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Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colonization of the Congo Basin, Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. Leopold II of the Belgians, King Leopold II of the Belgians attempted to persuade the Federal Government of Belgium, Belgian government to support colonial expansion around the then-largely unexploited Congo Basin. Their ambivalence resulted in Leopold establishing a colony himself. With support from a number of Berlin Conference, Western countries, Leopold achieved international recognition of the Congo Free State in 1885. By the turn of the century, the violence used by Free State officials against indigenous Congolese and a ruthless system of economic exploitation led to intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congo Free State
The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the constitutional monarch of the Kingdom of Belgium. In legal terms, the two separate countries were in a personal union. The Congo Free State was not a part of, nor did it belong to, Belgium. Leopold was able to Colonization of the Congo Basin, seize the region by convincing other European states at the Berlin Conference on Africa that he was involved in humanitarian and philanthropic work and would not tax trade. Via the International Association of the Congo, he was able to lay claim to most of the Congo Basin. On 29 May 1885, after the closure of the Berlin Conference, the king announced that he planned to name his possessions "the Congo Free State", an appellation which was not yet used at the Berlin Conference and which officially replaced "I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lingala
Lingala (or Ngala, Lingala: ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree as a trade language or because of emigration in neighbouring Angola or Central African Republic. Lingala has 20 million native speakers and about another 20 million second-language speakers, for an approximate total of 40 million speakers. A significant portion of both Congolese diasporas speaks Lingala in their countries of immigration like Belgium, France or the Congolese Americans, United States. History Before 1880, Bangi language, Bobangi was an important trade language on the western sections of the Congo River, between Stanley Pool (Kinshasa) and the confluence of the Congo and Ubangi River, Ubangi rivers (Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo). When the first Europeans and their West- and East-African troops start ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hendrik Cornelis
Hendrik "Rik" Cornelis (September 18, 1910–1999) was a Belgian colonial civil servant who served as the final Governor-General of the Belgian Congo from 1958 to 1960. His term ended with the independence of the Republic of the Congo. Cornelis was born in Bevere, near Oudenaarde, in the Belgian province of East Flanders on 18 September 1910. He gained a doctorate in economic science from the University of Ghent, also spending a year at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He joined the Belgian colonial administration in Ruanda-Urundi Ruanda-Urundi (), later Rwanda-Burundi, was a geopolitical entity, once part of German East Africa, that was occupied by troops from the Belgian Congo during the East African campaign in World War I and was administered by Belgium under milit ... in 1934 and later served in various roles in the Congo. He was promoted to vice-governor-general of the Belgian Congo in 1953. He became the governor-general on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Théophile Wahis
Lieutenant-General Baron Théophile Wahis (; 27 April 1844 – 26 January 1921) was a Belgian soldier and colonial civil servant who served as Governor-General of the Congo Free State and, subsequently, the Belgian Congo for two terms between 1891 and 1912. He was the longest ruling of Belgian colonial governors. Career Théophile Wahis was born in Menen in West Flanders, Belgium, on 27 April 1844 to a military family. He entered the Belgian Army and studied at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels. During the Franco-Mexican War (1864–67), Wahis volunteered for service in the Belgian Legion sent to Mexico to fight alongside French and Imperial Mexican Forces. Wahis served with distinction in Mexico, returning to the Belgian military in 1867 but was frustrated by the lack of promotion. Through General Alfred van der Smissen, the former commander of the Belgian Legion in Mexico, Wahis was introduced to King Leopold II as a possible candidate for the King's private venture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Belgian Monarchs
This is a list of Monarchy of Belgium, Belgian monarchs from 1831 when the first Belgian king, Leopold I of Belgium, Leopold I, ascended the throne, after Belgium seceded from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, Kingdom of the Netherlands during the Belgian Revolution of 1830. Under the Constitution of Belgium, Belgian Constitution, the Belgian monarch is styled "King of the Belgians" (, , ) rather than "King of Belgium" in order to reflect the monarchy's Constitutional monarchy, constitutional and Popular monarchy, popular function. Since 1831, there have been seven Kings of the Belgians and two regents. List Timeline ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat=dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:1830 till:2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1830 Colors = id:king value:green legend: king id:regent value:blue legend: regent Legend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baudouin Of Belgium
Baudouin (; 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993) was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the last Belgian king to be sovereign of the Congo, before it became independent in 1960 and became the Democratic Republic of the Congo (known from 1971 to 1997 as Zaire). Baudouin was the elder son of King Leopold III (1901–1983) and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden (1905–1935). Because he and his wife, Queen Fabiola, had no children, at Baudouin's death the crown passed to his younger brother, King Albert II. In 2024, the Holy See opened the cause for his beatification, which gave him the posthumous title "Servant of God". Biography Childhood Prince Baudouin was born on 7 September 1930 at the Château of Stuyvenberg in Laeken, northern Brussels, the elder son and second child of Prince Leopold, then Duke of Brabant, and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden. In 1934, Baudouin's grandfather King Albert I of Belgium was killed in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leopold III Of Belgium
Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the Battle of Belgium, German invasion in May 1940, he surrendered his country, earning him much hostility, both at home and abroad. Leopold's act was declared unconstitutional by Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot and his cabinet, who moved to London to form a Belgian government in exile, government-in-exile, while Leopold and his family were placed under house arrest. In 1944, they were moved to Germany and then Austria, before being liberated by the Americans, but banned for some years from returning to Belgium, where his brother Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, had been declared regent. Leopold's eventual return to his homeland in 1950 nearly caused a civil war, with serious calls for a secessionist republic in Wallonia. Under pressure from the government, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert I Of Belgium
Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. He is popularly referred to as the Knight King (, ) or Soldier King (, ) in Belgium in reference to his role during World War I. Albert was born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Albert succeeded his uncle Leopold II of Belgium, Leopold II to the Belgian throne in 1909. He married Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of the Belgians, Elisabeth of Bavaria, with whom he had three children. Albert ruled during an eventful period in the history of Belgium, which included the period of Belgium in World War I, World War I (1914–1918), when most of Belgium was German occupation of Belgium during World War I, occupied by German forces. Other crucial events of his reign included the adoption of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, the ruling of the Belgian Congo as an overseas po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leopold II Of Belgium
Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was the second king of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909, and the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. Born in Brussels as the second but eldest-surviving son of King Leopold I and Louise of Orléans, Queen Louise, Leopold succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his death, the longest reign of a Belgian monarch to date. He died without surviving legitimate sons; the current king of the Belgians, Philippe of Belgium, Philippe, descends from his nephew and successor, Albert I of Belgium, Albert I. He is popularly referred to as the Builder King (, ) in Belgium in reference to the great number of buildings, urban projects and public works he commissioned. Leopold was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private colonial project undertaken on his own behalf as a personal union with Belgium. He used Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Cong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Press Of America
University Press of America (''UPA'') is the former name of an American Academic publishing, academic publishing company based in Lanham, Maryland, which became the parent company of Rowman & Littlefield publishing house, then was later re-introduced as the name of an Imprint (trade name), imprint of "itself" after changing the name of the parent company. Originally founded in 1975, as a standalone academic publisher, University Press of America purchased the Rowman & Littlefield publishing house in 1987. In 1998, University Press of America adopted the Rowman & Littlefield name as its own, while introducing the University Press of America name as an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield, specializing in the Academic publishing, publication of scholarly works. In 2024 Bloomsbury Publishing acquired Rowman & Littlefield. References Academic publishing companies American companies established in 1975 Book publishing companies based in Maryland Companies based in Bethesda, M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catholic Church In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo
Catholicism has a major presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. According to the 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom, an estimated 47.3% of the population are Catholic. There are six archdioceses and 41 dioceses. The largest of these is the Archdiocese of Kinshasa. Its archbishop, Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, is the president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. The impact of the Catholic Church in the DRC is difficult to overestimate. Schatzberg has called it the country's "only truly national institution apart from the state." Besides involving more than 50 percent of the population in its religious services, its schools have educated over 60 percent of the nation's primary school students and more than 40 percent of its secondary students during the 20th century. The church owns and manages an extensive network of hospitals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congolese Franc
The Congolese franc (, code ) is the currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the past, it was subdivided into 100 ''centimes''. However, centimes no longer have a practical value and are no longer used. In April 2024, 2,800 francs was equivalent to one United States dollar (US$1). First franc (1887–1967) Currency denominated in centimes and francs (called in Dutch) was first introduced in 1887 for use in the Congo Free State (1885–1908). After the Free State's annexation by Belgium, the currency continued in the Belgian Congo. The francs were equal in value to the Belgian franc. From 1916, the Congolese franc also circulated in Ruanda-Urundi (present day Rwanda and Burundi) and, from 1952, the currency was issued jointly in the names of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi. After the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1960, Ruanda-Urundi adopted its own franc, whilst, between 1960 and 1963, Katanga also issued a franc of its own. A curren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
