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Belgian Congo - Wikipedia

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The Belgian Congo (French: Congo belge, pronounced [kɔ̃ɡo bɛlʒ]; Dutch: Belgisch-Congo[a]) was a 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 Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. King Leopold II of the Belgians attempted to persuade the Belgian government to support colonial expansion around the then-largely unexploited Congo Basin. Their ambivalence resulted in Leopold's establishing a colony himself. With support from a number of Western countries, Leopold achieved international recognition of the Congo Free State in 1885.[7] By the turn of the century, the violence used by Free State officials against indigenous Congolese and a ruthless system of economic exploitation led to intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium to take official control of the country, which it did by creating the Belgian

Belgian Congo - Wikipedia Jump to content Coordinates : 04°S 15°E / 4°S 15°E / -4; 15 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1908–1960 Belgian colony in Central Africa Not to be confused with its predecessor, the Congo Free State , or the French Congo and the Portuguese Congo . This article needs more citations . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . Find sources: "Belgian Congo" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( April 2026 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) ''[[La Brabançonne]]''<

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