Albert Thys (28 November 1849 – 10 February 1915) was a Belgian businessman who was active in the

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 const ...

. He gave his name of Thysville to the station of Sona Qongo, currently

Mbanza-Ngungu Mbanza-Ngungu, formerly known as Thysville or Thysstad, named after Albert Thys, is a city and territory in Kongo Central Province in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying on a short branch off the Matadi-Kinshasa Railway. ...

Bas-Congo Kongo Central (), formerly Bas-Congo, is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi. History At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the greater province of ...

. Born in

Dalhem Dalhem (; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2012 Dalhem had a total population of 6,996. The total area is 36.06 km² which gives a population density of 180 inhabitants per km². Th ...

, Thys graduated at the École de guerre, before entering into the service of king

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 Leo ...

in 1876, as secretary of the colonial businesses. After the return of

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missi ...

, the king sent Thys to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

to propose a new expedition to Central Africa on behalf of the Association Internationale Africaine. Thys was actively involved in the organisation of the first expeditions which would lead to the constitution of the Congo Free State. After arriving in Congo in 1887 he promoted the Matadi-Léopoldville Railway, which was built from 1890 to 1898. The living conditions in the construction of this railway were miserable. The sanitary and medical facilities were insufficient. In 1892, about two thousand people worked on the railroad, of which an average of one hundred and fifty workers per month lost their lives due to

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...

beriberi Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The name beriberi was possibly borrowed in the 18th century from the Sinhalese phrase (bæri bæri, “I canno ...

and exhaustion. By the end of 1892, 7,000 workers had already been recruited, 3,500 of whom had died or fled (for example, to neighboring forests). These conditions made it more difficult to recruit workers. Thys therefore attracted people from

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

and China in September and November 1892 respectively. The Barbadians refused to leave the boats in the port of Matadi until they were forced by firearms. Seven people lost their lives in this action. He imposed a route by the south, deviating from the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

. He was one of the principal craftsmen of the development and the economic development of the Congo Free State and

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 Repu ...

. Notably he created the Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (27 December 1886) and many of its subsidiary companies: the Compagnie du Chemin de Fer du Congo (CCFC), the Compagnie des Magasins généraux, the

Société anonyme Belge pour le Commerce du Haut-Congo Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

, the Compagnie des Produits, the Compagnie du Katanga. Thys was also instrumental in establishing the Banque d'Outremer and the

Banque du Congo Belge The Banque du Congo Belge (BCB, ; ) was a Belgian colonial bank that mainly operated in the Belgian Congo from 1909 to 1960. Following Congolese independence, it kept operating as the Banque du Congo from 1960 to 1971, the Banque Commerciale Za� ...

. He died in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, aged 66, in 1915. Statue of Albert Thys

Literature

* Georges Defauwes, Albert Thys, de Dalhem au Congo, Collection Comté de Dalhe
online

References

External links

*
Archive Albert Thys
Royal Museum for Central Africa {{DEFAULTSORT:Thys, Albert 1849 births 1915 deaths People from Dalhem Belgian businesspeople Congo Free State people Royal Military Academy (Belgium) alumni

See also

Literature

References

External links