The Belgian Congo: Paternalism Without Preparation

After taking over King Leopold II's Congo Free State in 1908, Belgium ran the Congo through a partnership of the state, the Catholic Church and large mining and plantation companies. Its policy was paternalism: it provided widespread primary schooling and health care, but kept Congolese out of higher education, the officer corps and senior administration. A Belgian professor's 1955 suggestion of a thirty-year plan for independence was seen as radical. Change came suddenly.

Congolese évolués (educated Africans) formed parties, and Patrice Lumumba attended the 1958 All-African Peoples' Conference in Accra. In January 1959 riots in Léopoldville killed dozens, and days later King Baudouin promised independence. At a Round Table conference in Brussels in early 1960, Belgium agreed to independence on 30 June 1960, just months away. The country had very few university graduates and no Congolese army officers. Historians debate whether Belgium hoped rapid independence would keep Congolese leaders dependent on Belgian expertise.