Belgian Congo
Colonial central Africa
Belgian Congo was the African territory controlled by Belgium from 1908 to 1960, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The name appears in historical contexts discussing colonialism, particularly the brutal exploitation under King Leopold II's earlier personal rule: The atrocities in the Belgian Congo shocked the world.
Independence came in 1960.
Absorbing territory into jurisdiction
- protectorateGuarded semi-autonomous territory
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
- governanceHow authority is exercised
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
Berlin Conference · commissioner · jurisdiction · mandate · sovereignty · concession · dominion · occupation
Elastic polymer from trees
- ivoryTusk-derived material
- forced laborCompelled toil, no consent
- atrocitiesExtremely cruel acts
- severed handsHands removed from arms
hostages · quotas · extraction · cruelty · enslavement · oppression · human rights abuses · porterage
DRC's capital city
- rainforestWet tropical woodland ecosystem
- equatorialOf Earth's central line
Ending imperial control
- 1960Start of a decade
- MobutuCold War-era African autocrat
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
nationalism · republic · Zaire · transition · mutiny · secession · United Nations
African language family
- SwahiliBantu language of East Africa
- missionariesReligious workers abroad
- chiefsTop-ranking leaders
- villagesSmall rural settlements
Large-scale emergency harming populations
- exposureState of being unprotected
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- activismDirect effort for reform
- photographsLight-captured images
Mark Twain · Arthur Conan Doyle · testimony · abolition · pressure
annexation
Absorbing territory into jurisdiction
- protectorateGuarded semi-autonomous territory
- administrationOrganizational oversight and control
- governanceHow authority is exercised
territory · Berlin Conference · commissioner · jurisdiction · mandate · sovereignty · concession · dominion · occupation · Great Powers
rubber
Elastic polymer from trees
- ivoryTusk-derived material
- forced laborCompelled toil, no consent
- atrocitiesExtremely cruel acts
severed hands · hostages · quotas · extraction · cruelty · enslavement · oppression · human rights abuses · porterage · mining
Kinshasa
DRC's capital city
- rainforestWet tropical woodland ecosystem
- equatorialOf Earth's central line
decolonization
Ending imperial control
- 1960Start of a decade
- MobutuCold War-era African autocrat
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
self-determination · nationalism · republic · Zaire · transition · mutiny · secession · United Nations
Bantu
African language family
- SwahiliBantu language of East Africa
- missionariesReligious workers abroad
- chiefsTop-ranking leaders
humanitarian crisis
Large-scale emergency harming populations
- exposureState of being unprotected
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- activismDirect effort for reform
Mark Twain · Arthur Conan Doyle · photographs · testimony · abolition · pressure