a coordinated rebellion that shook the Force…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1886 Katanga Expedition: Belgium's Bloody Land Grab
Before the rubber terror, before the Force Publique mutinies, Belgium had to conquer Katanga — a copper-rich region the size of France, ruled by the formidable…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1893 Luluabourg Fort: Belgium's Kasai Outpost and the Tetela War
When Belgian officers built a fort at Luluabourg in the Kasai region in 1893, they thought it would secure their rubber and ivory trade. Instead, it became the…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1908 Reform Edict: Belgium's Imperial Handover
In 1908, under global pressure over atrocities in the Congo Free State, the Belgian parliament voted to annex the territory from King Leopold II. But the…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1892 Congo-Arab War: Belgium's Forgotten Campaign
In 1892, the Congo Free State launched a brutal military campaign against Swahili-Arab slave traders in the eastern Congo. This episode focuses on the 1892…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1901 Force Publique Boma Mutiny: Congo's Turning Point
In 1901, a routine pay dispute at Camp Boma exploded into a mutiny that shook the Congo Free State to its core. Congolese soldiers of the Force Publique, fed…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Belgium's 1895 Force Publique Mutiny: Congolese Soldiers Rise Up
In 1895, Congolese soldiers of the Force Publique stationed in Luluabourg mutinied against their Belgian officers, sparking a rebellion that spread across the…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1896 Arab War Prisoners: Congo's Forgotten Captives
In 1896, the Congo Free State captured over a thousand Arab and Swahili-speaking prisoners during its war against East African slave traders. Rather than…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1885 Congo Free State Declaration: Belgium's Imperial Birth
This episode explores the founding of the Congo Free State in 1885, a pivotal moment that turned a small European nation into a colonial power. Lucas and Luna…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1931 Luluabourg Prison Break: Congo's Forgotten Revolt
In 1931, a group of political prisoners at Luluabourg Central Prison in the Belgian Congo staged a daring escape that sparked a three-month uprising across the…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Belgium's 1920 Boma Prison Break: The Trial of Kimbangu
In 1920, the Prophet Simon Kimbangu led a healing revival in the Belgian Congo that attracted thousands of Bakongo followers, alarming colonial authorities who…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1894 Lado Enclave: Belgium's Leased Empire in Sudan
Before Belgium controlled the Congo, King Leopold II secured a secret lease to the Lado Enclave, a territory in modern-day South Sudan and Uganda. This 1894…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1888 Congo Railroad: Building Belgium's Iron Lung
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the construction of the Matadi–Kinshasa railway, a brutal 400-kilometer project that became the economic lifeline of…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Rwanda 1959: The Social Revolution That Upended Belgian Rule
This episode of The History of Belgium takes us to 1959 Rwanda, where a Hutu uprising against Tutsi chiefs and Belgian colonial authorities sparked what became…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1952 Union Minière Strike: Congo's Corporate War
In 1952, a strike at the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga mines in the Belgian Congo escalated into a brutal crackdown, exposing the lie of corporate paternalism…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1885 Tippu Tip Alliance: Belgium's Deal with a Slave Trader
In this milestone 100th episode of The History of Belgium, we explore one of the darkest and most pragmatic chapters of the Congo Free State: King Leopold…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Belgium's 1957 Brussels World Fair: The Last Colonial Exhibition
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the 1958 Brussels World Fair, known as Expo 58, and its controversial colonial section. They discuss how Belgium used…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
Congo's 1946 Matadi Port Strike: The Birth of Nationalist Labor
In 1946, a strike at the Matadi port in the Belgian Congo escalated into a pivotal moment that fused labor rights with anticolonial nationalism. This episode…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1959 Stanleyville Riots: Congo's Pre-Independence Firestorm
In January 1959, a peaceful political rally in Stanleyville (modern-day Kisangani) spiraled into a violent confrontation with the colonial state, leaving an…
- The History of Belgium: A Small Country with a Giant Colonial Legacy — Fexingo History
The 1931 Lovanium Student Strike: Congo's First Youth Protest
In 1931, Belgian colonial authorities faced an unexpected challenge: a student strike at Lovanium University in Léopoldville. Amidst the Great Depression and…