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| See also: | 1960 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) | ||||
The following lists events that happened during 1960 in the Belgian Congo .
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| Decades: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| See also: | 1960 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) | ||||
The following lists events that happened during 1960 in the Belgian Congo .
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 25 January | Belgium agrees to grant the Belgian Congo independence, setting a date of 30 June 1960, with elections to be held in May. [1] |
| 20 February | Following a month-long conference in Brussels, Belgium, the date of 30 June is set for granting independence to its African colony of the Belgian Congo. Under an agreement between the Belgian government and Congolese leaders, elections would be held on 16 May for provincial legislatures and a 137-member national Chamber of Representatives, and the provinces would then select a Senate. [2] |
| 25 May | Fifteen days of voting, for a 137-member Chamber of Deputies, conclude in the Belgian Congo, as the nation prepared for independence. Patrice Lumumba's National Congolese Movement won a plurality of seats, with 36. [3] |
| 11 June | Jean-Pierre Finant becomes president of Orientale Province. [4] |
| 11 June | Jean Miruho becomes president of Kivu Province. [4] |
| 30 June | Barthélemy Mukenge becomes president of Kasaï Province. [4] |
| 30 June | At 12:01 a.m. (0101 GMT), the Belgian Congo is proclaimed independent by Belgium's King Baudouin. The new Congolese Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, then delivered an angry speech about colonial rule. [5] |
| 30 June | Belgian Congo is replaced by Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) |
| 30 June | The Comité Spécial du Katanga is dissolved. [6] |
Lubumbashi is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga Province, Lubumbashi is the center of mining in the region, acting as a hub for many of the country's largest mining companies. No definite population figures are available, but the population of the city's urban area is estimated to be around 2,584,000 in 2021.
The Union Minière du Haut-Katanga, often abbreviated to Union Minière or UMHK, was an Anglo-Belgian mining company which operated in the copperbelt in the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1906 and 1966.
There are currently twenty-five provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital, Kinshasa city, is administratively equivalent to a province.
Lieutenant General Auguste Tilkens (1869–1949) was a Belgian career soldier and colonial civil servant who served as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo from 1927 until 1934.
Émile Antoine Marie Wangermée (1855–1924) was a Belgian civil servant and vice governor-general of Congo Free State from 11 April 1897 until December 1897.
The Compagnie du Katanga was a concession company of the Congo Free State that engaged in mining in the Katanga Province.
Lualaba District was a district of the pre-2015 Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The district dates back to the days of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. The original Lualaba District was merged into Katanga in 1910, but in 1933 a new Lualaba District was formed within Katanga. After various significant boundary changes, in 2015 the district became the western part of the present Lualaba Province.
The following lists events that happened during 1960 in the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville).
Haut-Lomami District was a district of the pre-2015 Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The district dates back to the days of the Belgian Congo. At its greatest extent it roughly corresponded to the northern part of the current Lualaba Province and to the present Haut-Lomami Province.
Pierre Leroy (1909–1985) was a Belgian lawyer and colonial administrator.
Tanganika District was a district of the pre-2015 Katanga Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The district dates back to the days of the Belgian Congo. At its greatest extent it roughly corresponded to the present Tanganyika Province, with a small portion in the southwest now in Haut-Lomami Province.
Luapula-Moero District was a district of the pre-2015 Katanga Province in the Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It roughly corresponded in area to the present Haut-Katanga Province.
The Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga (BCK) was a railway operator in the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and later in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zaire. Most of the lines were in the southern Katanga Province, with links to the Kasai River for transport of mineral exports down to Kinshasa and onward to the port of Matadi, and a link to the Angolan railway network for transport to Lobito on the Atlantic.
The Compagnie de Chemin de fer du Katanga (CFK) was a railway company in the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo between 1902 and 1952. It held the railway concession that linked the port of Bukama on the navigable section of the Lualaba River through the mining region and the town of Elisabethville (Lubumbashi) to Sakania, where it connected with the Rhodesian railway network. Operations were subcontracted to the Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga (BCK).
The Comité Spécial du Katanga (CSK) was a parastatal created in 1900 by the Congo Free State and the Compagnie du Katanga. At first it was responsible for administering the huge Katanga Province on behalf of the state, and also for exploiting the province's mineral resources. Mineral exploration and mining were soon delegated to separate companies. After the Belgian Congo took over from the Free State, the CSK handed over its administrative powers to the provincial government. However, as a parastatal in remained responsible for many aspects of development in Katanga under independence in 1960, when it was dissolved.
Tanganyika Concessions Limited was a British mining and railway company founded by the Scottish engineer and entrepreneur Robert Williams in 1899. The purpose was to exploit minerals in Northern Rhodesia and in the Congo Free State. Partly-owned subsidiaries included the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga (UMHC), which undertook mining in the Katanga portion of the copperbelt, and the Benguela railway, which provided a rail link across Angola to the Atlantic Ocean. Belgian banks eventually took over control of the company. The Angolan railway concession was returned to the state of Angola in 2001.
Géomines was a Belgian mining company active in the Belgian Congo and then in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established in 1910, and exploited a large deposit in the southeast of the country to become one of the largest tin producers in the world. It was taken over by Zairetain in 1968.
Cominière was a Belgian holding company active in the Belgian Congo. It was involved in plantations, forestry, mining, railways and other activities. The Congo assets were nationalized when the Democratic Republic of the Congo became independent in 1960. What remained of Cominière was acquired by Lonhro in 1971.
The following lists events that happened during 1910 in the Belgian Congo.
