Editing History of Belgium (section)

== Empire ==
{{See also|Belgian colonial empire}}
Stanard rejects the widely held notion that Belgians were "reluctant imperialists". He argues that "ordinary people came to understand and support the colony. Belgians not only sustained the empire in significant ways, but many became convinced imperialists, evidenced by the widespread, enduring and eagerly embraced propaganda in favor of the Congo."{{Sfn|Stanard|2012|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Xw4BNDdD0TkC&pg=PA8 8]}}

=== Congo Free State and Belgian Congo ===
[[File:Punch congo rubber cartoon.jpg|thumb|upright|A 1906 British ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' cartoon depicting [[Leopold II of Belgium|Leopold II]] as a rubber vine entangling a Congolese man]]
{{Main|Congo Free State|Belgian Congo}}
King [[Leopold II of Belgium]] had been the principal shareholder in the Belgian trading company which established trading stations on the lower Congo between 1879 and 1884.<ref name="Palmer, Alan 1979 p. 42">{{Cite book |last=Palmer |first=Alan |title=The Penguin Dictionary of Twentieth Century History |date=1979 |publisher=Allen Lane |location=London |page=42}}</ref> At the [[Berlin Conference]] of 1884–1885 the future [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]] was personally assigned to Leopold, who named the territory the [[Congo Free State]]. It was originally intended to be an international [[Free Trade]] zone, open to all European traders.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hobsbawm |first=Eric |title=The age of empire : 1875–1914 |date=1995 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |isbn=978-0-2978-1635-5 |edition=Reissued |location=London |pages=66}}</ref> The area included in this territory was just under 1 million square miles,{{Sfn|Hobsbawm|1995|pages=5}} almost 80 times the size of Belgium.<ref name="countryeconomy.com">{{Cite web |title=Country comparison Belgium vs Democratic Republic of the Congo 2021 |url=https://countryeconomy.com/countries/compare/belgium/democratic-republic-congo |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=countryeconomy.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name="MLE">{{Cite web |title=Belgium is about 77 times smaller than Congo, Democratic Republic Of. |url=https://www.mylifeelsewhere.com/country-size-comparison/belgium/democratic-republic-of-congo |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=MyLifeElsewhere |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Nation">{{Cite web |title=Countries Compared by Geography > Area > Land. International Statistics at NationMaster.com |url=https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Geography/Area/Land#country |access-date=18 March 2021 |website=www.nationmaster.com}}</ref> The first infrastructure projects took place during the Free State period, such as a railway that ran from the [[Kinshasa|Léopoldville]] to the coast which took several years to complete.

The era of the [[Congo Free State]] is most infamous for the large number of atrocities committed under it. Since it was, in effect, a business venture, run by a private company headed by Leopold himself, it aimed to gain as much money as possible from primary exports. Leopold's personal fortune was greatly increased through the proceeds of selling Congolese rubber, which had never previously been mass-produced in such quantities, to the growing market for tyres. Between 1885 and 1908, as many as eight million Congolese died of exploitation and disease while the birth rate dropped.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pavlakis |first=Dean |title=Belgian Congo |url=http://www.yale.edu/gsp/colonial/belgian_congo/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104154116/http://www.yale.edu/gsp/colonial/belgian_congo/index.html |archive-date=4 January 2013 |access-date=15 January 2013 |website=Genocide Studies Program}}</ref> These are only rough estimates, as no figures are available for the period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rubinstein |first=William D. |title=Genocide : a history |date=2004 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-5825-0601-5 |edition=1st |location=Harlow |pages=98–99}}</ref>

To enforce the rubber quotas, the [[Force Publique]] (FP) was created. While the Force Publique was nominally a military force – it would later fight during both the [[East African Campaign (World War I)|First]] and [[East African Campaign (World War II)|Second World Wars]]) – during the Congo Free State period its primary duties involved enforcing rubber quotas via imprisonment, rape, abduction, forced labor, or [[summary execution]]s. Severing of limbs was sometimes used.<ref name="cas1">{{Cite news |last=Kakutani |first=Michiko |date=1 September 1998 |title='King Leopold's Ghost': Genocide With Spin Control |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/30/daily/leopold-book-review.html |access-date=31 December 2014 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> A Belgian captain, Leon Rom, ornamented his flowerbeds with the heads of 21 natives.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Asserate |first=Asfa-Wossen |title=Die neue Völkerwanderung. Wer Europa bewahren will, muss Afrika retten |date=2016 |publisher=Propyläen Verlag |isbn=978-3-5490-7478-7 |location=Frankfurt am Main |lang=de}}</ref>

Following reports from missionaries, there was growing moral outrage, particularly in Britain and the United States. The [[Congo Reform Association]], led by [[Edmund Dene Morel]], was particularly important in this campaign, and published numerous best-selling tracts and pamphlets (including ''Red Rubber'') which reached a vast public. King Leopold appointed and financed his own commission to put these accusations to rest, but it too confirmed the atrocities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Edmund Dene Morel · Antislavery Usable Past |url=https://antislavery.ac.uk/items/show/2053 |access-date=6 June 2023 |website=antislavery.ac.uk}}</ref>

[[File:Statue équestre de Léopold II - 01.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Equestrian Statue of Leopold II]], {{Lang|fr|Place du Trône|italic=no}}/{{Lang|nl|Troonplein|italic=no}}, Brussels]]
The Belgian parliament long refused to take over the colony, which was considered a financial burden. In 1908, the Belgian parliament responded to the international pressure, annexing the Free State. After World War II, Belgium was criticized by the [[United Nations]] for making no progress on the political front. Despite propaganda campaigns within Belgium, few Belgians showed much interest in the colony. Also, the government limited the possibility of Congolese settling in Belgium.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stice |first=Elizabeth |date=January 2013 |title=Review of Matthew G. Stanard, ''Selling the Congo: A History of European Pro-Empire Propaganda and the Making of Belgian Imperialism'' |url=https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=38106 |journal=H-Net Reviews}}</ref>

Political rights were not granted to the Africans until 1956 when the growing middle class (the so-called ''[[Évolué]]'') received the franchise, and the economy remained relatively undeveloped despite the mineral wealth of [[Katanga Province|Katanga]]. At the [[Congolese Round Table Conference|Round Table Talks on independence]], Belgium requested a process of gradual independence over four years,<ref name=":0">{{Harvnb|Vanthemsche|2012}}</ref> but following a [[Congo Crisis#1959 Leopoldville and Stanleyville Riots|series of riots]] in 1959, the decision was made to bring forward independence in matter of months. The chaos in which Belgium departed the Congo caused<ref name=":0"/> the secession of rich [[State of Katanga|Western-backed province Katanga]] and the prolonged civil war known as the [[Congo Crisis]].

=== China 1902–1931 ===
The [[Concessions in Tianjin#Belgian concession (1902–1931)|Belgian Tianjin Concession]] in China was established in 1902. There was little investment and no settlement. However it led to a contract to supply an electric light and trolley system. In 1906, Tianjin became the first city in China with a modern public transportation system. The supply of electricity and lighting and the trolley business were profitable ventures. All the rolling stock was supplied by Belgian industries and by 1914, the network also reached nearby Austrian, French, Italian, Japanese and Russian concessions.

=== Ruanda-Urundi 1917–1961 ===
After the defeat of Germany in World War I, Belgium inherited [[League of Nations]] mandates over [[Ruanda-Urundi]].

The colony was administered in a similar way as by the former German administrators, continuing policies such as ethnic identity cards. In 1959, moves towards independence could be seen in the territory and agitation by [[PARMEHUTU]], a Hutu political party, was evident. In 1960, the [[Rwandan Revolution]] occurred and Belgium changed the appointments of chiefs and vice-chiefs to promote Hutus.

Ruanda-Urundi gained independence in 1962 and its two regions, [[Rwanda]] and [[Burundi]], separated.