KATANGA:
Summary – To what extent did Mobutu owe his rise of power to the secession of Katanga.
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Background: Mobutu – soldier, journalist; personal aide to Patrice Lumumba; member of the National Congolses
Movement led by Lumumba; present at Round Table Conference in Brussels on negotiation of Congo’s
independence; appointed chief-in-staf of Congolese army by Lumumba after army mutiny.
Secession of Katanga caused huge problems for Lumumba; called on UN help but criticised UN later; then got
Soviet help; caused Cold War tensions.
Mobutu ended Congolese army mutiny; imposed his control over the army; supported by the USA who saw him
in defence against the spread of communism in the Congo and Central Africa.
Instability in the government of the Congo – President Kasavubu opposed to Lumumba; Mobutu encouraged by
the USA to take action; dismissed both and installed a commission; later brought back Kasavubu.
Lumumba captured and handed over to Tshombe in Katanga – here he was assassinated; the main threat to
power of Mobutu was eliminated.
Secession of Katanga ended but there still was unrest in the Congo; In 1965 Mobutu decided to take over again;
this time as President; he used the Cold War tensions to ensure he got US backing and economic support; he
maintained a united Congo.
Mobutu also owed his rise to power to his own personality – he was pragmatic, hardworking, courageous, able
speaker, personal charisma; he was in power for the next 32 years.
What role did Mobutu play in the secession of Katanga?
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He began an ‘Africanisation’ process in the early 1970s.
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He renamed the country Zaire, Léopoldville became Kinshasa and Elizabethville became
Lumbumbashi.
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He changed his name to Sese Seko.
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Mobutu rebuilt relations with Belgium. He visited in 1969 and received a return visit.
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Economic crises hit Zaire:
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Motbutu’s takeover of local businesses frightened off foreign investors.
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Copper prices fell, while oil and grain prices increased. Inflation increased, fuel shortages and debts
grew quickly.
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Mobutu retained support of the US while the Cold War was in progress until 1990. When the Cold War
ended, the US did not need Mobutu. He was overthrown in 1997 and lived the rest of his life in exile.
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His legacy was a poor and unstable country. He was an example of corruption and greed.
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He began an ‘Africanisation’ process in the early 1970s.
–
He renamed the country Zaire, Léopoldville became Kinshasa and Elizabethville became
Lumbumbashi.
–
He changed his name to Sese Seko.
•
Mobutu rebuilt relations with Belgium. He visited in 1969 and received a return visit.
•
Economic crises hit Zaire:
–
Motbutu’s takeover of local businesses frightened off foreign investors.
–
Copper prices fell, while oil and grain prices increased. Inflation increased, fuel shortages and debts
grew quickly.
•
Mobutu retained support of the US while the Cold War was in progress until 1990. When the Cold War
ended, the US did not need Mobutu. He was overthrown in 1997 and lived the rest of his life in exile.
•
His legacy was a poor and unstable country. He was an example of corruption and greed.
MOBUTU SESE SEKO – KEY PERSONALITY
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He was a soldier in the Belgian Congolese army, and later a journalist.
He served as assistant to Patrice Lumumba, leader of the National Congolese Movement.
Lumumba appointed Mobutu chief-of-staff of the Congolese army after Congo got its independence from
Belgium.
Mobutu took power after Lumumba as Prime Minister and Kasavubu as President disagreed.
Mobutu was backed by the CIA; his soldiers captured Lumumba and sent him to the breakaway province of
Katanga; here Lumumba was killed.
After the secession (break away) of Katanga ended, the Congo was still divided; Mobutu took over power in 1965
and set up a military dictatorship.
He crushed opposition and was elected President on a number of occasions.
He prompted the Africanisation of the Congo by changing its name to Zaire and promoting African culture.
He nationalised foreign-owned companies.
He appointed relations to key positions and there was a great deal of corruption.
He was supported by the US as a barrier to the spread of communism (Soviet Power) in Africa.
He eventually fell from power after the Cold War ended and economic conditions worsened in his country.
Why did Katanga secede (break away) from the Congo?
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Katanga was influenced by the spread of independence in many African countries. Most British colonies in Africa
got their independence between 1957 and 1964, especially after Macmillan’s ‘wind of change’ speech. French
colonies also had a choice of becoming independent after de Gaulle’s speech in Brazzaville in 1958. As far
Katanga could gain its independence from the Congo.
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Initially, Tshombe and his CONAKAT party favoured a federal government structure in the Congo. Katanga had
been developed differently under Belgian rule; it was populated by the Lunda tribe, and it was distant from
Léopoldville. Tshombe put forward these ideas in the negotiations for independence at the Round Table
Conference in Brussels. He believed that this would give more power to the provinces, including Katanga. But
Tshombe and other parties did not succeed. Instead, Lumumba wanted a strong central government and this is
what was established.
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Tshombe was encouraged to make katanga independent by the Belgian government and the Belgian mining
company, Union Minière. Katanga was rich in minerals such as copper, diamonds, cobalt and tin. Their
production was controlled by Union Minière, which made very large profits. Belgium also benefited through
increased trade. Both the country and the company wanted to protect their investments there. They feared the
spread of the chaos caused by the mutiny of soldiers of the Congolese army. Consequently, the Congolese army
was expelled by local units helped by Belgian troops.
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Tshombe and Katanga also feared the rule of Lumumba. He was regarded as a socialist and a communist and
some feared he would establish another Cuba. This could lead to the government takeover of the rich mines in
Katanga. Katanga would lose all the taxes it got from mining and the company would lose its profits. Lumumba
was not strong enough to prevent the secession. His army had mutinied, Belgian troops came in to restore order
and there were no United Nations troops in the country when Katanga seceded. At any rate, UN troops could do
nothing since their mandate said they could not interfere in the internal affairs of a country.
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Tshombe and Katanga were in a strong position to resist the Congolese government. They could use taxes from
the mining companies to pay for Belgian officers and mercenaries who organised and trained the Katangan
gendarmerie. The secession lasted almost two and a half years, until the United Nations forces moved from
peacekeeping to peace enforcement and took over Katanga, bringing it back into the Congo.
FRANCE:
To what extent did race become a major issue in France?
During the 1980s, race relations became an important and controversial topic in France. This was due to a
number of factors. Firstly there were changes in the pattern of immigration with more immigrants coming
from the Maghreb. Secondly, following a post-war prosperity, economic conditions worsened. Thirdly,
immigrants were located in ghettoes called les bainlieues, which were socially deprived. Finally, indecisive
government policies saw a rise in the National Front.
Most of the early post-war immigration came from Italy, Spain and Portugal to fill vacant jobs. Later,
French migrants came largely from Africa, especially the Maghreb. French Maghrebi immigrants came from
the mainly Islamic countries of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The French Republican Ideal claimed that all
citizens were free and equal. There was an expectation that immigrants would be integrated into French
society – adopt the ways and lifestyles of the French. There was opposition to multiculturalism as it divided
French society. Some people felt that Islam would prevent immigrants from integrating.
The French economy worsened after the two oil crises of the 1970s. Unemployment rose to 10%. There
was more serious unemployment amongst unskilled, largely immigrant, workers. This had a negative effect
as immigrants were increasing marginalised. The unemployed native French resented the immigrants who
were employed with the view that immigrants had taken their jobs.
The immigrant population didn’t integrate successfully into French society, with the majority remaining in
the inner cities. Immigrants lived in poor housing conditions. These were usually large blocks of apartments
with inadequate social facilities – les bainlieues. Immigrants in those apartment blocks had higher illiteracy
rates, less prospect of employment and higher school drop-out rates.
French government policy on immigrants was indecisive and viewed that it was the responsibility of the
immigrant to integrate into society, rather than for society to adapt. It taught the Republican Ideal that all
citizens were free and equal through the state school system. Refusing to recognise the changing society
led to a widening gap in opinion. This led to a growth in the right-wing National Front. The success of the
National Front began in 1983 in Dreux where it joined with right-wing parties to defeat the Socialists. The
National Front said that: Immigrants should go back to their own countries; Immigrants threated French
identity – ‘France for the French’; Social welfare should be for genuine French people; All France’s
problems were caused by immigration. Their propaganda was effective, making immigration a key issue in
French elections during the 1980s and afterwards.
The issue of race was now a major issue in French politics. President François Mitterand and the Socialists
brought in policies not allowing immigrants voting rights in local elections and expelled more immigrants.
Following the 1986 general election, Prime Minister Jacques Chirac made political alliances with the
National Front and proposed the Nationality Law, where children born in France to foreign parents could
no longer automatically become French citizens at 18.