Secession of Katanga1960 - 1965

Focus for Contextualisation

• Why did Katanga secede from independent Congo?

• What were the immediate effects of this secession?

• In what ways did the secession of Katanga develop an international dimension?

• In what way was Ireland involved in the Secession of Katanga?

Belgium & Congo

Province of Katanga

Katanga was the richest province in the Congo

Source of uranium used in atomic bombs

Mining companies had introduced, in some places, welfare programmes and education for its employees

By 1950, one-third of the entire population of the Congo was Christian

No educated native elite** N.B.

The Congo at Independence

• Former Belgian colony

• 2.3 million square miles

• 75 times larger than Belgium

• 13 million native Congolese

• 100,000 white (mainly Belgian) settlers

• Congo contained about 200 separate & distinct tribes (own language) = ‘Ethnic Groups’

Key Personalities: Belgian

King Leopold II 1835 – 1909

King Baudouin1930 – 1993

King of Belgium ‘Mwana Kitoko’

1951 - 1993

Key Personalities: Congolese

Patrice Lumumba 1925 - 1961

1st leader of independent Congo (67 days) (MNC)

Moise Tshombe1919 – 1969

Pro-Belgian leader of Katanga (Conakat Party)

Joseph Kasavubu1910 – 1969

1st President of Republic of Congo(Abako Party)

Independence Movements

• ABAKO: tribal organisation based on support of Kongo people

• CONAKAT: Led by Moise Tshombe, this Katangan group wanted to retain ties with Belgium and local self-government for Katanga

• Congolese National Movement (MNC): Wanted a united, independent Congo. Congolese Nationalist movement, seeking a national, rather than tribal, support. Led by Patrice Lumumba

Independence Approaches• President General de Gaulle of France announced a new departure in 1958,

opening up the possibility & choice of independence for French colonies

• This would affect large parts of the African continent e.g. Morocco, Algeria, The Congo, Sudan etc.

• Rioting broke out in Leopoldville in January 1959.

• In response, Belgian authorities agreed to local elections and a promise of future independence.

• 120 political groups contested these elections, mostly along tribal lines of allegiance.

• Only the MNC set a nationwide, electoral manifesto.

The ‘Roundtable Conference’ 18th – 27th January 1960

• Kasavubu, Lumumba & Tshombe invited to Brussels to discuss the future of the Congo with Belgian Government

1960: Independence of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo

&

Secession of Katanga

• 1960 – Congo declared free by Belgium– Democratic Republic of the Congo– Province of Katanga attempted to secede –

civil war– United Nations troops kept peace for four

years– Former president of Katanga, Moise

Tshombe, became prime minister in 1964

Independence of Congo & Secession of Katanga 1960 - 1965

A Chronology of Events, Personalities & Conflicts

1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966

June 1960 - Congo becomes independent Patrice Lumumba: Joseph Kasavubu: Prime Minister President

1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966

July 1960: Army Mutiny & Katangan Secession

Congolese Army Mutiny (5th July)

• Issue over no pay raise to army, while all other Government employees received a pay raise

• Rank & file soldiers of Force Publique rebelled against Officer Corps (mainly foreigners)

• Rioting & looting throughout Leopoldville.

• ‘Africanise’ the army: Armee Nationale Congolaise (ANC)

• Belgian forces brought in, without permission, to protect Belgian settles and mining interests

Tshombe declares Katanga independent (secession)

(11th July)

• Tshombe declared Katanga independent a couple of days later

• Supported by Belgian troops (6,000) & powerful business & industrial interests (companies)

•  “Seceding from chaos“: Tshombe

• Miltarised police force & mercenaries

• Luba province in north of Katanga seceded from Katanga itself

1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966

September – December 1960:

Chaos in Congolese Government

September 1960: Lumumba dismissed as P.M.

December 1960: Lumumba arrested

1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966

• February: Lumumba killed

• August: UN forces begin disarming the Katangese military

1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966

1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966

Katanga ends Secession

1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966

Kasavubu & Tshombe

• In a bid to unite the country, President Kasavubu appointed Tshombe (former President of secessionist Katanga) as Prime Minister of the Congo

1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966

The Mobutu Coup

• Kasavubu & Tshombe ousted in military coup d’etát by General Désiré Mobutu

• Mobutu renames the country ‘Zaire’ (1971)

• Mobutu declares himself ‘Mobutu Sese Seko’

• Katanga Province re-named ‘Shaba’

• Ruled the Democratic Republic of Congo for three decades

1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966

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