Misplaced Pages

Committee for Studies of the Upper Congo: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 16:26, 8 July 2023 editBobrayner (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers53,706 edits Minor improvements← Previous edit Latest revision as of 14:43, 30 March 2024 edit undoAtchom (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users45,088 edits →Further readingTag: Visual edit 
(10 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
The '''Committee for Studies of the Upper Congo''', or in French the '''Comité d'études du Haut-Congo''', was formed in 1878<ref>https://archives.africamuseum.be/agents/corporate_entities/170 African Museum: Comité d'études du Haut-Congo</ref> by ], King of the Belgians, as part of the ]. The '''Committee for Studies of the Upper Congo''', or in French the '''Comité d'études du Haut-Congo''', was formed in 1878<ref>https://archives.africamuseum.be/agents/corporate_entities/170 African Museum: Comité d'études du Haut-Congo</ref> on behalf of ], King of the Belgians, as part of the ].


At Leopold's request, the Committee was formed by a number of bankers and traders in Belgium and abroad, who contributed funds. The King had initially wanted to recruit ] as an explorer, but he was hired by the French. ] was approached instead; in January 1879, he presented to the Committee a proposal for further exploring the Congo. The Committee supported this mission, and as exploration progressed into colonisation, it was replaced by the ], which was in turn replaced by the ]. At Leopold's request, the committee was formed by a number of bankers and traders in Belgium and abroad, who contributed funds. The King had initially wanted to recruit ] as an explorer, but he was hired by the French. ] was approached instead; in autumn 1878, he agreed to work for the Committee for five years,<ref>Pakenham, "The Scramble For Africa", page 60</ref> and in January 1879, he presented to the committee a detailed proposal for further exploring the Congo. The Committee supported this mission, and Stanley secretly left Antwerp on a freighter in June 1879, arriving in July at the mouth of the Congo River. Stanley was given orders to ].


==Goals== ==Goals==
Line 9: Line 9:
* Discover what entrance costs might be charged by the tribes; * Discover what entrance costs might be charged by the tribes;
* Learn the nature of local trade goods; * Learn the nature of local trade goods;
* Investigate the possibility of creating a railway in the area of ​​the waterfalls (now known as ]), and the goods to be transported. * Investigate the possibility of creating a railway in the area of the waterfalls (now known as ]), and the goods to be transported.


However, the King privately instructed Stanley that: "''It is not about Belgian colonies. It is about establishing a new state that is as large as possible and about its governance. It should be clear that in this project there can be no question of granting the Negroes the slightest form of political power. That would be ridiculous. The whites, who lead the posts, have all the power.''"<ref name="Leopold II, The whole story''">{{cite book|last=Op de Beeck|first=Johan |title=Leopold II, the whole story|url=https://klara.be/leopold-ii-aflevering-6|year=2020|publisher=Horizon|isbn=9789463962094}}</ref>
⚫ ==See Also==

==Fate==
Although the Committee had only replaced the ] in 1878, King Leopold II had the committee dissolved in 1879, and all the non-Belgian investors had their money returned.<ref>Pakenham, "The Scramble For Africa", page 146</ref> Stanley still believed he was working for the Committee for over a year afterwards.<ref>Pakenham, "The Scramble For Africa", page 161</ref> It was replaced by the ], which was in turn replaced by the ] in 1885.

⚫ ==See also==
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]


==Further Reading== ==Further reading==
* * ],

==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}
Line 25: Line 30:


] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]
]
]
] ]
] ]

Latest revision as of 14:43, 30 March 2024

The Committee for Studies of the Upper Congo, or in French the Comité d'études du Haut-Congo, was formed in 1878 on behalf of Leopold II, King of the Belgians, as part of the Scramble for Africa.

At Leopold's request, the committee was formed by a number of bankers and traders in Belgium and abroad, who contributed funds. The King had initially wanted to recruit Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza as an explorer, but he was hired by the French. Henry Morton Stanley was approached instead; in autumn 1878, he agreed to work for the Committee for five years, and in January 1879, he presented to the committee a detailed proposal for further exploring the Congo. The Committee supported this mission, and Stanley secretly left Antwerp on a freighter in June 1879, arriving in July at the mouth of the Congo River. Stanley was given orders to get territorial concessions from local tribal rulers.

Goals

The committee was founded, ostensibly, with the goals of:

  • Assess the navigability of the Congo River;
  • Assess the potential for European trade with the inhabitants of the region;
  • Discover what entrance costs might be charged by the tribes;
  • Learn the nature of local trade goods;
  • Investigate the possibility of creating a railway in the area of the waterfalls (now known as Livingstone Falls), and the goods to be transported.

However, the King privately instructed Stanley that: "It is not about Belgian colonies. It is about establishing a new state that is as large as possible and about its governance. It should be clear that in this project there can be no question of granting the Negroes the slightest form of political power. That would be ridiculous. The whites, who lead the posts, have all the power."

Fate

Although the Committee had only replaced the International African Association in 1878, King Leopold II had the committee dissolved in 1879, and all the non-Belgian investors had their money returned. Stanley still believed he was working for the Committee for over a year afterwards. It was replaced by the International Association of the Congo, which was in turn replaced by the Congo Free State in 1885.

See also

Further reading

References

  1. https://archives.africamuseum.be/agents/corporate_entities/170 African Museum: Comité d'études du Haut-Congo
  2. Pakenham, "The Scramble For Africa", page 60
  3. Op de Beeck, Johan (2020). Leopold II, the whole story. Horizon. ISBN 9789463962094.
  4. Pakenham, "The Scramble For Africa", page 146
  5. Pakenham, "The Scramble For Africa", page 161
Democratic Republic of the Congo articles
History
Geography
Politics
Economy
Society
Culture
Categories: