Congo Crisis 1960-1965 - Cold War DOCUMENTARY
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Our historical documentary series on the history of the Cold War continues with a video on the Congo Crisis of 1960-1965, as in the aftermath of the Independence, this African country that was previously Belgian colony is embroiled in the Civil War.
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Mwh
6:02 the U.S. was not anti colonial. It pretended to be but they were allied with and heavily supported European states with military aid to crush independence movements in the third world.
Tippo tip also colonized eastern Congo and killed millions and enslaved them in the East African slave trade
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As a young sergeant in the Swedish army my father ended up serving as part of ONUC. After finishing his initial term of conscription he had volunteered for service with the Swedish peacekeeping unit in the Sinai (another UN mission) but he and his unit found themselves airlifted to Congo instead as the crisis escalated. They were not well prepared for the situation on the ground as it was very different from the task of watching over ceasefire lines in the desert that they had prepared for. The level of human suffering was shocking and left a lasting impression.
The whole ONUC deployment became an undeclared war for Sweden as thousands of men were sent to serve together with increasingly heavy equipment. Culminating in the deployment of a fighter squadron armed with the Saab 29 fighter-bomber. Very little support was offered to the returning veterans once they got home, they were an anomaly in peaceful Sweden and both the government and large parts of the public preferred that they kept quite about their experiences. Which led to the usual problems with PTSD and alcoholism among some of the veterans. It was only recently that they got full recognition for their service in public ceremonies.
I hope your father's doing alright now, wherever he may be. Many countries will deprive their veterans of all which they need, another aspect of the hell of war.
I hope your dad eventually found peace
The Europeans MUST keep their standard of living, right?! Somebody has to pay for it: Belgium ( and others) in the Congo is only a pale example of this " reality"!
The richer the " colony"; the most brutal the war of subjugation : Thus, The Congo ( once one, than, divided into two).
@@michaeldelisieux what? The reason the Congo was so brutality governed was to keep the people in line, back then and even now the Congo is one of the most diverse places in the world and in order to keep the people in line brutality was the way to go, just check the current government that's barely able to manage the country and that's with foriqnen soldiers patrolling the nation as apart of the African Union peace task force or as apart of the UN peace task force.
@@michaeldelisieux You have no idea what you 're talking about. European standard of living has nothing to do with the corrupt African leaders like Lumumba. And btw, the whole continent right now is owned by China.
This was also the time of what was called the golden age of mercinaries during the Congo wars of the 60s
Mercenaries have no legal rights as prisoners of war rights, if capture they can be executed on the spot.
MajorSamm covers this I’m pretty sure
@@19MAD95all of the footage he uses is from an excellent documentary called Blood and Guts Africa. It’s from the 60’s but has been uploaded onto youtube
@@galacticupfan7386 the near original Italian version is a lot better
As a Burmese, I'm so proud of U Thant. Also seeing a Burmese soldier at 21:21 reminds me of the days when the Burmese military used to be the good guys.
😢
Even a road and a residential area in Kuala Lumpur city, Malaysia are named after him.
@@khairulhelmihashim2510 Because he's involved in the formation of Malaysia too
It's been a long time brother. I'm sorry.
Could you please do an episode on Rhodesia! Love your channel learned so much since this all started
And south africa
he has. check the video list.
The Bush war ?
@John Smith A nation built on ethnic supremacy and inequality that does not care for all its people can never be great. It's collapse was inevitable.
I'm stoked!
Interesting fact: In 1961 a university in Moscow was renamed after Patrice Lumumba. Now it is renamed back to Peoples' Friendship University.
Its full name today is Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba. There are also streets named after him in several Russian cities as well as in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine
This is excellent. I grew up in this region (Uganda) and the chaos of decolonization is still etched in many people's minds. Unfortunately the consequences of that chaos still haunt the region to a certain degree.
@@DaveSCameron useless culture war comment that is misplaced
@@DaveSCameron To be clear my comment wasn't intended to start a blame-game war.
@@vividlyMe your comment is historical, whoever gets tripped out about it belongs in a more ideologically biased space on TH-cam, not a purely historical channel.
You mean the chaos and evil of “colonization.” Not “decolonization.”
@@conzmoleman colonization brought civilisation to africans. Since europeans left chaos resulted. You dont accept it ? Then help africans to evolve and see by yourself.
Congolese here
Happy to have it covered.
6:15 : "Dipanda" isn't THE Congo word of independence but the word for independence in kikongo, only one of the 250 Congolese. However, this language serves as the lingua Franca in the west of the Country and had a strong presence in the capital (located within the area where kikongo is the lingua franca) together with lingala before being totally replaced by the latter.
6:36 : The audience might be confused by the fact you called the party first CNM then used its French acronym MNC.
By the time of the round table, MNC (CNM) was already split and Lumumba faction had become very nationalistic and demanded immediate independence. Actually, ABAKO ( whose leaders were party of the city council of Leopoldville) was refused a demonstration after what has happened with the demonstration of MNC-Lumumba. Prior to this, many Congolese leaders were invited by Nkrumah in Accra conference. Belgian authorities feared Kasa-vubu more than Lumumba and did not allowed to attend. Lumumba attended and on his return, he organized a demonstration asking for immediate independence. ABAKO led by Kasa-vubu wanted its own demonstration to show their strength in the capital but the authorities cancelled it since they did not ant another pro-independence demonstration. Kasa-vubu who was the mayor of a district of Leopoldville ( the district bears today) told the militant that the demonstration was cancelled. The event coincided with unhappy supporters of one of the most popular team that just lost due to the referee being unfair ( according to them). Those two unhappy groups mixed and start looting while chanting "dipanda". The force publique intervened and killed a lot of people.
Tshombe party is CONACAT and not CANAKAT.
There were two blocks rather than three:
*the federalist blocks who wanted a federalist or even a confederal Congo with each province or even region within becoming its own state. They consisted of party with regional/tribal basis or fighting only for the interest of their ethnic groups. ABAKO ( Kasa-vubu), MNC-K (Kalonji) and CONAKAT (Tshombe) were in this group.
*The nationalist/centralist block consisted of party whose leader thought that a centralized country was the only solution to prevent balkanisation and the rise of tribalism. They were led by Lumumba with his MNC-L. Funny enough, except MNC-L, all of the party of this block had regional basis as well though they have national aspiration. Many of those nationalist region-based parties were left-wing leaning or at least socialist in their doctrines.
It is sad to see that things spiral out of control in the end. One could only imagine how many lives could have been spared if all of these leaders sit down and find consensus
@@juandeag5550 true
Thank you for your input. We non-Africans always thought that Lumumba was the most uncompromising among the nationalist leaders, and that he was the one the Belgians feared and hated the most. But there may be many layers to the story. However, the fact that it was Lumumba who was finally killed and not the others suggests that he must been the most charismatic anti-colonial leader in Congo at that point of time.
BTW, I thoroughly enjoy the two songs Table Ronde and Independence Cha Cha by the Grand Kalle.
@@meghdiip8503 Kasa-vubu and Abako started the fight for independence before even Lumumba formed a political party. For insistance, when the table started, Lumumba was still in jail in Congo while Kasa-vubu was the main leading figure from the Congolese side. It was actually Kasa-vubu and other Congolose delegates that insisted that Lumumba should be freed and joined them in Bruxelles. Kasa-vubu was also the one to demande that decision of the table ronde o be binding for Belgian government and parliament ( the table ronde was convened first as something more consultative). Kasa-vubu and his party, Abako were also the one asking for independence to be the soonest and power to be transferred to Congolese without delay. But to be fair, most of Congolese delegates did ask for independence the soonest but Kasa-vubu claimed questions like the organization of post-independent Congo were Congolese matters and can be discussed between Congolese people once the Belgians were out; thus Belgium should just give independence immediately without worrying about how the Congolese should governed themselves. Also, at that time, ABAKO was a much bigger and well-known party while the party of Lumumba, MNC-L, was only about a year old. Plus, ABAKO participated in local elections in 1959 and won many seats, Kasa-vubu was himself a mayor of area in the capital which bears his name today. MNC-L did boycott those elections. But I think the big difference between Lumumba and Kasa-vubu in the beginning was that Lumumba was not only nationalist in the outside but also in the inside. Kasa-vubu's party for insistance ABAKO, acronyme for alliance of Kongo people was ethnically based and started as a cultural association of Kongo people, an ethnic group of the West of DRC. In the 1960 elections, ABAKO presented all its candidates and won all its 12 seats in the region inhabited by Kongo people. ABAKO was also federalist and at some point Kasa-vubu himself fought for the independence of the region inhabited by Kongo people only, claiming that independence of Congo should come gradually and each region should be its own state which could be afterward be united with the other if their people want to. Lumumba's party did not have a regional basis and presented itself as a party for all Congolese. Even its name means Congolese National Movement. Lumumba was from the centre of DRC, the Kasai province but the region where its party was more popular was province oriental, in the north Est ( where Lumumba was trying to flee when he was captured). MNC-L had 33 seats in 1960 elections all over around the Congo. Lumumba was a unitariste since he thought federalism would lead to secession through tribalism. Thus, Lumumba had strong internal enemy among the federalists who aligned behind Kasa-vubu. People like Tshombe or Kalonji who were strong federalists or very ethnically oriented despised Lumumba but easily get along with Kasa-vubu.
By the time Congo became independent, Kasa-vubu was seen more moderate than Lumumba by external powers and Lumumba was suspected of communist sympathies ( two parties allied with Lumumba were clearly socialists as was his deputy, Gizenga). Kasa-vubu and Lumumba in rivalry on who was the the real boss ( it should have been Lumumba since it was a parliamentary system). I think the combination of all those factors led to the death Lumumba. The UN even supported Kasa-vubu in the crisis between the men and did its best to isolate Lumumba.
@@jordydinga1167 Half of the votes of Lumumbas party came from the region of Stanleyville. It was not a trully representative party of Congo as a whole. And his centralist approach would have the result of concentrating the power to himself. The votes in the elections went according to ethnic lines.
Below I copy from a previous comment that I made months ago:
"Second of all, there was a widespread violence against the Whites, that 's why Belgium intervened. Up until then, both governments were cooperating and Belgian interests were secured in Congo. By Lumumba himself nevertheless. He had shown no real inclination about nationalization policies. His radicalization, on this matter, came afterwards.
Third, Catanga and South Casai secession. Who caused it? The dominant narrative is that behind these moves were the Belgians and Union Miniere. No mention to the fact that the authorities as well as the people in these regions, didn’t want to send their money to the central government, as Lumumba insisted they should. If not mistaken, Catanga was providing well over 70% of the budget or together with South Kasai. Something like that. That was the main reason. According to Lumumba’s plan, all provinces would send to the central government their income (from taxation etc etc) and then the money would be redistributed by the government (and in that case Lumumba) back to the provinces according to government’s wishes. The rest and NOT ONLY Catanga and Kasai, did not accepted that. That was very crucial to the unfolding of events in Congo. The federalist approach that was adopted in 1964 constitution, should have been adopted in 1960 in first place by Lumumba and his government. Why didn’t he?
Kasa-Vubu’s fears of dictatorial intentions by Lumumba were not unfounded. His was authoritarian in his rule inside the Congolese government. And he was becoming more and more. And yes Soviet Union’s unilateral actions were despicable, enabling the massacre of Baluba people in Kasai.
As for Simba Rebelion: Soviet Union in 1960 supported Congolese territorial integrity but in 1963 did not. That’s a doubleface policy."
I served in the Irish Army in the 1980's with 2 guys who fought at Jadotville. They always said they were there to protect the mines, to this day nobody has confirmed who ordered them to Jadotville. They were treated appalling by the Irish Government and the Irish Military who would have preferred if they fought to the last man instead of laying down their arms. One is still alive and can report he is in good health and as sharp as a tack, was only 19 when he fought at Jadotville.
Majority of the jadotville squad lived in Athlone barracks
@@A.._.O._..N3 yes most served in the 6th Bn in Custume Barracks, majority came from the Western Command while a few came from specialist units like the Signal Corp in the Curragh. The 2 guys I served with were in the barracks in Athlone.
Speaking of the Siege of Jadotville film (), it is well worth watching - it's a well made and entertaining action/war/drama film, especially if you enjoy history and/or action.
Was looking hoping someone mentioned it, it really is a good movie. One of my favourites overall and of war films specifically.
Its UN Propaganda lol, at least with Zulu its shows the natives pov. But all Katangans are blood thirsty Mercs (not true, about 40% of the command were Mercs, but most were soldiers fighting for there home).
Heroes who were betrayed by their own government.
I agree. Siege of Jadotville is propaganda. The Irish were occupying a uranium mine belonging to the people of Katanga to prevent their being able to have an income. The Katangese were defending their homes and mine from foreign invaders. Meanwhile the other Irish contingent was in Elizabethville committing war crimes. The Indian army acted equally appallingly. The whole UN role in Katanga was shameful and the people of that region are still suffering. Next time you hear an Irishman or an Indian complain of British imperialism, remind them of Operation Smash and Grab (Morthor), of their murder of innocent civilians, and how they were instrumental in the subjugation of Katanga. By keeping the distant regions under the heel of Kinshasa all these years, the UN has ensured the worst human misery since WWII. Congo should never have been one country.
Heroic defence by very brave men ,let down by their own government
That Lumumba was executed is putting it quite mildly. He was tortured, murdered and buried nearby. They then blamed his death on angry local villagers, and proceeded to dig his body back up, cut it into pieces, dissolved those in acid and burned any remains. ( All of this was, to an extent supported by Belgium). Oh and of course the CIA also planned to murder him.
Where is your proof that the CIA was involved ?
The torture and murder itself wasn’t encouraged by Belgium, however the perpetrators did have support from Belgian authorities in most other affairs in the Congo crisis.
I suspect that the Cold War Channel is a CIA production to revise history and hide their blunders
Ever since hearing warren zevon’s “Roland the headless Thompson gunner” I’ve wanted to learn more. So thanks for coming this in a manner that Wikipedia’s just can’t match
Who/what is ‘Roland the headless Thompson gunner’?
@@GazB85 a song by warren zevon
@@GazB85 a Legend/Story about a Mercenarie, that fought in Congo, died there and then fought in other places after it, etc.
@@petervonfroster8i Oh right, thank you for explaining. 👍
If anyone would like a good read related to this topic, I recommend the memories of Jan Zumbach, the famous WWII pilot of the Polish 303 Squadron, who could not find his place in the times of peace and so went on to become a cargo pilot, smuggler, and head of two separatist air forces in Africa, that of Katanga, and later on in Biafra, nowadays part of Nigeria, in both cases flying second-hand Douglas A-26 Invaders and managing to, among others, damage the flagship of Nigerian Navy, the NNS Nigeria, and kill the Nigerian Chief of Staff during a raid on Makurdi airfield. His autobiography is available in English under the title "On Wings of War: My Life as a Pilot Adventurer".
Got to say this channel arguably delivers university BA level history content for free. Incredibly educational for free.
Things that come to mind when hearing of the Congo Crisis:
1. Mercenaries
2. Mercenaries
3. Mercenaries
probably because you saw those edits
letsnot make our hands durty
and we blame switserland bty
@@gerald1495 more like because that’s who Katanga relied on. The Congo herself had ONUC. There were Belgian paratroopers came to rescue the hostages in Stanlyville and Paulis. 🇺🇳🇨🇩🇧🇪
Don't forget communists , communists , communists.
Promotion from sergant major to major general is very impressive!
Everytime this episode of congo's history is told, I get depressed
Magic. Your consice narration covered clearly events in as happened in Congo over extended period. I served in Congo with UN 1961/2 and for first time heard a good overview of events. Without excessive use of military excesses to”spice up narration”sad to say some events that happened and some I was witness to did occur. Factual and watchable. Thank you. Jon jackson
18:22 : The appointement of Tshombe who was in exile in Spain after the end of the secession happened after the start of kwilu and simba rebelions. More than half of the country was in rebel hands and the government was overwhelmed. Mobutu "advised" Kasa-vubu to call Tshombe who had good contacts in the western world, knew a lot of mercenaries and was known to be very rich. Tshombe was able to put an end to the rebellions. He became the most popular politician and his coalition won the 1965 general elections. It seemed that being prime minister wasn't enough, he wanted to become president as well ( the president was elected by the parliament). That was enough for Kasa-vubu who dismissed Tshombe, seeing him as a rival appointed him Kimba ( who used to be minister of foreign affairs in Tshombe government during Katanga secession).
the video i have been passively waiting for.
Thank you for this video.
08:17 to give an idea of just how significant this is, these the paratroopser known as the "Paracommando's" are the best Belgium has to offer. these are some tough guys.
Congo Crisis 1960-2022 and counting
CW, your premieres get the like button before watching the vid every time. As a former Cold Warrior, I really like these vids because it's really good to learn all the aspects of that era. I enlisted in 1978 and the Cold War raged frozen. In 83 I deployed to Grenada to face Soviet proxies, Cubans and I rejoiced when the Wall fell. The subject matter of this channel puts all that mess into order. Love it! Cheers.
I have been waiting for this!
Yes! This is the content I like watching 😎🤙 I'm assuming your eventually heading to South Africa and Rhodesia? I'm stoked!
Thanks for including the maps, this is an area of the world that isn't as well known, without maps we can't follow along with what is happening where.
Seeing these events, one can understand what a monumental task Sardar Patel did while integration of princely states of India with very little to no external help.
Thank You again Cold War.
Lemumba made a huge mistake when he sought military assistance from the USSR. Very naive. A good man though. His short era was a momentary glimpse of hope for The Congo.
Exactly, I found him to be a good man and likable character but not street smart
I mean he didn't really have a whole lot of other options, seeing as the west wouldn't support him due to their unfounded idea that he was going to turn Communist
As a Belgian I am really interested in this event since it’s really complicated and not a lot of people talk about it even on YT. Thx for the video mate really appreciate it. Keep up the good work
Edit: btw also one of the things that led to their independence was after a group of surviving Congolese people returned to the Congo after being displayed as an animal in a world zoo expedition (50’s). My history teacher told me this since a specialised in that part of history.
Why can't you guys leave Congo alone?
@@princechangwook6019 You’re saying that like this one Belgium has much influence.
@@GazB85 nevertheless leave Congo alone
@@princechangwook6019 we’re talking about the 50s and 60s here. Most of the people involved in these events are dead and a lot has changed since then
@@sturm9087 nothing changed, till today the Belgian govt nor the Royal family have apologised to the Congolese people for the Belgian atrocities, you can't say things changed when nothing changed, if the Germans can apologise for their atrocities what's stopping Belgium? Well forget your apology just leave the people Congo alone if you have a bit of humanity in you
Excellent overview, it's more clear for me. Thank you.
Nicely informative video
8:57 , the split between Kasa-vubu and Lumumba wasn't a split within the MNC but within the government ( the executive branch). Kasa-Vubu wasn't a member of MNC.
Kasa-vubu and Lumumba used to be rivals before becoming president and prime-minister. Both wanted to be head of state. But Lumumba understood most of power was held by the prime minister. For the formation of the cabinet, the king went back and forth between Lumumba and Kasa-vubu. Lumumba was finally selected because he had the support of the parliament. Kasa-vubu, despite coming only third with his party, was still respected by parties that opposed Lumumba. Lumumba agreed to support the election of Kasa-Vubu as head of state and to give some ministries to Kasa-Vubu party, ABAKO. With the support of Lumumba coalition, Kasa-Vubu was elected. Unfortunately, he did not understood that he was supposed to be a figurehead. Indeed, in our cultures, we understand a chief to have power. Therefore, basically, the government of DRC was, in practice, a bicephalic monster. Lumumba and Kasa-vubu were thinking each to be the real boss or at least, the most powerful figure in the government whose final decisions shouldn't be challenged.
Kasa Vubu had no intention to cooperate
@@KailamiMwiinga
One could argue that.
Indeed, Kasa-vubu wanted to be the " boss" and did not leave everything to the prime minister as it should have been done.
But it is easy for us to judge the dead who can't defend themselves.
@@jordydinga1167 Even when alive, he made it clear that he was never interested in a power sharing structure. Thus, Lumumba to prevent war choose him to share power instead of the runner up in the election...
From all evidence, that man (Kasa Vubu) never got the chance to do what Mabuto did to the Congo...
@@KailamiMwiinga
That's a shame. Because without Lumumba, Kasa-vubu would never be president.
Please make a video on Allende and Pinochet's Chile, this is so absolute topic that expected from you.
Excellent video; very educational!
Can you do something on Jamaica during the Cold War? In particular the violence between left wing and right wing groups in Jamaica in the 70s and 80s?
yes please
The african liberation struggle went void the moment we took aid and training from communists. Most of us ended up with regimes far worse than those we fought to liberate ourselves from
Lmao, i guess south africa and algeria shouldnt bother trying to gain independence eh?
You are not even African
South Africa such as Zambia, Angola, and Mozambique would be way better off getting independence on later dates rather than becoming communist corrupt regimes.
Scotland?
there wasn't really any other sides beside western imperialism and that
Containing every necessary and rare resource known to mankind, Congo could have become one of the leading developed nations on Earth if it weren't for conflicts.
It It wasn't for colonialism
You need smart and hardworking people. Not africans.
@@jpcaretta8847 you're racist
Delusional fantasy
Give it a few generations. People will change in the Congo. Attitudes will change
Thanks
14:16 Mobutu was only the secret of head of this technocratic government called "college des commissaires généraux" '(college of general commissioners). The official head of this government and head of the college was Justin Marie Bomboko, the minister of foreign affairs in Lumumba government. Actually from this point to 1964, the true power in the state resided in a group called "groupe de Binza" which both Mobutu and Bomboko were part of. Others members include the head of intelligence, Nendaka and the governor of the Bank, Ndele. This group was able to trigger any change they want in the government including that of members of government as high ranking as minister and prime ministers.
7:04 : The system wasn't semi-presidential but parliamentary. The "loi fondamentale" (fundamental law) that served as provisional constitution was a copy and paste of Belgian constitution. All executive was supposed to rest on the prime minister with the head of the state, the president being more of a moral figurehead.
15:04 : Gizenga was the deputy prime minister of Lumumba. He was among his key allies and the ministers dismissed by Kasa-vubu. He was arrested just as was the head of the army, Victor Lundula ( who was a cousin of Lumumba). They both managed to escape to Stanleyville together with other former members of governments. Stanleyville was the capital of "province oriental", the north eastern province and a stronghold of MNC. Lumumba was elected from there and the regional government of the province whose head was killed by Kalonji troops in Kasai remained very loyal to Lumumba. The plan was to form another government and then to retake the whole country from there.
Hey, do you know maybe who led the invasion of Kasai? I know Lumumba ordered it, after Soviets delivered some necessary equipment. From what I understand it went well in Kasai, but badly on the border with Katanga. And there was a lot of killing among Balubas.
But I saw in a movie Mobutu get blamed (movie about Lumumba), but no info on who actually led the troops.
@@beorntwit711
I don't know unfortunately.
But it is unlikely that Lumumba or even Lundula or Mobutu ( the commander and chief of staff of the army) ordered the killings.
I think the Congolese Army which probably behaved as in a conquered territory after it took the capital of South Kasaï responded disproportionately to what they perceived as acts of insurrection among the luba population. It is sad that in many places in the world, my country included, fighters and non combatants ( even kids and eldery) are treated the same way by the other side. To be fair, as usual no side was very clean in the conflict: Kalonji arrested lulua people and his militia killed many before the arrival of the army. Also, latter three of Lumumba companion among which the provincial president ( governor) of provincial oriental would executed in south Kasaï after being arrested and sent there by the central government.
@jordydinga1167 You have any information on the people that were murdered by the communist Simba .?
Warren Zevon's "Roland the Thompson Gunner" is a fictionalized account of the mercenaries used in the conflict.
Reading the comments I find it quite interesting how everyone finds different parties to blame. I guess this is still a very politically sensitive topic even for some westerners.
I really enjoy and appreciate the effort Kings and Generals puts in every video. while maintaining historical accuracy as much as possible while usually presenting new information I haven't come across. HOWEVER - the narrator's comments in the last few minutes claiming it was a "1st for UN forces to engage in combat.." (something to that effect), is inaccurate. UNSCR 83 provided for the defense of South Korea including military support. Just a hiccup I'm sure; I'm not complaining just simply pointing out for the sake of accuracy.
9: 54: It seems you confused the reasons of secessions put by Tshombe and Kalonji. Tshombe led Katanga to secession while Kalonji led south Kasaï. This is where things got confusing. There are two ethnic groups in DRC calling themselves "Luba". The Luba of Kasaï in the Centre and the Luba of Katanga in the south west. The former speak Tshiluba and the latter Kiluba. Both Languages are about 50 % mutually intelligible. Searchers argue that they both share the same origin. The Luba of Kasaï are further splited between the "true Luba" and "the Lulua"
However, historically they have been very opposed to each other. In the time of Congo independence, the Luba of Katanga were generally supporter of Lumumba and their leader, Jason Sendwe, one of his close ally. He was even appointed by Lumumba as the representative of the Central government in Katanga, a way to keep an eye on Tshombe. Luba of Katanga inhabit the northern part of Katanga province at the time of Congo independence. After Tshombe, who was a lunda of south Katanga and not a Luba, declared secession of Katanga, Luba of Katanga started an insurrection against his government and fought until the end of the secession.
Luba of Kasaï inhabited the then province of Kasaï in the centre of DRC where they were the most numerous ethnic group. However, due to some colonial misconceptions and policies, the two sub-groups of Luba of Kasaï, "true Luba" and "Lulua" did not get along. With the Split of MNC, the former supported Kalonji who was one of them while the Lulua became strong supporter of Lumumba who was a tetela, an ethnic group of the province of Kasaï as well. With the results of the elections, Lumumba side was victorious not only on the national scale but also in the province of Kasaï since Lulua supported him. Lumumba having the support of both tetela and lulua put Kalonji and his "true luba" in a weaker position. No one gave him the portfolio he asked for both nationally and provincially. To make matters worse, the "true Luba" were expelled in mass from the Lulua part of the province which had a lot infrastructures ( the capital of the province Luluaburg, today Kananga was in the lulua region) that they inhabited for generation. There were a lot of refugees in Bakwanga, in the Luba region which was also the seat of forminière, the biggest diamond producing company in the country. Kalonji and intellectuals of his ethnic groups encouraged by the Belgian director of forminière who told he could pay taxes to him instead of the central government so he could take of his people, decided to declare secession of south Kasai to protect people of his ethnic group, the "true luba" group of the Luba of Kasaï from what he saw as discrimination from both central and provincial authorities. He allied himself with Tshombe. However, Kalonji stayed ambiguous about his state claiming it was only an autonomous state within Congo while acting as it was an independent state. He even declared himself Mulopwe ( emperor) of Baluba ( of the true luba of Kasaï).
Good stuff. Much better detailed than the one about uprisings in Kenya.
The book "Congo Mercenary" is an excellent source to learn about this conflict between 1960 - 1964.
Well done! Maybe you could do a video about the Biafran War?
What of Cuban Merc support and funding ?
artificially created nations with no sense of national identity forged over a long time are bound to fracture. I think even if the belgians had stuck around and done the withdrawal properly, at best things would have stayed stable a few years or decades longer before the same thing happened anyway.
i think it was inevitable that the peoples brutally conquered and exploited under the rubber terror would produce a leader themselves who would copy what the conquerors did. Western colonialism didnt leave behind democracy in places like the Congo, they left authoritarianism
Very interesting video David! I had no idea of the complexities of Congo independence, only the terrible outcome in the end.
Casualties also includes injured, by the way. It is commonly used as a more formal-sounding way to say "deaths", but that is incorrect. This is assuming that you're just citing the Wikipedia figure of 100,000 deaths--if you have a source that says it was 100,00 killed and injured then my bad.
As a response to this unprovoked very good video, I have deployed troops to the bell button. May it fare better then the Congo
For the US's view of the conflict, read Devlin's book Chief of Station. It's an interesting view of the realpolitik of the time. He was the CIA Chief of Station (obviously) and got to know all the players very well. Read of it what you will, but it shows how little trust the US had in any of the leaders in the Congo at the time. I thought it was a great read!
The congolese were the ones to be most distrustful of western nations.
Expecting them to be naive ppl is not realistic from that old man, but his bias talks.
Adding this book to my list, thanks for sharing!
"Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner " !!
Warren Zevon
You failed to mention that it was mainly European mercenaries, in particular the anglophone 5 Commando (the Wild Geese) led by Mike Hoare, that put down the Lumumbist Simba insurgency in the Congo from August 1964 to October 1965. 5 Commando was mainly staffed by Rhodesian and South African whites led by a few former British officers.
That fact wouldn't fit the narrative.
@@kurtobermeyer3356 The truth rarely does.
@@kurtobermeyer3356 and what narrative is that?
I am disappointed that you did not mention Belgium''s and US's role in Lumumba's execution.
How do you know there was a role? Because everybody says so?
They had a big hand on that.
@@thomasnoukos9284 try reading The New York Times Magazine 2 Agust 1981 THE C.I.A. AND LUMUMBA. Sydney Gottlieb role in the CIA's attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba of the Congo. He took a vial of poison to the Congo with plans to place it on Lumumba's toothbrush in the summer of 1960.
Devlin on his mission, the station chief, according to his later testimony, had an ''emotional reaction of great surprise.'' As he put it:
'I looked upon the Agency as an executive arm of the Presidency....Therefore, I suppose I thought that it was an order issued in due form from an authorized authority. On the other hand, I looked at it as a kind of operation that I could do without, that I thought that probably the Agency and the U.S. government could get along without.
So it was not something everybody says there was an active plot to poison Lumamba.
@@thomasnoukos9284it was well documented, read the book Leopolds ghost for a thorough coverage among other atrocities (to put it mildly)
First time finding your channel. Good stuff. In my opinion I would suggest more historical footage and less facial closeups. More interested in the history and less in the glamor shots.
Please do a video on Southern Africa 1965-1990!
Ah Congo. Such a tragedy for sure. First Leopold, then Belgium, then Mobutu.
And then things go worse - that's definitely a phrase that describes events in Congo perfectly.
Lumumba and Mubutu ...
Roooooland the Thompson gunner...
So, Musical Chairs with machineguns.
You got to remember Indian Army in UN, single Handedly won UN the Katangan war
This topic is more confusing than I thought, but this is how you use the information available in Poland, and then you enter some English-language channels and it turns out that the story is completely different than you know before. Generally it's cool that you discussed this topic and it's a duty on a channel called 'The Cold War' to discuss it, but the problem is that you omitted the subject of the Cuban revolution with this movie, because Che Guevara and his mission in Congo were an important episode in this conflict. completed with withdrawal. In general, you didn't say much about the role of the mercenaries in Congo, which is a very important topic. Besides, a great movie, but as I say, the chronology of events in the series of films itself has now gone a little bit different.
good video. cant wait for other topics in africa like the nigerian or angolan civil wars
It’s such a shame that even once they gained independence, the nations of Africa were not free of the chains the Europeans had clamped on them. Some chains they’d never thought were on them. It’s just a Continental tragedy, that rests solely on the shoulders of Europe.
That’s not how I see it at all. Colonizing powers built infrastructure and then left under pressure of course, but the native governments & military strongmen have completely failed to govern, and and Africa has been a disaster ever since. Everyone is out for their own ethnic group and seek to steal as much of the country’s resources as they can. So much better off eh?
Very interesting. It can be easily said that Americans are not well informed about the politics of Africa in general and the Congo specifically. I’d like to see more dialogue and inclusion of the African people in future political development that serves the people and not just war and violence.
Can you do a video on German African colonies where genocide has also been done in Namibia. Italian genocide in Ethiopia.
You forgot the part where america installed mobutu
Can you make Chinese relations with Africa video
This!
Well that was cheery. Especially since l live in NYC
are your videos in order by year?
I would love for u guys to try digging into the independence struggle between the UPC and the French Colonial government, in Eastern Cameroon. Its somewhat similar to this video but with alot more intrigue and conspiracies.
I have been enjoying these series however I wonder whether it might not be worthwhile doing one where you declare your own ideological preferences. Despite many obvious serious errors, Communism aimed to be a liberating force. Many people view Communism as something that can be equated with Fascism today, due in large part to the way the US shaped public discourse on the subject while at the same time promoting extreme violence and right wing politics around the globe.
I would also really like to see a more nuanced approach to exploring the ways in which US and Western interventions in the USSR right after the revolution and again after the 2nd World War undermined the development of a more humanistic socialism in the USSR and its allies. It seems to me one cannot discount Western opposition to Communism as a factor shaping its development, especially with the militaristic approaches taken by France, the US and their allies in Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and their blockade on Cuba, or the interventions on behalf of US interests in Guatemala and the rest of South America, and this one in Congo.
What I am also missing is some sort of metaanalysis of Communism as such. Was the USSR really anything close to what Marx had intended? Was the one party state an abberration? What factors could have led to communism's success? I think it is all too widely believed that the reason why Communism did not succeed is because it is contrary to human nature. I.e. that human beings are inherently selfish and that the only possible economic system is therefore the one based on Darwinian principles of the survival of the fittest. In recent years this Darwinian fantasy has been challenged by historians and evolutionary psychologists who argue that humans, left to our own devices, are collaborative by nature. In fact, the story goes that when the Communists aimed to collectivise tribal groups like those living in the North of Siberia they responded that 'they were already living that way'. (Collectivisation thus being a way of making the labour of these tribal societies subservient to the economic demands of the entire USSR, in other words, a form of Colonialism).
My own take on this is that Communism lost sight of its humanist ideals very rapidly in its efforts to create a command economy. Its concept of the individual was entirely mechanistic. Happiness and wellbeing were not subjective states arising from the individuals pursuit of internal goals but the products of external conditions such as having enough to eat, a place to live, work and ... material goods. Thus the production of material wealth took precedence over liberation from onset.
So that's where Metal Gear Solid prequels got inspiration from.
Very entertaining and enlightening video. But at 18:40 you mentioned the simba rebellion involving « inyenzi » rebels which is misinformed in the naming. Inyenzi translates to cockroach in Kinyarwanda and was used as a slur to refer to the Tutsi racial group in Rwanda before the 1994 Tutsi genocide. The proper name for the group that fought in the 1996 rebellion would be RPA « inkotanyi » which was the armed wing of the ruling party at the time or the newly formed (at the time) Rwanda defense force (RDF).
Observing the tragic and often terribly violent history of subsaharian africa, one can only pondered whether gradualist approach could have spared the continent of this countless tragedies by allowing a gradual increase of native civil officials, proper goverment and sufficient time and stability to provide a settlement on the ethnic and economic that would eventually explode into conflict, but it was not just a matter of local politics, the USA and USSR wanted to fill the vacum and expand their sphere of influence at the expence of the former colonial powers.
In many decolonialization stories, there are always some factions demanding for immediate power transition due to deep distrust/ political maneuver. To make matters worse, these groups resorted to armed insurrection, which further being complicated by clandestine support of foreign powers.
Can you do feature episode about Romania under Nicolae Ceausescu
Interesting
Kasavuba (Kasa--Vubu) was never a member of the MNC; he headed his own party ABAKO.
A 22 minute video on the Congo Crisis with no mention of Mike Hoare, 5 Commando, and the other mercenaries emoloyed by Tshombe?
Or the pos Bob Denard
Sadly the ghost of Lumumba haunts Congo.
this is a classic example of what happens when you give "independence" to country which was artificially created by western colonialists without any consideration of ethnical, tribal or religious structure
This is a classic example of native residents inability to govern themselves, or just behave in a civil fashion because it was much easier to snatch up a Kalashnikov and slaughter everyone you disagree with.
An exploitive international serial murder story that had not yet ended by today!
Forget Wakanda fairytales - Congo could’ve been a thriving nation with honest principled sensible leadership, given it’s wealth of resources
Hope he doesn't leave out the atrocities and cannibalism the locals inflicted on the Belgians, almost all non-combatants. I also hope he doesn't leave out how these colonists were abandoned by just about everyone.
"Canibalism", You are lucky the Belgians weren't completely exterminated. You try to take someone elses property and you want to be pat on the head. Who do you think you are?
oh those poor white people who were living off the wealth they got by genociding 10 million native Congolese barely 60 years beforehand
@@gerald1495 *those poor white people that fed the Congolese people. You're a monster if you think eating people is ever justified.
Did such a thing happened even?My country India too was colonised ,and so I exactly know what sort of lies colonialist spin to degrade local population and justify their Colonisation.Nobody asked you people to be there in the first place.
@@captain4595 it was very well documented. Good lord, you people are awful callus. I don't question the wrongs the Belgians inflicted, you could at least acknowledge the wrongs done back to them.
One thing about "Christian Oppression". The only institution granting something akin to education in the whole country was the Catholic Church. Did they proselytize? Of course. But Lumumba, Kasa Buvu and the rest of the independence movement had some degree of education thanks to them, not the Belgian government.
Of course, embracing communism after independence has done wonders for the Congo. This is sarcasm, of course.
La descolonizacion fue lo peor que pudo pasar a la mayoría de países africanos...estaban mejor bajo tutela europea
All that text book history lesson doesn't give rise to truth. Greed & power
How about doing Shaba 1 and Shaba 2 episodes. Maybe even another on the Safari Club,
For all of Americas faults
People underestimate the meddling of the USSR in the Cold War
The USSR spent the entire cold War exporting, subsidizing and helping expand communism all over the world.
They cause the deaths of millions of people and they also had a very powerful propaganda machine that took advantage of the West open democracies to operate there and spread their lies. As a consequence, many in the West believe everything the communists say. They believed the US was bad , the CIA was bad , anything or anyone else tied to the US was bad and everything or anyone tied to communism was good.
Even the communist Soviets had a name for these people in the West who believe everything they said , they called them "Useful idiots".
Well, that was simple
The only time Swedish planes (J29 Tunnan) ever been in war. So the Swedish UN battalion.
In total Sweden lost 19 personnel during the conflict.
Remember all that were deployed.
US didn't help Lumumba just because he was suspected to be a communist. Helping Lumumba to crash the rebellion in Kasanga, would mean helping him to kill thousands of people who were of different tribe than Lumumba. Exactly what Soviet Union did actually.
You people live and breathe lies!!
i had a highschool friend whose dad did mercenary stuff in Congo, he would refuse to talk about it, even though he had all sorts of African masks and other artifacts in the house.
Could you make a video about The Philippines during the Cold War?
This documentary is good but simplifies some of the background. The rising middle class for example was engineered by the Belgians in an attempt to pacify the brewing unrest.
It is an extremely complicated conflict. Of course it is simplified.
What a bloody history of historic and nieu colonial exploitation of Africa!