Belgian Colonial Empire
It wasn't until 1830 that Belgium received independence from the Dutch government after numerous revolutions and by the time every nation was aware of their independence, a great number of European countries already had various colonies around the world. Since they were behind on the colonial period they didn't acquire much land; the only relatively large piece of land they got was the Congo of which they officially attained after the Berlin Conference.
The Congo
The Congo was King Leopold II's personal piece of land instead of a government ruled colony which was established in 1885. Leopold used the Congo for his own personal wealth which he got from the numerous rubber trees found there. The rubber trees played a huge part of the king's wealth and he used what was essentially slave labour to extract the rubber which was then exported to Europe and the Americas for industrial growth. After realizing that he couldn't handle the responsibility anymore Leopold handed the Congo to the Belgian government. Once the government took over in 1908 a small population of Africans received education, and those who didn't receive education from the Europeans refrained from seeking it out because the education was based off Roman Catholicism which uninspired them.
The Congo became independent on June 30, 1960. On July 5, Congolese soldiers revolted against the Belgian commanders at Thysville Military base. The revolt and rebellions quickly spread throughout the other bases and soon violence was reported all throughout the Congo. After the revolts, thousands of Belgian colonists and soldiers fled the Congo only to return later to attempt to restore order to the colony. Then at the demand of the Congolese government, the UN got involved and requested the removal of all Belgian troops on July 13.
The Congo became independent on June 30, 1960. On July 5, Congolese soldiers revolted against the Belgian commanders at Thysville Military base. The revolt and rebellions quickly spread throughout the other bases and soon violence was reported all throughout the Congo. After the revolts, thousands of Belgian colonists and soldiers fled the Congo only to return later to attempt to restore order to the colony. Then at the demand of the Congolese government, the UN got involved and requested the removal of all Belgian troops on July 13.
Ruanda-Urundi
This was originally part of a German colony by the name of German East Africa but then became Ruanda-Urundi when the Belgians invaded in 1916 who occupied the land until the end of the war in 1918. The Treaty of Versailles allowed the British a large portion of the German East Africa but Ruanda-Urundi was officially Belgium's, confirmed by the League of Nations.
Closing the end of the colonial empire for Belgium, they granted Ruanda-Urundi independence in 1962. The territory split into two countries from there, Rwanda and Burundi. Following their independence, the Belgians kept a strong political and economic relationship with the three African republics, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Closing the end of the colonial empire for Belgium, they granted Ruanda-Urundi independence in 1962. The territory split into two countries from there, Rwanda and Burundi. Following their independence, the Belgians kept a strong political and economic relationship with the three African republics, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Guatemala
in 1842, a ship arrived to the New World under the directions of King Leopold I of Belgium. The crew spotted natural riches such as nickel, lead, zinc, iron, gold, silver, and jade. Leopold signed several contracts with numerous companies of which took advantage of the king who stopped all allegiance with them after a good while , and unfortunately, due to the lack of financial means and numerous fatalities from yellow fever, malaria, and other tropical diseases, the colonization efforts of Guatemala ceased in 1854.