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A Colonial Museum in Belgium

© Roxanne Nelson

There are no lack of museums in Europe—whether you like painting, sculpture, history, military, or any combination of the above—you will find a museum to your liking in Europe. For those interested in museums off the beaten path, there is one in Belgium that may serve to both fascinate as well as horrify. Europe's colonial era was not their finest hour by any stretch of the imagination, but a tribute to it can be found at the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Tervuren, a suburb of Brussels. It is not a history of the Belgian experience in colonialism but rather an exquisite art museum, housed in a palatial building on beautifully landscaped grounds. Within lies one of the most extensive collections of African art, particularly from the vast Congo basin.

This museum is a conundrum at best. On one hand, it is a vast treasure chest of the remarkable artwork and craftsmanship of this region. But on the other, this entire establishment is a monument to one of the most brutal colonial empires—if not the most brutal—of modern times.

To most people, Belgium is a small and rather benign country, and one that suffered greatly during both world wars. To pinpoint this nation as a leader in brutality, atrocities and genocide does seem a bit fantastic, but yet, good King Leopold II (1835-1909) is responsible for the torture, enslavement and starvation of millions of Congo natives. Some estimates put the death rate at 10 million during his 23 reign of terror in the region.

I don't have enough room in my article to go into a lengthy and detailed history, but if you're interested in the story of one of the world's most horrifying tales of inhumanity—and one of the least told and suppressed--an excellent book by Adam Hochschild, entitled The Ghost of King Leopold, tells the story in more detail than one really wants to know. But here is a brief history of the Belgian Congo:

The explorer Henry Stanley (of Stanley and Livingstone fame) was hired by King Leopold to obtain agreements from the tribes who lived in the Congo Basin. Using a combination of threats, promises and magician's tricks, he managed to lure chiefs into agreements which allowed the Belgians to share in the Congo's rich natural resources.

In 1884, the European powers met at a conference in Berlin, in order to decide the fate of Africa—meaning, who was to get which piece. In fact, King Leopold called Africa "that magnificent African cake," and his intention seemed to be clear from the beginning—that he intended to eat up whatever he could of it. The other nations attending the conference agreed that Belgium could have the Congo (as though it was their decision to make) and the Congo Basin became the Congo Free State. It encompassed an area of 900,000 square miles, and became the sole property of Leopold, thus making him the largest landowner in the world.

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