Belgian Colonial Empire

"All the most disadvantageous conditions one might think of can be found together in the land adjacent to the Rio Nunez. This is especially so in the area around Debocca, where the bed of the river, narrow and snaky, is densely compacted between two very heavily wooded banks which comprise an insurmountable barrier to the gentle winds of the open sea…It is this that causes a rejection of any idea to undertake at some point on this coast, the formation by Europeans of an agricultural colonization center. Attempts that one would make towards this goal would only serve to condemn some poor wretches sent to this inhospitable place to an unavoidable death. The formation of a commercial establishment would be far from presenting the same dangers and would be able to have some chances of success. The rivers of the Rio Nunez by virtue of the importance and the variety of their products, by the easiness of communications that they offer with the central market of Africa, with the different points of the coast, could become for Belgium a source of income as well as an important outlet. But again, in this case the care of the maintenance of those of our nation that agreed to go into this fatal climate to serve as pioneers to Belgian trade, would call for all the government's concern. We take for granted the proposition that Belgium judges it appropriate to establish in the Rio Nunez either a commercial counter or military stations. In both cases, it would be good not to send to occupy and especially to found these establishments anything but the absolutely minimum necessary number of Belgians. The first work to clear the area could be performed by natives under the direction of some capable men, appointed to this position by the government. Would one not also be able to use for rest of the work, which Blacks would be unfit, some of the numerous convicts that clutter our prisons? If the government judged it necessary to protect our trade on the river by the establishment of military posts, it would be easy to recruit among the natives, of the islands of Cape Vert, the necessary soldiers to form the garrison of these posts. This method of recruiting would have the double advantage of procuring for us men already acclimated to the climate and sparing the health of our nationals. It would be sufficient of put at the head of these posts a small number of Belgians to maintain our influence on the river. In general, men of a weak constitution should be separated out. Those that one would send into the Rio Nunez…"

"Mistrust of the foreigner is still at the bottom of the minds of the Chinese. One way if not to destroy, at least to mitigate these prejudices, would be to put the study committee under a neutral banner. The committee would be made up of capitalists and industrialists eager to prepare for the success of lucrative enterprises or of politicians willing to serve the cause of civilization with their help."

"I'm still working, but we have to start by putting forward a diplomatic arrangement. This point obtained, we would have a good chance of success. For the moment, the Belgian shipping word in China should not be used at any price."

"The civil ministers, supported by the main newspapers of the country, were of the opinion that it was difficult to reconcile with the international statute of neutrality which was that of Belgium."

"Although China attracted Belgian investors and missionaries from the 1860s, it is especially after 1900 that major investments began to take place in various industrial, financial and commercial sectors, such as banking, railways, metallurgy and real estate. The most famous companies were the Banque sino-belge, the Compagnie financière belgo-chinoise, the Société belge d’entreprise en Chine, the Compagnie générale des chemins de fer en Chine and the cfeo. The Beijing-Hankou (present Wuhan) railway line, the mines of Lincheng, the trams of Tientsin and the steel mills of Hanyang were among the most successful results of the Belgian “informal empire.”"

"For three or four Chinese coppers, I could ride in a rickshaw from my home, in England, to Italy, Germany, Japan, or Belgium. I walked to France for violin lessons; I had to cross the river to get to Russia, and often did, because the Russians had a beautiful wooded park with a lake in it."

"Mr. Devaux said His Majesty had repeatedly spoken to him on the subject and he himself looked upon the project as undesirable and unpractical and had stated that opinion very frankly to the King. It was with great satisfaction he found that it coincided with the views expressed in Your Lordship’s letters, the arguments in which were so convincing and unanswerable that he was certain they would put an end to the scheme at once."

"Everything you say about Tonkin is very fair. This one is a dangerous toy."

"The King decreases his alms. All of this. All the money saved goes to Africa. What will it be like when you have conquered Tonkin?"

"Beyens for Tonkin, certainly did not encourage him, he just obeyed."

"Did he believe in Tonkin, and in the advantages it could offer for Belgium? It is permissible to doubt it, and even to believe the contrary."

"The Philippines was the gateway to China and Japan! No one would allow a great Power to come and settle there."

"The stay in Madrid having made me lose the few illusions I still had about the Philippines affair, I asked and already obtained, several months ago, permission to no longer deal with it and since then, I had never heard of it again."

"But it would not be reckless to say that from the start the King dreamed of founding a Belgian colony. Many times I have heard him say, when the Independent State emerged from its swaddling clothes like a newborn baby trying to walk: "I work there for Belgium"."

"This part of the State, that is to say the east of the Congo, is inhabited by happy blacks who often and without bringing them there, compared before me the happy present with the misery and the terror of when the Arabs had established themselves as slave traders in the region."

"The Tambatamba, Bokusu, Batetela, and other followers of Arab families are congregated at Stanley Falls on both banks as far down as'La Romee. These two latter tribes live in large mud wall houses, detached, with yards or courts. They are both farmers and stock breeders. The former are clean, clothed, and polite, while the latter are like the Arabs, superior in appearance, dress, and manners in fact, the aristocracy of the land. Their fields are tilled by women and dependents and slaves. They are not true Arabs, though there are a few of these too among them. In all things except religion the Tambatambas follow their Arab conquerors of earlier days, but of religion they have only the superstitions without the bonds, rules, or system of worship of the Mahommedans."

"Having a proper sense of her duty, and the means to carry it out, Belgium has mapped out her own course, and intends to keep to it. It entails a policy of humanity and progress. To a nation whos only aim is justice, the mission of colonization can only be a mission of high civilization: a small nation proves it greatness by carrying it out faithfully. Belgium has kept her word."

"Brilliant reception at the station. Children are tidied up as soon as they enter the mission grounds. There is perfect order. The mission makes a big impression."

"The reception was enthusiastic and brilliant. The city appears largely mapped out, too bad there are so many ugly buildings that make it look like a city in the American Far West."

"A real city, well laid out, with pretty houses, 1500 whites, it makes an excellent impression, better than Elisabethville. Here they are serious people, harnessed to a grandiose enterprise."

"Visit of the incomparable and impressive installations of Union Minière. We go up the hill. The sight is prestigious: the station, one of the most important in Africa, the buildings, the Europeans with the houses surrounded by gardens, the vast chessboard of the native city. The Negro workers that we see do not look unhappy, they are in good health."

"The chief comes to greet us, he is a handsome Baluba negro, dressed as a European with a white helmet; shame."

"What a beautiful breed these Wagenias and how friendly."

"I am struck that quite a few black workers do not greet us and watch us pass by with folded arms. There are dances in the evening, not very lively. We feel that the strain of hard woodworking weighs on the morale of the natives."

"The companies are complaining, but they have not done what is necessary to retain their workforce. They have relied too much on the obligation that the administration placed on the population."

"The negro workers are still unaware of the force that can give them union organization; happy industrialists."

"It is indisputable that the blacks have benefited from certain benefits of civilization."

"In short, there is a great deal of stagnation among the settlers and the medium-sized enterprises. The native there is often mistreated, exploited and has no medical care. In the Menteau farm, we observed a considerable number of varicose ulcers, which hardly exists at UM and La Forminière. There is no dispensary on this farm. The small settler can succeed in the Congo, one can doubt it, he lives by the exploitation of the native whom he makes work like a convict and moreover, he takes back his meager salary by selling him bad goods. The settler is often doubled as a trafficker, they complement each other, the system truck. Besides, the whole colonial edifice rests on the negro's shoulders. He alone is the source of profit, thanks to the excessive exploitation of which he is the object. In a colony, where there are few transport routes, where those that exist demand exorbitant prices, where there is little or no mechanical handling, no workhorse, only the degradation of the workforce - work can maintain the commercial level of the cost price. Large companies have the merit, through their tools, their medical assistance, their works of providing more treatment and of not wasting manpower."

"In view of the rapid changes taking place in the world today, it seemed to me desirable to preserve in picture and sound some reflection of the surviving vestiges of the ancient life of the Congo, there is a communion between the man of the forest and his natural surroundings which inspires us in a sense of respect a recognition of spiritual heritage, I thank all those who have helped me to achieve this task which combines beauty and scientific truth."

"Production is ensured by the native working no longer as an employee, but as a free peasant, owner of his land."

"For eighty years Belgium has sent your land the best of her sons, first to deliver the Congo basin from the odious slave trade which was decimating its population. Later to bring together the different tribes which, though former enemies, are now preparing to form the greatest of the Independent states of Africa."

"The Belgians are setting about the task of combating the shortage of labour with almost Teutonic thoroughness and far-sightedness."

"The natives while working on the mines are very well treated. They live in compounds, which appeared to be run on model lines. I was told that there had been cases of brutality and ill-treatment, but the compound managers concerned had been instantly dismissed. The Union Minière are strongly opposed to anything in the nature of brutal treatment of the natives."

"Speaking generally, it may be said that the authorities of the Union Minière are in advance of the Mining Companies in this Territory [Rhodesia] in the care and attention they give to recruited labour."

"One of the consequences of the Second World War was the collapse of the colonial system. All the old colonies, often under pressure, obtained the recognition of their independence. Belgium also granted autonomy to Congo."

"Our mission has been favorably impressed by the material develpment brought about the native welfare fund. I have personaly observed how the native population apreciates Belgium"s efforts in this direction and how it has understood the benefits of derived by Ruanda-Urundi from the activities of this institution."

"After having elaborated a vast plan of action for the benefit of the native but, to a large extent, outside his knowledge and comprehension, we must gradually obtain his acceptance and make him ever more conscious of it, as well as actively engaged in his own uplift. Gaining the native conscious and active acceptance of our civilizing ideal must be the primary object of our task of teaching and education in Belgian Africa."

"The British exploited differences between the Hindu and Muslim communities in the sub‐continent, creating deep resentments and divisions that persist today due to the 1947 Partition. Similarly, differences between the Hutus and Tutsis that led to the Rwandan genocide were created and exploited by Belgian colonizers."

"Burundians, Rwandans, and outside specialists of the region disagree almost totally on the nature of precolonial social…[and on] the impact of colonization...There is no scholarly consensus on answers to these questions."