In the city of Tervuren, just 20 kilometers from Brussels, lies the place where Belgian King Leopold II showcased to the world the riches he extracted from the Congo Free State at the cost, it is estimated, of five million deaths. This African territory, which was equivalent in area to half of Europe, was administered by him as a private property from the Berlin Conference of 1885 until a year before his death, in 1908, when it obtained the status of a “colony” of the Belgian state due to international pressure.
In Tervuren, the sovereign built a majestic building decorated with the riches of the Congo, especially from the extraction of ivory and rubber, which is currently used as the Africa Museum. The objective was none other than to whitewash his exploitation project in the African territory to present it to the world as a “civilizing” enterprise. Through its corridors, the monarch tried to explain the “scientific” nature of his colonial exploitation, in an era marked by the loss of power of religion and the rise of Enlightenment ideas on the continent.
This place continues to spark great controversy in Belgium, especially after the death of George Floyd in the United States in 2020, when numerous activists came out to destroy monuments dedicated to Leopold II and pointed directly at the architectural complex he ordered to be built in Tervuren. Although it was not the only thing he built thanks to his extraction, he also promoted the expansion of the metropolis of Brussels, authorizing the construction of iconic enclaves such as the Cinquantenaire Park, the royal park of Tervuren, or the exuberant Palace of Justice.
“In 1897, 267 Congolese were relocated to be exhibited before a public that could even feed them popcorn.”
Due to this, there is currently a great controversy, as many of the places that are key to tourism were financed with riches from the Congo. The debate reached such a point that the Africa Museum closed during the years 2013 and 2018 due to the historical review of its colonial past, with the aim of considering what new vision they wanted to offer in their exhibitions.
Later it was decided to reopen to reveal the crimes of colonialism. In fact, a temporary exhibition in 2022 showed the human zoos that, until 1958, were held in Brussels, near the Atomium. This impacted visitors, who learned firsthand about those atrocities that were well-regarded just eighty years ago. Even so, the new permanent exhibition has focused on showcasing the African cultures of the Congo to give them a voice, and less emphasis has been placed on colonial actions, beyond some explanatory signs, which may have altered the historical objective of the visit.
Entrance to the Palace of Tervuren.
Javier Rubio.
The human zoo in Tervuren
In 1897, Leopold II built the Colonial Palace of Tervuren, where he organized a universal exhibition to attract the European public to the riches of the Congo. For this fair, 267 Congolese were relocated to be exhibited before a public that could even feed them popcorn. During this event, a total of seven natives died, whose graves can still be visited in the local church, as proof of the “scientific” phenomenon that reached its peak during the industrial revolutions.
The monarch’s objective was to use this venue as the epicenter of his colonial propaganda. In the streets of the city, one can still see how that event unfolded, where the Congolese village was represented as a supposed Belgian “civilizing” project, while from the capital, Brussels, other points were set up from which attendees traveled by tram to Tervuren. It is estimated that around a million people threw food at the Africans, with a background sign that read: “The blacks are fed by the organizing committee.”
For all these reasons, the Belgian colonization of the Congo until it achieved independence in 1960, that is, no more than 65 years ago, continues to spark national debate about the crimes committed by their nation against an African population that currently has its own neighborhood in Matonge, in the Ixelles district (Brussels).
In the city of Tervuren, just 20 kilometers from Brussels, lies the place where Belgian King Leopold II showcased to the world the riches he extracted from the Congo Free State at the cost, it is estimated, of five million deaths. This African territory, which was equivalent in area to half of Europe, was administered by him as a private property from the Berlin Conference of 1885 until a year before his death, in 1908, when it obtained the status of a “colony” of the Belgian state due to international pressure.
In Tervuren, the sovereign built a majestic building decorated with the riches of the Congo, especially from the extraction of ivory and rubber, which is currently used as the Africa Museum. The objective was none other than to whitewash his exploitation project in the African territory to present it to the world as a “civilizing” enterprise. Through its corridors, the monarch tried to explain the “scientific” nature of his colonial exploitation, in an era marked by the loss of power of religion and the rise of Enlightenment ideas on the continent.
This place continues to spark great controversy in Belgium, especially after the death of George Floyd in the United States in 2020, when numerous activists came out to destroy monuments dedicated to Leopold II and pointed directly at the architectural complex he ordered to be built in Tervuren. Although it was not the only thing he built thanks to his extraction, he also promoted the expansion of the metropolis of Brussels, authorizing the construction of iconic enclaves such as the Cinquantenaire Park, the royal park of Tervuren, or the exuberant Palace of Justice.
“In 1897, 267 Congolese were relocated to be exhibited before a public that could even feed them popcorn.”
Due to this, there is currently a great controversy, as many of the places that are key to tourism were financed with riches from the Congo. The debate reached such a point that the Africa Museum closed during the years 2013 and 2018 due to the historical review of its colonial past, with the aim of considering what new vision they wanted to offer in their exhibitions.
Later it was decided to reopen to reveal the crimes of colonialism. In fact, a temporary exhibition in 2022 showed the human zoos that, until 1958, were held in Brussels, near the Atomium. This impacted visitors, who learned firsthand about those atrocities that were well-regarded just eighty years ago. Even so, the new permanent exhibition has focused on showcasing the African cultures of the Congo to give them a voice, and less emphasis has been placed on colonial actions, beyond some explanatory signs, which may have altered the historical objective of the visit.
Entrance to the Palace of Tervuren.
Javier Rubio.
The human zoo in Tervuren
In 1897, Leopold II built the Colonial Palace of Tervuren, where he organized a universal exhibition to attract the European public to the riches of the Congo. For this fair, 267 Congolese were relocated to be exhibited before a public that could even feed them popcorn. During this event, a total of seven natives died, whose graves can still be visited in the local church, as proof of the “scientific” phenomenon that reached its peak during the industrial revolutions.
The monarch’s objective was to use this venue as the epicenter of his colonial propaganda. In the streets of the city, one can still see how that event unfolded, where the Congolese village was represented as a supposed Belgian “civilizing” project, while from the capital, Brussels, other points were set up from which attendees traveled by tram to Tervuren. It is estimated that around a million people threw food at the Africans, with a background sign that read: “The blacks are fed by the organizing committee.”
For all these reasons, the Belgian colonization of the Congo until it achieved independence in 1960, that is, no more than 65 years ago, continues to spark national debate about the crimes committed by their nation against an African population that currently has its own neighborhood in Matonge, in the Ixelles district (Brussels).