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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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WHAT WERE THE HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS IN BELGIAN CONGO?

Belgium, without imperialist ambition, had no colonial vocation. It had taken over the Congo in 1908 to act on the recommendations of a commission of inquiry commissioned by its King, Leopold II, also sovereign of the Independent State of the Congo, whose existence was disputed by the great ...

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CAN WE TALK ABOUT

PATERNALISM?

The Belgian system had its peculiarities, however, which made it qualify as "paternalistic". Belgium having inherited from the Congo almost unwillingly, from a King accused of exploiting his African subjects in an outrageous manner, wanted at all costs to end ...

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THERE WAS

DISCRIMINATION

IN CONGO ?

All this legislation was obviously discriminatory, since it concerned only the natives: the Whites had to, by themselves or by their employers, individually finance their security and their social protection. We considered that the level ...

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HOW CONGO

DID HE TAKE THE WAY

INDEPENDENCE?

The most delicate problem concerned the "advanced", who considered that they had reached the level of education and training of whites. A special status was conferred on them after an investigation into their occupations and their way of life, which had to be of the "European" style. They felt that they were ...

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WERE THERE ANY CRIMES COMMITTED

BY OR UNDER LEOPOLD II?

Serious historians, critics of Leopold II, such as Jean Stengers; Belgian politicians who at the time of Leopold II were virulent against him, such as the great socialist leader Emile Vandervelde, all agreed that ...

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WAS THERE A "FORGOTTEN HOLOCAUST" FROM THE TIME OF THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF CONGO?

Did one, ten, twelve or thirteen million Congolese perish during the reign of Leopold II over the Independent State of the Congo? Again, the scattering of figures ...

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THE COLONIZATION DIDN'T HAVE ANOTHER PURPOSE

THAT THE ENRICHMENT OF THE COLONIZERS?

Let us quickly pass on the ancient colonizations: the Phoenician and the Greek had ...

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COLONIZERS

DO NOT REDUCE

BLACKS IN SLAVERY?

On the contrary, they released them despite the violent shock of the arrival of a revolutionary lifestyle by contrast with the customs in place. For the vast majority of African societies, slavery ...

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RACIAL DESCRIMINATION,

WAGE DIFFERENCES?

Racial discrimination is not unique to colonial societies ...

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WHY ARE "BOYS" USED?

Why couldn't white people do their housework themselves, as they usually do in Europe? Didn't the "boys" actually reveal the odious character that the metropolitan ...

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