Belgium and the Congo, 18851980 [Paperback]

This book explains how and why Belgium, a small but influential European country, was affected by its colonial activities in the Congo.This book explains how and why Belgium, a small but influential European country, was changed through its colonial activities in the Congo, from the first expeditions in 1880 to the Mobutu regime in the 1980s. Belgian politics, diplomacy, economic activity and culture were influenced by the imperial experience. Belgium and the Congo, 18851980 yields a better understanding of the Congo's past and present.This book explains how and why Belgium, a small but influential European country, was changed through its colonial activities in the Congo, from the first expeditions in 1880 to the Mobutu regime in the 1980s. Belgian politics, diplomacy, economic activity and culture were influenced by the imperial experience. Belgium and the Congo, 18851980 yields a better understanding of the Congo's past and present.While the impact of a colonising metropole on subjected territories has been widely scrutinized, the effect of empire on the colonising country has long been neglected. Recently, many studies have examined the repercussions of their respective empires on colonial powers such as the United Kingdom and France. Belgium and its African empire have been conspicuously absent from this discussion. This book attempts to fill this gap. Belgium and the Congo, 18851980 examines the effects of colonialism on the domestic politics, diplomacy and economics of Belgium, from 1880  when King Leopold II began the country's expansionist enterprises in Africa  to the 1980s, well after the Congo's independence in June of 1960. By examining the colonial impact on its mother country Belgium, this study also contributes to a better understanding of Congo's past and present.1. The origin of the colonial phenomenon in Belgium and its main developments up until 1960; 2. The Congo and Belgium's domestic policy; 3. The Congo and Belgium's external position; 4lc'