The Congo Free State,also known as the Independent State of the Congo,was a large state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by and in a personal union with Leopold II of Belgium;it was not a part of,nor did it belong to,the Kingdom of Belgium,of which he was the constitutional monarch. Leopold was able to seize the region by convincing other European states at the Berlin Conference on Africa that he was involved in humanitarian and philanthropic work and would not tax trade. Via the International Association of the Congo,he was able to lay claim to most of the Congo Basin. On 29 May 1885,after the closure of the Berlin Conference,the king announced that he planned to name his possessions "the Congo Free State",an appellation which was not yet used at the Berlin Conference and which officially replaced "International Association of the Congo" on 1 August 1885. The Congo Free State operated as a separate nation from Belgium,in a personal union with its King. It was privately controlled by Leopold II,although he never personally visited the state.
The Force Publique was a gendarmerie and military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885,through the period of Belgian colonial rule. The FP was retitled as the Congolese National Army or ANC in July 1960 after independence.
Félix Alexandre Fuchs (1858–1928) was a Belgian colonial civil servant and lawyer who served as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo between 1912 and 1915.
The Batetela rebellion was a series of three military mutinies and a subsequent low-level insurgency which was attributed to members of the Tetela ethnic group in the Congo Free State between 1895 and 1908. Beginning in a mutiny among the troops the Force Publique of Luluabourg in January 1895,the revolt sparked an prolonged insurgency and two further mutinies elsewhere in the Congo. The rebellion was one of the most important anti-colonial rebellions in the history of the Congo and the last Tetela rebels were only defeated in 1901.
The Commemorative Medal of the Reign of King Leopold II was a Belgian civilian and later military and police forces medal originally established on 21 July 1905 by royal decree to commemorate the 40th year of the reign of King Leopold II.
Paul-Marie-Adolphe Costermans was a Belgian soldier and colonial civil servant. After a brief career in the Belgian Army,Costermans enlisted for service in the military of the Congo Free State,the Force Publique,in 1890 and later served in the colony's administration. During several periods of service in the colony,Costermans rose through the ranks. Between 1904 and his death in 1905,he held the position of Vice Governor-General of the Congo.
Charles Adolphe Marie Liebrechts was a Belgian soldier,explorer and administrator in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1892 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1901 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1891 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1899 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1897 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1895 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1896 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1900 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1903 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1905 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1908 in the Congo Free State.
The following lists events that happened during 1908 in the Belgian Congo.
