Joseph-Edouard-Louis Beernaert (21 April 1883 – 1950) was a Belgian soldier who reached the rank of Lieutenant-General. He was governor of the province of

Congo-Kasaï Congo-Kasaï was one of the four large provinces of the Belgian Congo defined in 1914. It was formally established in 1919, and in 1933 was divided into the new provinces of Léopoldville Province, Léopoldville and Lusambo Province, Lusambo. Lo ...

in 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 ...

from 1925 to 1929.

Early career (1883–1929)

Joseph Beernaert was born on 21 April 1883. He was attached to the Ministry of Colonies in 1909. He made many trips to the

during his term of office. He was commissioner general, assistant to the governor of the province of

from 1925 to 1929. From 1928 he was secretary general, assistant to the governor general of the colony.

Governor of Congo-Kasaï (1929–1933)

Beernaert replaced

Alphonse Engels Alphonse Engels (1880–1962), or A.L.R. Engels, was deputy governor-general of Congo-Kasaï province in the Belgian Congo from 1924 to 1929. Life Alphonse Engels was born in 1880. He became a soldier by trade. He replaced Georges Moulaert as dep ...

as governor and deputy governor-general of Congo-Kasaï on 19 June 1929. His headquarters were at

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million ...

. In 1931 there was an economic crisis in the Belgian Congo triggered by problems in Belgium, the primary market, and an overvalued currency, leading to reduced exports. The head tax (''impôt indigène'') increased, and villages were unable to pay it. In 1931 there were widespread disturbances in the

Kwango District Kwango District (, ) was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent. It roughly corresponded to the present provinces of Kwilu and Kwango. Congo Free State ...

of Congo-Kasaï, which the Ministry of Colonies later attributed to new administrative structures, availability of ''

Force Publique The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; ) was the military of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo from 1885 to 1960. It was established after Belgian Army officers travelled to the Free State to found an armed force in the colony on L ...

'' units and overreaction by administrators. Additional troops were transferred to Kwango and Kikwat, and the district administrations declared martial law in the most unsettled areas. The troops acted as punitive columns. At

Mukuku Mukuku is a village in Kwilu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Location Mukuku is in Gungu Territory, about southwest of the town of Gungu in Kwilu Province. The Köppen climate classification is Aw : Tropical savanna, wet. His ...

in August 1931 troops killed 56 people in a single encounter. Word of the violence spread, and villagers fled before the columns reached them, leading to optimism among the authorities that the rebellion was calming down. The

Dengese people The Dengese, also known as the Ndengese, are an ethnic group from Democratic Republic of the Congo. They speak Bondengese and Lingala Lingala (or Ngala, Lingala: ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democr ...

in particular were influenced by millenarian cults that talked of driving out the Europeans. In Équateur Province, Governor

Charles Duchesne Charles-Marie-Nestor Duchesne (1 September 1881 – 17 November 1945) was a Belgian lawyer and colonial administrator who was governor of Équateur (former province), Équateur Province in the Belgian Congo from 1921 to 1933. Early years Charles ...

responded with limited police action, and by the end of February 1932 the crisis there was over. Beernaert was less sympathetic to the Dengese, and on 20 October 1932 declared a state of emergency under decrees of 1906 and 1920, applied martial law to five ''chefferies'' and dispatched troops to restore order. The commissioner of

Sankuru District Sankuru District (, ) was a district of the Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent, but roughly corresponded to the modern Sankuru Province. Location A 1914 map shows Sankuru roughly in the c ...

blamed ''fetishism'', claiming that traditional religious views had been distorted into claims that expelling the Europeans would solve all problems. He sent ''Force Publique'' troops into Kole Territory to force the villages to submit to authority. Beernaert held office until 1933. His successor was

Paul Ermens Paul-Charles Ermens (June 8, 1884 – November 1, 1957) was a senior Force Publique officer, Vice-governor general of the Belgian Congo and Commander of the Force Publique. His most famous post was when he served as the commander of the Force Pub ...

, appointed on 17 August 1932.

Later career (1933–1950)

Beernaert was promoted to Major-General on 26 March 1939. Until 26 December 1939 he commanded the 1st Cavalry Division. On 26 December 1939 he was appointed General Officer Commanding 2nd Cavalry Division. In 1944 he was Inspector-General of the Army. He died in 1950.

Notes

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beernaert, Joseph 1883 births 1950 deaths Governors of Kasaï (former province) Governors of provinces of the Belgian Congo