The African Library (; ) was an

African Studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's History of Africa, history (pre-colonial, Colonisation of Af ...

research library in Brussels, Belgium, originally founded in 1885 as the Bibliothèque Coloniale. It was initially established by

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 ...

as part of his efforts for the colonization of the Congo and the establishment of 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 ...

. The library was transferred to the Ministry of the Colonies in 1908, when the Congo Free State became the

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 ...

. In 1962, when Belgium ceased to be a colonial power, responsibility for the library passed to the Foreign Ministry. The library's holdings included material not only on Africa, but also on European colonisation in Asia and Latin America. The independent existence of the library became difficult to maintain after 1980, and by 1989 there were fears the collection might be dispersed. The holdings, which in 2003 amounted to some 230,000 volumes, became a distinct

fonds In archival science, a fonds (plural also ''fonds'') is a group of documents that share the same origin and have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be ...

within the Library of Foreign Affairs of the

Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs The Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (FPS Foreign Affairs) is the foreign affairs ministry of Belgium and is responsible for Belgian foreign policy, relations with the European Union, development ...

. Since June 2017, access to the collection has been through the

Royal Library of Belgium The Royal Library of Belgium ( ; ; , abbreviated ''KBR'' and sometimes nicknamed in French or in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history that goes back to the age of the Duke of Burgundy, Dukes of Burgundy. In ...

in Brussels.

References

External links

Collections from the FPS Foreign Affairs
Royal Library of Belgium (with instructions on how to access the collection) * WorldCat
Bibliothèque africaine (Belgium)
Libraries in Belgium 1885 establishments in Belgium Belgian colonisation in Africa Federal departments and agencies of Belgium Libraries established in 1885 {{belgium-stub

See also

References

External links