Brussels (Day Trip)

Belgian colonization of the Congo region resulted in a massive death toll among the Congolese. The Congolese had to work in industries set up by the Belgian government. Government agents held families hostage until men completed their work quota. To protest the harsh working conditions, the Congolese rebelled on many occasions. In response, the Force Publique destroyed whole villages. Reports of soldiers decapitating villagers were common. Between 10 and 23 million people died during Leopold’s rule, from 1885 to 1908. Numbers that Adolph Hitler would be jealous of.

The Congolese became a poor and uneducated people. In 1960, when Patrice Lumumba became the first elected prime minister, Belgian colonists living in the Congo enjoyed 95 percent of the wealth. Moreover, at the time only 17 Congolese natives had ever graduated from college.

In 1960, when Patrice Lumumba became the first elected prime minister of Congo, Belgian colonists living in the Congo enjoyed 95 percent of the wealth. Belgium has recently has admitted to and apologized for its part in the murder of Prime Minister Lumumba.

In recent years, Brussels has become an important venue for international events. In 2000, was one of eight other European cities named a European Capital of Culture. In 2014, the city hosted the 40th G7 summit. Brussels is also the seat of the European Union. Architecturally, its beauty is unsurpassed

Despite the role it played during slavery as well as its brutal subjugation of the Congo, the city of Brussels is an exciting European destination that has just elected Pierre Kompany, the first Black mayor in Belgian history. The major Black neighborhood in Brussels is  Matange,  named after a region of the Congo. Suggesting that most of its residents hail from the Congo.