Belgian Colonization in Central Africa

Photo of a protest march in Brussels after the death of George Floyd in 2020
Explore current debates through a historical lens

How to discuss Belgium’s colonial past with your class?

In this educational package from the BELvue museum, students have to think for themselves. They analyze opinion pieces, historical syntheses, and primary sources in order to form their own informed viewpoint on the colonial past. Five contemporary hot topics are dealt with: 

  1. Colonial monuments
  2. The comic Tintin in Congo
  3. Restitution of artworks
  4. Political apologies
  5. Reparations

Which themes would you like to explore with your class? Or do you rather want to search through the 24 historical sources with accompanying questions to find new material for your own lessons?

Place & period
Precolonial (…-1885)
Congo Free State (1885-1908)
Belgian Congo (1908-1960)
Theme
Governance
Decolonization
Economy
Heritage and memory
Gender
Violence
Education
Propaganda
Racism
Religion
Resistance
Type
Lesson package
Historical sources
Organisation
Year
2021
Language
Dutch
French
Target audience
3rd stage secondary
Duration
(5x) 50 min.