The Monument to the Belgian Pioneers in Congo (; ) is an

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory throughou ...

monument in the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark 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 ...

, Belgium. It was designed by the sculptor

Thomas Vinçotte Baron Thomas Jules Vinçotte (; 1850–1925) was a Belgian sculptor and medallist. Life Vinçotte was the son of Jean-Marie Vinçotte, born in Borgerhout and brother of the engineer Robert Vinçotte. Thomas initially trained at the Académ ...

and crafted between 1911 and 1921 to commemorate 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 ...

. In particular, it honours the Belgian 'pioneers' (soldiers) who ' brought civilisation' to the Congo, especially through the

Congo–Arab War The Congo Arab war was a colonial war between the Congo Free State and Swahili people, Arab-Swahili warlords associated with the Indian Ocean slave trade in the eastern regions of the Congo Basin between 1892 and 1894. The war was caused by the F ...

(1892–1894) that sought to conquer present-day East Congo, and illustrates the Belgian raids against the

Arab slave trade The Arab slave trade refers to various periods in which a slave trade has been carried out under the auspices of Arab peoples or Arab countries. The Arab slave trades are often associated or connected to the history of slavery in the Muslim world ...

rs there. The monument does not portray Leopold II himself, but prominently features a bilingual quote to justify the colonial project: ''I undertook the Congo project in the interest of civilisation and for the good of Belgium. Leopold II, 3 June 1906''. Partly due to this and the proximity of the

Great Mosque of Brussels The Great Mosque of Brussels (; ) is located in the Cinquantenaire, Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark. Originally built in 1897 as an exhibition attraction, it was transformed into a Muslim place of worship in 1978 by Saudi Arabia, which managed ...

, an inscription regarding the Arab slave trade is the subject of ongoing controversy.

History

Planned in 1909, the day after the death of King Leopold II, the Monument to the Belgian Pioneers in Congo was meant to be a patriotic hommage to the so-called '

civilising mission The civilizing mission (; ; ) is a political rationale for military intervention and for colonization purporting to facilitate the cultural assimilation of indigenous peoples, especially in the period from the 15th to the 20th centuries. As ...

' of the first Belgian colonials, and more specifically, to the transfer of the

by Leopold II to Belgium in 1908. In 1911, a national committee was founded, under the auspices of Leopold's successor,

Albert I Albert I may refer to: People Born before 1300 * Albert I, Count of Vermandois (917–987) * Albert I, Count of Namur () * Albert I of Moha *Albert I of Brandenburg (), first margrave of Brandenburg * Albert I, Margrave of Meissen (1158–1195) *Al ...

, in order to oversee the monument's construction, which was partially financed by the Belgian State, by the

City of Brussels The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...

, as well as through a subscription. Given his fame, the sculptor

was chosen directly, without recourse to a competition. Entirely created by the sculptor, who however sought the technical advice of the architect Ernest Acker, the memorial was designed from 1912 and sculpted on site. Due to the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and Vinçotte's poor health, however, the monument was only finished and unveiled by Albert I and his wife, Queen Elisabeth, in 1921.

Description

The monument is sculpted in white

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

Euville Euville () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. In January 1973, it absorbed the former communes Aulnois-sous-Vertuzey, Vertuzey and Ville-Issey.romantic work with elements of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

. It consists of a big curved wall divided in five sculptures, which form five separate idealised scenes of Belgian pioneers in the former

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 ...

. Although contemporary with the appearance of

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

and

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

, the work clearly relates to the pre-war world.

Frieze, entablature and cornice

The large central

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

is composed of three parts, which read both in French and Dutch: ''Les Explorateurs / de Ontdekkers'' (''The Discoverers'', right); ''le Missionnaire / de Zendeling'' (''The Missionary'', at the centre); and ''les Belges au Congo / de Belgen in Congoland'' (''The Belgians in Congo'', left). On the

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

above the frieze, the inscription reads: ''J'ai entrepris l'œuvre du Congo dans l'intérêt de la civilisation et pour le bien de la Belgique. Ik heb het Congowerk ondernomen in het belang der beschaving en voor het welzijn van België. Léopold II 3 juin 1906'' (''I undertook the Congo project in the interest of civilisation and for the good of Belgium. Leopold II, 3 June 1906'') and on the cornice: ''Opgericht ter eere der eerste belgische baanbrekers / Monument élevé aux premiers pionniers belges'' (''Established honouring the first Belgian pioneers''). The

sculptural group ''Het zwarte ras door België onthaald / La race noire accueillie par la Belgique'' (''The black race welcomed by Belgium'') is located centrally on top of the cornice. A seated white woman with a torch in her hand lifts her veil for a semi-naked African woman who presents her children. File:Monument aux pionniers belges au Congo 07.JPG, Frieze (from right to left): ''The Discoverers'' – ''The Missionary'' – ''The Belgians in Congo'' File:Monument aux pionniers belges au Congo 03.JPG, ''The black race welcomed by Belgium''

Other sculptures

The left side of the monument shows a sculptural group representing a group of

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

throwing a slave to the ground, but who are subjugated by a Belgian soldier. The inscription reads: ''L'héroïsme militaire belge anéantit l'(Arabe) esclavagiste / De Belgische militaire heldenmoed verdelgt den (arabische) slavendrijver'' (''Belgian military heroism wipes out the (Arab) slave trader''). It illustrates the raids of baron

Francis Dhanis Baron Francis Ernest Joseph Marie Dhanis (11 March 1861 – 13 November 1909) was a Belgian colonial civil servant and soldier noted for his service for the Congo Free State during the Congo Arab War and Batetela Rebellion. Early life and ...

against the Arab slave traders. The right side of the monument shows another sculptural group representing a Belgian soldier protecting his officer, entitled ''Le soldat belge se dévoue pour son chef blessé à mort / De belgische soldaat offert zijn leven voor zijnen ter dode gekwetsten overste'' (''The Belgian soldier devotes himself to his mortally wounded leader''). At the bottom centre, on the edge of the basin, 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 ...

is allegorically depicted by a languishing Congolese youth lying in vegetation with a crocodile at his feet. The mention ''Le fleuve Congo / De stroom Congo'' (''The Congo river'') is engraved in the stone at the base of this group. File:Monument aux pionniers belges au Congo 08b.JPG, ''Belgian military heroism wipes out the (Arab) slave trader'' File:Monument aux pionniers belges au Congo 09b.JPG, ''The Belgian soldier devotes himself to his mortally wounded leader'' File:Monument aux pionniers belges au Congo 02.JPG, Allegory of the

File:Monument aux pionniers belges au Congo 10.JPG, Detail

Controversy

Since the 1980s, the monument has become increasingly controversial. On the one hand, the glorification of Belgium's colonial past has been increasingly contested. On the other hand, the words ''Arab slave trader'' on one of the inscriptions has been a source of contention for the Arab Muslim population in Brussels, partly due to the proximity of the

. After a complaint by the

Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...

, the words ''Araabschen / arabe'' were removed in 1988. The words were restored in 1992 after a demand by the Belgian nationalist ''Cercle royal des anciens officiers des campagnes d'Afrique'', but the French version was again removed in 2005. In 2011,

Ecolo Ecolo (), officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales (, ) is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The party is active in Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region. Ecolo's F ...

politician Évelyne Huytebroeck decided to include an educational caption. In 2020, two

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

politicians from

Vlaams Belang Vlaams Belang (; ; VB) is a Flemish nationalist, Eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the Flemish Region and Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. It is widely considered by the media and political analysts to be on the polit ...

, Dries Van Langenhove and

Bob De Brabandere Bob De Brabandere (born 31 August 1987) is a Belgian politician for the Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang party in the Belgian Senate. Biography Brabandere was born on 31 August 1987 in Ghent. He studied at the Ghent University before working as ...

, once more restored the words ''Araabschen / arabe'', as a reaction on what they described as a "current-day ''

Beeldenstorm ''Beeldenstorm'' () in Dutch and ''Bildersturm'' in German (roughly translatable from both languages as 'attack on the images or statues') are terms used for outbreaks of destruction of religious images that occurred in Europe in the 16th centu ...

'' and hypocritical cult of apologies". The words were again removed shortly thereafter. File:Monument voor de Belgische pioniers Jubelpark detail.jpg, The Belgian soldier and the Arab slave trader, with a part of the inscription removed File:Detail of the Monument to the Belgian Pioneers in Congo.jpg, Modified inscription ''Belgian military heroism crushes the (Arab) slave trader'', April 2022

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Monument aux pionniers belges au Congo Monuments and memorials in Brussels Cinquantenaire City of Brussels Statues in Belgium 1921 sculptures Vandalized works of art