King Baudouin in Africa

King Baudouin by The Mad Monarchist was just posted, a look at the life of the prior King who I know the 'Mad One' admires very much. The problems with the independence of the Belgian Congo are highlighted as probably the most difficult time of the reign of King Baudouin but the King was really very popular in Africa and visited the continent many times. Here are some photographic memories of King Baudouin in Africa:

King Baudouin and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia

King Baudouin and first Congo President Joseph Kasavubu

King Baudouin in Leopoldville with Congolese leaders

King Baudouin with King Mutara III of Rwanda

King Baudouin with colonial officials in the Congo

King Baudouin arrives in Burundi

King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola visit the Congo

King Baudouin with President Mobutu

King Baudouin with President Mobutu

King Baudouin with the (very tall) King Kigeli V of Rwanda

King Baudouin visits the Force Publique school

King Baudouin reading his speech giving independence to the Congo

A Letter from King Leopold II

This is a letter from King Leopold II to Minister Beernaert of the Congo Free State, July 3, 1890

Dear Minister,

I have never ceased to call the attention of my countrymen to the need to turn our view toward overseas lands.

History teaches that countries with small territories have a moral and material interest in extending their influence beyond their narrow borders. Greece founded opulent cities, bastions of arts and civilization, on the shores of the Mediterranean. Later, Venice built its grandeur on its maritime and commercial relations no less than on its political success. The Netherlands have 30 million subjects in the Indies who exchange tropical products for the products of the mother country.

It is in serving the cause of humanity and progress that peoples of the second rank appear as useful members of the great family of nations. A manufacturing and commercial nation like ours, more than any other, must do its best to secure opportunities for all its workers, whether intellectual, capitalist, or manual.

These patriotic preoccupations dominated my life. It is they that caused the creation of the African effort.

My pains were not sterile: a young and vast State, led from Brussels, has peacefully taken its place in the sun, thanks to the kind support of the powers which have applauded its beginnings. Belgians administer it, while other compatriots, more numerous every day, are already making a profit on their capital.

The immense river system of the Upper Congo opens the way for our efforts for rapid and economical ways of communication that will allow us to penetrate directly into the center of the African continent. The building of the railroad in the cataract area, assured from now on thanks to the recent vote of the legislature, will notably increase the ease of access. Under these conditions, a great future is reserved for the Congo, whose immense value will soon shine out to all eyes.

Soon after that memorable act, I thought it my duty, when death will come to strike me, to make it easy for Belgium to profit from my work, as well as that of those who helped me to found and direct it and to whom I give thanks here once again. I thus made, as Sovereign of the Congo Free State, the will that I am sending you; I will request that you communicate it to the legislative Chambers at what seems to you the most opportune moment.

The beginning of enterprises such as those that have so preoccupied me is difficult and onerous. I insisted on bearing the charges. A King, to give service to his country, must not fear to conceive and pursue the realization of a project so adventurous in appearance. The riches of a Sovereign consist of public prosperity. That alone can appear to his eyes as an enviable treasure, which he should try constantly to build up.

Until the day of my death, I will continue with the same thoughts of national interest that have guided me until now, to direct and sustain our African efforts, but if, without waiting for that date, it makes sense for the country to contract closer ties with my Congo possessions, I would not hesitate to make them available to it, I would be happy, while I am alive, to see it in full benefit towards the Chambers as towards the Government for the aid that they gave to me on several occasions in this creation.

I do not think I am mistaken in affirming that Belgium will gain genuine advantages and will see opening before her, on a new continent, happy and wide perspectives.

Believe me, dear Minister,

Your very devoted,

Leopold.

Murder of Congolese Leader

It was on January 17, 1961 that Congolese independence advocate and former Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was murdered. Since that time Belgium and the United States have been widely blamed for the death of the Congolese leader. The Belgian government even did a full investigation to please the Congo authorities and in 2002 apologized for 'moral responsibility' in not doing more to prevent the murder of Lumumba even though they found definitively that Belgium never ordered such an assassination. I don't know that the United States ever admitted to any role by the CIA in the events. But Lumumba, being killed so early on, has become like a god in the Congo even though his record was not one of success and he purposely put his country on a first step of needless antagonism between Congo and Belgium. He had pushed for independence for a long time, blaming all problems in the Congo on the presence of the Belgians, in his present time and in history. He was a former beer salesman and postal worker who was once put in jail for stealing money from the postal service. But, because of his agitation for independence he became a popular figure in the Congo over time.

When independence came this should have been the happy moment of victory for Patrice Lumumba but he could not let go of his past hatreds and turned the independence ceremony into an ugly scene. There had already been some unpleasantness but at the ceremony King Baudouin gave a speech trying to put the best light on everything. He advised the Congolese leaders not to do anything too radical, assured them that Belgium was ready to help them in any way possible if they needed it and wishing them the best. Lumumba, the new Prime Minister, then took the stage and began railing against the Belgians, even digging up the memory of King Leopold II, insulting Belgium with the most wicked accusations. Everyone today (not just in Africa) thinks this was some sort of brave and heroic speech but at the time few people thought so and instead said that it simply displayed the undiplomatic and unprofessional nature of the new native government, was needless antagonistic and only ensured that the olive branch offered by King Baudouin was slapped away in favor of a continued hostile attitude. The King was so upset at this public humiliation that he almost left the country immediately but his sense of duty prevented him.

Because he was assassinated later Lumumba is portrayed as a great leader now. But at the time, his government of the Congo was a series of bad decisions. He gave everyone a raise in pay except for the army which caused an outbreak of mutiny with soldiers running wild all over the country, killing looting and causing every kind of disorder. Belgians and all other Europeans were targeted for attacks, because of the breakdown in law and because of the hostile racial attitude Lumumba encouraged at the time of independence and so all Europeans fled the country which caused a big crisis for the economy. The mineral-rich province of Katanga wanted no part of all this and declared independence and the United Nations intervened to prevent the death of innocent peoples in the area. Lumumba wanted to crush the rebels and made friends with the Soviet Union to obtain the weapons he needed to do this. Because of his hostile attitude to the western powers none of them were going to help him wage war on his people but the Soviets were always eager to help insurgent, anti-colonial movements because they usually could use this to take control for the communists after it was over.

The President in the end dismissed Lumumba because of this crisis, but Lumumba would not give up power and declared the President removed from office. Their two factions began fighting for power and this gave the opportunity for Colonel Joseph Mobutu to step in, suppress both of them and eventually take power for himself. Lumumba tried to set up his own government and arm his own private army but Mobutu captured him and arrested him. The United Nations was split over the issue with the Communist powers supporting Lumumba and the anti-communist powers opposing any return to power for him. In the end he was taken by the Katanga authorities and executed by firing squad. Things did not get better afterwards but as the man in charge of the government, Lumumba was responsible for how bad things were. He took them to that point and it is unjust to blame others for the terrible state of affairs he presided over. Peace and friendship and an orderly consolidation of the new independent government could have led to a much better future for the Congo but it was Lumumba who first rejected that attitude and chose hostility and force instead. I cannot regard him as a great leader for anyone.

Officers in the Congo Free State

This summer the website "Nobility" posted an article on Captain Leopold Louis Joubert, a real hero of Belgium. He was one of the volunteers of the Papal Zouaves who fought to defend the estates of Pope Pius IX from the Italian nationalist movement. With other veterans of the zouaves in 1880 he went to the Congo Free State of King Leopold II doing missionary work but he and his comrades had to revert to their military role to defend the poor natives from the cruelty of the Arab slave traders. This is not much talked about today but was a big part of the Belgian involvement in central Africa as King Leopold II pursued the war against the Arab slave trade. He built mission-forts to defend the area, showing great courage, and was later supported with men and arms by the Congo Free State government of King Leopold II. Certainly not a racist, Captain Joubert married the daughter of a local African chief by whom he had ten children. He was knighted by the Pope for his actions defending the Church and was also knighted by King Leopold II for his actions defending the Africans of the Congo.

Also, on a different tone, there is the case of Finn Kjelstrup, a Norwegian officer in the service of King Leopold II in the Congo Free State. I do not read Norwegian but can tell this webzone, from the University of Oslo, takes the more typical negative view of the Congo Free State as they relate the long career of this officer there. However, the photos and letters of the officer are interesting and how he tells what changes were made in attitude and why. This also I have commented on, that in the early days of the Congo Free State, and even much later in the era of the Belgian Congo, the officers of the Force Publique included more Scandinavians than Belgians, as they had many military officers in need of employment. Norway, for example, as related in the site, had to downsize the military after parting from the royal union with the Kingdom of Sweden and so many veteran military men needed work and were employed by King Leopold II in the Congo after a short training period to make them familiar with the unique circumstances of service in central Africa.

King Baudouin Visits Congo 1955

Captain William Stairs

Captain William Grant Stairs is someone, I think, who should be given a moment of memory because after all of his adventures in his life many of his own people did not view him with admiration because of his service in the employ of the King of the Belgians. He was a Canadian, born in Halifax and went to school there, in Scotland and in Ontario province. He became an engineer and worked in New Zealand and in 1885 was commissioned as an officer in the British Royal Engineers (army) and trained in England. In 1891 he joined the famous Welch Regiment. In the time between these two positions he went on a great adventure to central Africa. He joined, in 1887, the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition led by the great explorer Henry Morton Stanley, still one of the most famous explorers in the world, especially African explorers. The purpose of the expedition was to relieve the besieged forces of Emin Pasha, governor of Equatoria for the British General Charles Gordon who was Governor-General of the Sudan and engaged in a war against Muslim fanatics.

Stairs left London on 20 January 1887 and met Stanley in Suez on 6 February. Starting at the mouth of the Congo on 19 March they reached Tanzania on 5 December after a very long and arduous journey through wild and unknown country. Stairs became deputy commander of the expedition when the previous man to hold that post, Captain Barttelot, was shot in a skirmish on 19 July 1888. These daring men crossed 500 kilometers of jungle rainforest, swamps and all of the most difficult terrain possible to imagine and all the time suffered from every possible tropical disease, usually malaria and dysentery. In those days, the days of the last great adventurers, men were more tough and determined than now. Stairs endured all of this, discovered one of the sources of the Nile, the Semliki River and became the first man to climb in the Ruwenzoris (Mountains of the Moon). Along the way he was attacked by natives, shot in the chest with a poisoned arrow. There were many bloody battles, some because of simple aggressiveness and some because many of the natives thought the party were slave traders and their extreme fear of such a fate was not unfounded because kidnapping slaves for trading was still a major problem in central Africa at that time.

The expedition was still a success, Emin Pasha was reached and with difficulty persuaded to abandon the district and leave with Stanley. Back in England Captain Stairs was highly praised for his courage and determination on this wilderness trek. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society in 1890. The very next year, SM King Leopold II of the Belgians commissioned Stairs to command an expedition to Katanga in the Congo after Stanley had recommended him to the King. The goal was to come to terms with or defeat the native chief Msiri who ruled the region before the area was taken by the British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes which was expanding north very quickly. Even though Stairs and the doctor of the party, Joseph Moloney, were subjects of the British Empire, they agreed that, regardless of who they might come in conflict with, they would carry out their obligations to King Leopold II and the Congo Free State. With only a relatively small party, Stairs set out to claim this vital region and deal with the chief Msiri.

Stairs and his force reached Katanga and began trying to come to terms with Msiri but he was obstinate. Plagued with sickness and surrounded by hostiles, Stairs decided finally to make Msiri an offer he could not refuse. After three days of diplomacy Stairs sent word to Msiri that if he did not sign the treaty he proposed the next day, 20 December 1891, there would be severe consequences. When the chief did not appear, Stairs sent Belgian Captain Omer Bodson (his second in command and only brother officer) to arrest Msiri. When the chief resisted and drew his sword on the captain, Captain Bodson shot him and this provoked a short but intense battle between the subject natives and the native Free State soldiers of Stairs in which Bodson was killed by Msiri‘s favorite slave. Stairs then put a new chief in charge (an adopted son of Msiri) and he signed the treaty recognizing Leopold II as king-sovereign and that Katanga was part of the Congo Free State.

The mission accomplished, Stairs and his remaining men began the overland march to the coast to Zanzibar, by the time they arrived a year of skirmishes and tropical diseases had reduced their number from 400 to 189. Stairs was not among them though, he had suffered long with malaria and finally died on a steamer on the Zambezi River on 9 June 1892 and he was buried in Mozambique (then Portuguese East Africa). He had done his job and secured probably the most important and mineral rich region of central Africa for the Congo Free State. However, the British in Northern Rhodesia (who wanted the territory for themselves) declared Stairs a traitor for working for the Belgians rather than the British and they joined in the chorus condemning Stairs, his expedition and the death of Msiri (though of course it was not Stairs who killed him). Everyone knows that some self-interest and desire for profiteering was part of the whole colonial game at that time. However, Stairs cannot be a villain because Msiri was no hero. He had no better claim to rule that area that King Leopold II did. Msiri was not the son of a prior chief or anything of the sort, he was a slave trader who became wealthy and powerful, bought European weapons and conquered the people, imposing his rule by force and remained a major figure in the brutal slave trade business. He was certainly not a peaceful, innocent victim and when Captain Bodson died his last words were, “I don’t mind dying now that I’ve killed Msiri. Thank God my death will not be in vain. I’ve delivered Africa from one of her most detestable tyrants”.

I can well imagine that if the event had ended peacefully with the chief signing the treaty, Commander Stairs and King Leopold would have been criticized anyway for making friends with such a brutal local warlord. In so many words, they would have been condemned no matter what happened, mostly because they beat the other colonial powers to the prize. Also, we should not forget that Stairs was one of only two officers in an armed expedition made up entirely of African natives and they trusted and were totally loyal to him because of his solid leadership and fair treatment of them. If he had been a cruel or vicious man he could never have accomplished what he did, almost by himself. That is why I think Captain Stairs should be remembered and that it will not be that the only voices speaking of him are those who attack and criticize him. He had great courage, did things most today would regard as impossible, he had determination to always see the job through and his expedition had a great impact on the history of Belgium and central Africa.

Buying New Beds for Burning House

Everyone knows that the European countries are all having severe money problems. Greece and Ireland have required help to stay afloat, Portugal, Spain and Italy are suspected to be next in line and recently even France has had accusations of potential economic crisis to deal with. Of course, on top of everything else dealing with at the moment, Belgium has also had to quickly deny charges that financial crisis could be imposing over the country. The debt is huge, the financial obligations gigantic and EU President and former premier Herman Van Rompuy has recently had to try to put fears to rest about the Belgian economy. It also does not help that there is still no government to handle this and Yves Leterme is even walking out on reporters instead of answering question. If a major crisis is about to happen or no there is still no denying that the financial situation is in a critical state.

Because of that it seems not at all ordinary to me that the Belgian Foreign Ministry has just announced that Belgium will pay 14 million euros to our former colony of Congo to offset the cost of upcoming elections in the country. The foreign minister called this pay out, "preventative diplomacy". Next year the Congo will have a presidential elections and in the immediate years there will also be parliamentary, provincial and municipal elections that, like all elections everywhere, will naturally cost some money. In fact the total cost is estimated to be some 540 million euros. Given that total, 14 million euros may not seem like much, other countries and European Union will be paying about half the total cost of the Congolese elections, but is this a wise decision by the Belgian government? Considering the dangerous position of the Belgian economy is it affordable or wise to send 14 million euros to the Congo for political contests?

Only recently King Albert II and Queen Paola were in the Congo to participate in their celebrations of the anniversary of independence from Belgium. Does independence not mean anymore that they pay their own costs? This is like the teenager who moves from his parents home but still calls asking for money to pay the bills. In a way this is what King Baudouin warned the Congolese about when he handed over their independence to them. Independence means a country is to carry its own weight and not depend on others. This 14 million euros represents dependence and not independence. I cannot see the wisdom of spending any amount when Belgium is drowning in debt to help a country that for most of these last decades has had a hostile attitude toward Belgium, blaming all problems on their former colonial power but at the same time expecting always help in return.

How about this idea: Belgium can keep the 14 million euros and instead we send the Congo Yves Leterme, even throw in Herman Van Rompuy as a free extra to solve their problems. There are even more I would be generous to give to the Congo instead of the millions of euros.

The Belgian-Arab War

From 1892 until 1894 was fought the Belgian-Arab War in what was at the time it occurred the Congo Free State of SM King Leopold II. This was a conflict Belgium undertook to eradicate an ancient evil from central Africa. This was the heart of the human trafficking that had been enduring since hundreds of years in spite of being struggled against by the entire civilized world. In history the British had done away with the Arab slave trade on the African west coast (once known as the slave coast) and later by the French. This had been a major artery for slave trading by the Arab caravans across the Sahara. Over time the Portuguese abolished slave trading on the lower west coast but the Arab slave trade survived in central and eastern Africa. Africans from the Congo region were taken captive by the Arabs for shipment up the east coast or over land and rivers to Ethiopia, Sudan and on to the Middle East. Zanzibar had long been a major base for slave trading.

In 1892 the Arab slave trade based in Zanzibar was controlled by Sefu, son of Tippu Tip who had long worked for the sultans of Zanzibar providing slaves and ivory out of Central Africa. In 1886 there had been a confrontation between the agents of Tip and officials at a Belgian post on the Congo border when they claimed that a local woman was a slave who had been stolen from an Arab officer. They besieged the post and eventually captured it when the defenders ran out of ammunition and had to abandon their fort. His son Sefu then led attacks into Congo, fearing the growing presence in the area, mostly British and Belgian, who were opposed to their cartel. His force grew to some 10,000 Congolese warriors led by 500 Arab-Swahili captains of Zanzibar. It fell to the Force Publique, the military of the Congo Free State, to stop them but up to that time they were a newly formed force geared toward police and internal security duties.

Outnumbered and unprepared the Force Publique was made to retreat across the unhealthy and inhospitable terrain of the Congo which did more than they were able to in slowing the slaver army of Sefu. To save this situation came the new Belgian commander of the Force Publique, Commandant Francis Dhanis. He won the loyalty of his Congolese soldiers by not breaking up their families, allowing them many privileges and also won over the local populace by restraining his men from harming or harassing the peaceful people of the area. The slaver army, on the contrary, behaved with great savagery toward all they encountered. The turning point came at the epic six-week siege of Nyangwe on the river which was nearly destroyed as the slaver army tried to wipe out the Force Publique garrison. However, the Belgian-led Congolese heroically held off the attackers and prevailed in the end.

Forced to fall back, Dhanis pursued Sefu and his army and taking control of Kasongo which had long been a central hub of the Arab slave-trade network. Finally on 20 October 1893, west of Lake Tanganyika, the Force Publique fought the final battle in which Sefu was killed and his slave army was left without a leader and in small following engagements were totally defeated one at a time. The slave trade network was broken up and by January of 1894 the war was over with the Congo Free State Force Publique victorious and the slavers driven from the region. It was a great achievement for the Congolese soldiers and their Belgian officers (though many were not Belgians but professional hired soldiers from Scandinavian countries). Against a greater number of enemies in wild country with an unhealthy climate they had prevailed with courage to wipe out an ancient evil from central Africa.

Francis, Baron Dhanis

Francis Dhanis was a Belgian national hero of the Congo Free State. He was the son of a Belgian father and an Irish mother, being born in London in 1861, and when he had grown up he studied at the École Militaire to enter the Belgian military service. Upon graduation he joined one of the great heavy infantry regiments, the grenadiers, and did good service to achieve the rank of major. But before that, when he was still a lieutenant, he volunteered to accept great danger and enter the service of King Leopold II in the Congo Free State. In 1887 he was sent for his first duty tour in the Congo and he accomplished great service there. His duties did not at first have much military requirements since he was mostly building outposts, roadside stations and trying to extend and build up the infrastructure of the country. However, there was soon a problem when the first Belgian agents came in contact with the massive slave-trading operation of the Arabs in the Upper Congo where some had established their own little kingdoms devoted to only slavery. Something had to be done to stop this and Francis Dhanis was chosen to command an expedition into the Upper Congo to eradicate the Arab slavers.

In April of 1892 Francis Dhanis and his force of African soldiers set out to kill, capture or drive off the enemy in the Upper Congo to disrupt and destroy their slave-trading network. This was a long and hard campaign, chronicled by Dr. Sydney Hinde who went along, in his book "The Fall of the Congo Arabs". Dhanis and his men captured the Arab slave fortresses at Nyangwe, Kasongo and then Kabambari, finally securing the area in January of 1894. The next year, for his great service to the Congo Free State, King Leopold II made Dhanis a baron and appointed him vice-governor of the Congo Free State. Was this job perhaps in a nice office behind a desk? Absolutely not!

Not long after taking his post in 1896 Baron Dhanis commanded another expedition into the Upper Nile region. However, Baron Dhanis had problems with his native soldiers who were mostly of the Batetela tribes. Some of their chiefs had been executed for cannibalism (Belgian authorities were trying to stop this horrific tradition) and the natives were unsatisfied about that. Finally they made a rebellion, breaking discipline, murdering their European officers and going off on their own. This was called the Batetela Rebellion. Baron Dhanis had to forget about the Arabs as he had his own well armed soldiers trying to kill him while far into an almost unexplored wilderness that was heavy with disease. For two long years (1897-1898) Baron Dhanis and his remaining soldiers fought constantly in a struggle for their own survival. Baron Dhanis was not the kind to surrender and as well as his own survival he was determined to bring to justice the bandit soldiers. It took time but you know Baron Dhanis found a way to one by one break up all of the groups of rogue soldiers. Many historians have said this was an even more impressive achievement that the victorious campaign against the Arabs earlier.

Baron Dhanis had shown great cleverness in covering the ground, keeping himself and his men alive and always accomplishing his mission, in whatever way he could find, no matter how impossible the scenario seemed to be. When Baron Dhanis returned home finally to Belgium he held the honorary title of vice-governor general of the Congo Free State. He died in Brussels, a celebrated national hero, on November 13, 1909.

S.M. King Baudouin in Africa

The Congolese love the King and Queen
King Baudouin leaves the car -still has his sword

King Baudouin arrives for last visit as King-Sovereign of the Congo

King Baudouin with Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba

Looking very cool in his white uniform

King Baudouin watching native dancers -almost out of the picture

Meeting King Mutara III of Rwanda

Giving his speech in Leopoldville

Waving to the crowd of admirers

riding in his car

looking like cool guys cruising the drag

a little tin soldier of the King

The King on his last tour as sovereign over Congo

Speech giving Congo their independence

My thanks to my friend the Mad Monarchist for sharing some of his photos with me.

Photos from the Congo

King Baudouin visiting the Congo

A typical Congolese village

Residence of the Belgian Governor-General in Boma

Belgian plantation house in the Congo

Jesuit mission cathedral in Kisantu

The Congolese countryside

Retrospective des visites royales au Congo

I do not like all of the commentary but some very good videos of the royal visits to the Congo.

New Articles on Belgian Monarchie

From a notice at The Mad Monarchist I point out these articles from "The Royal Universe" on Congo's Colonial Past and the threats posed against Dowager Queen Fabiola. They have also another excellent article on the life of the great Dowager Queen Fabiola. I would say all are very good though the article on the Congo, though not totally unfair like most, still is too critical of King Leopold II. Belgium is fortunate to never have had a really bad king like some and I think people are eager to simply to find a villain somewhere. King Leopold was a visionary (even if you don't like that vision of national greatness) and he did not ever hurt anyone himself and never ordered anyone to hurt any people in the Congo. What abuses happened were not his fault, they were the fault of those who actually did them and I will not go with the flow when it comes to condemning King Leopold II. What I will again say is that, beside that, I did agree with most of the article and repeat that it is much more fair than any others people will read.

"King Leopold II was a visionary hero"

"King Leopold II was a visionary hero"

Former Belgian foreign minister Louis Michel defends the second King of the Belgians from his many modern-day detractors.