EUROPEAN RETREAT
FROM EMPIRE
AND THE
AFTERMATH
1945 - 1990
Chapter 6
The Secession of Katanga 19601965
Chapter 6
Why is this chapter important?
 This topic is a case study and is very important
as it could be asked in Section 1 – DocumentsBased Question - in 2011 or 2012 examinations.
Elements Covered:
 Africa – the “winds of change”.
 Post-independence relations with the colonial
power.
 Economic consequences of the process of
decolonisation.
Key Personality:
 Sese Seko Mobutu
Key Concepts:
 Colonial rule
 Racism
 De-colonisation
 Tribalism
Key Questions:
 How did the Congo gain independence?
 Why did the province of Katanga secede?
 Why did the UN intervene in the Congo and what role did
the Cold War play?
 Why was Patrick Lumumba removed from power and
murdered?
 How was the secession of Katanga ended?
 How did Sese Seko Mobutu come to power and what was
his rule like for the Congo?
 What were the consequences of events in the Congo
between 1960 and 1965?
Key Points:
 At independence the Congo descended into chaos as Belgium
encouraged the secession of the mineral-rich province of Katanga.
 The crisis saw:
- the first intervention of the UN into sub-Saharan Africa.
- cold war divisions between the US and the USSR
- the first military coup in Africa
- the murder of the Prime Minister
- the death of the UN Secretary General in a mysterious plane
crash.
 It brought to prominence General Joseph Mobutu who would
rule the country from 1965 until 1997.
Key Question:
How did the Congo gain independence?
 Ruled by Belgium since the 1880s.
 Immense country - 75 times the size of Belgium. Population
circa 13 million including 100,000 white settlers.
 Borders were lines drawn on maps by Europeans in the late
19th century.
 The country contained over 200 separate ethnic groups or
tribes, each with its own language.
 Profitable colony - producing copper, cobalt, industrial diamonds
and uranium.
 As it was the centre of copper production, Katanga was the richest
province in the country.
 Belgians did not allow Congolese to go to secondary school or to
university – did not want to create educated class that would
challenge their control.
 Africans were unable to become doctors, engineers or lawyers or
army officers in the army.
 Even in the late 1950s Belgium refused to consider self-government
for its colony.
 In the late 1950s as other African countries gained Independence a
number of political groups were founded most along tribal lines:
- Abako led by Joseph Kasavubu.
- Conakat was popular in Katanga - led by Moise Tshombe.
- The Congolese National Movement (MNC) led by Patrice
Lumumba.
 January 1960 - Amid increasing violence Belgium agreed to elections
followed by independence on 30 June 1960.
 The Elections of 1960 - Lumumba’s MNC was the largest party.
 In Katanga Tshombe’s party was the largest.
 Lumumba appointed Prime Minister while Kasavubu got the job of
President.
Key Question:
Why did the province of Katanga secede?
 Unfortunately chaos spread quickly.
 Independence ceremonies were marked by row between
Lumumba and the Belgian king.
 Then the army mutinied over pay and the lack of black officers.
 Lumumba replaced all of the white officers with Congolese ones
and made Joseph Mobutu the new Chief of Staff.
 However soldiers continued looting and attacking
whites and thousands of white refugees fled the
violence to neighbouring countries.
 Lumumba refused permission for Belgian troops to
protect Belgian citizens. Belgians ignored him and
ordered their troops into action.
 On July 11 1960 Tshombe seized the opportunity presented by
the continuing violence to declare the province of Katanga an
independent state – the secession of Katanga.
 The Belgian government “backed” Tshombe’s actions:
- They wanted to safeguard western mining interests in
Katanga.
- They hoped to use Katanga as a base from which to replace
Lumumba’s government.
 6000 Belgian troops took control and trained the new
Katanganese army called the Katangan Gendarmerie.
White mercenaries played a prominent role in this force.
Key Question:
Why did the UN intervene in the Congo and what role was played by
the Cold War?
 The Congolese claimed that Katanga was a Belgian puppet state and
appealed to the United Nations (UN) to send troops to replace the
Belgians and to restore order.
 The international community was worried that events in the Congo
might trigger copy-cat successions thereby plunge Africa into chaos.
 The UN Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjold also wanted to prevent
the intervention of the superpowers, the US and the USSR.
 UN Security Council called on the Belgians to remove their troops from
the country and sent UN troops to restore order but not to end the
secession in Katanga.
 UNOC – United Nations Operations in the Congo was
made up of troops from Africa, India Sweden and Ireland.
 They established control and Belgian troops withdrew
from the country except for Katanga.
 Enter the Cold War:
Lumumba demanded that the UN enter Katanga to end
the secession and threatened to ask the Soviet Union for
help.
 The US feared that Congo might become “another Cuba”.
 Matters made worse in August 1960 South Kasai
broke away from the Congo.
 Lumumba now requested military aid from the
Soviets – over 1000.
 Major Mistake!!!
 Growing fears about Lumumba among Western
powers.
Key Question:
Why was Patrick Lumumba removed from power and
murdered?
 US feared that the USSR would use the Congo as a base to
support communist rebellions in neighbouring countries –
wanted Lumumba removed.
 Lumumba was a losing support among the Congolese
e.g. General Mobutu strongly opposed the arrival of Soviet
advisors.
 On September 14 with the support of the CIA Mobutu seized
power in a coup – Lumumba placed under house arrest.
 Kasavubu remained as President and a new government
was formed but it excluded supporters of Lumumba.
 The Belgians and the Congolese were worried at the
prospect of a military coup in support of Lumumba and
it was decided to kill him.
 January 1961 Lumumba was flown to Elisabethville in
Katanga – capital city of his sworn enemy Tshombe where he was then executed by a firing squad
commanded by a Belgian officer.
Key Question:
How was the secession of Katanga ended?
 World opinion - shocked by murder
UN Resolution 161 was passed in February gave the UN the
power to take action against Katanga.
 Tshombe refused UN request white mercenaries be withdrawn
and the UN act:
- Operation Rumpunch
- Operation Morthor.
Both failed.
 In September Dag Hammarskjöld flew to the Congo but was
killed in plane crash in Northern Rhodesia.
 November 1961 UN resolution (169) authorised UN troops to
remove foreign forces from Katanga.
 The US looked for negotiated settlement but it was obvious
that Tshombe was stalling for time.
 In December 1962 the UN decided to act launched Operation
Grand Slam.
 UN forces were soon in control and Tshombe announced the
end of Katanga's secession on January 14, 1963.
Key Question:
How did Mobutu come to power and what was his rule like for
the Congo?
 In 1964 Simba rebellion now broke out in the east of the country.
 The US and Belgium sent military aid to help the Congolese
government.
 Government troops led by white mercenaries defeated the
Simbas in a brutal campaign.
 In November 1965 Mobutu staged his second coup frustrated at
the politicians’ inability to form a stable government - in power
for the next 32 years.
There was a dark side though:
 The country was poorly-run and corrupt beyond belief.
 He robbed the people of the Congo and amassed a
fortune of $5 billion.
 The corruption of his government saw the invention of a
new political term: kleptocracy.
 In 1997 he was forced from power and died the same
year.
Key Question:
What were the consequences of events in the Congo
between 1960 and 1965?
 First crisis with an international dimension in postcolonial Africa.
 Left a perception among Europeans that Africa was a
continent of political instability.
 Showed the difficulty that in developing stable political
systems in the face of many different tribal groups and
the absence of any democratic traditions.
 Mobutu’s coup in 1960 was the first of many e.g. Ghana
and Nigeria.
 International community was opposed to secessionist
movements - preferred to see the colonial borders
remain.
 The involvement of Cold War politics was to play a very
important role after 1960 in African politics as the two
superpowers competed to gain influence and control.