page_title: Léopoldville riots
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Léopoldville riots / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: LEGENDE&#160;: Kisangani, ex Province Orientale, RD Congo&#160;: des habitants visitent la place du 4 janvier qui rappelle la mémoire des martyrs de l’indépendance. Photo MONUSCO/André Kitenge
context_page_description: The Léopoldville riots were an outbreak of civil disorder in Léopoldville in the Belgian Congo which took place in early 1959 and which were an important moment for the Congolese independence movement. The rioting occurred when members of the Alliance des Bakongo political party were not allowed to assemble for a protest and colonial authorities reacted harshly. The exact death toll is not known, but at least 49 people were killed and total casualties may have been as high as 500. The Congo received its independence on 30 June 1960, becoming the Republic of the Congo.
context_section_description: Estimates of the riot's final death toll vary, but estimates of total casualties range to as high as 500. The official casualties were tallied as 49 Africans killed and 241 wounded. Many Africans did not seek treatment at hospitals and many of those that died were inconspicuously buried. The January riots marked a turning point in the Congolese liberation movement, forcing colonial and Belgian authorities to acknowledge that serious issues existed in the colony. Unlike earlier expressions of discontent, the grievances were conveyed primarily by uneducated urban residents, not évolués. Many évolués, like the Europeans, were perturbed by the destruction.
  In the immediate aftermath, Belgian authorities laid blame on unemployed Africans, but claimed the majority of the city's 250,000 African residents were not involved. The Belgian Parliament established a commission of inquiry to investigate the cause of the riots. The commission found the disturbances to be the culmination of discontent with racial discrimination, overcrowding, and unemployment. It also concluded that external political events, such as France's decision to grant self-governance to the neighboring French Congo, to be a contributing factor, and criticized the colonial administration's response to the riot. On 13 January the administration went forward with its scheduled announcement of reforms, including new local elections in December, the institution of a new civil service statue that made no racial distinctions, and the appointment of more Africans to advisory bodies. The Belgian King, Baudouin, also declared for the first time that independence would be granted to the Congo in the future. International media assumed that the reforms were made in response to the riots. There is no evidence to support this, though it is possible that Baudouin's declaration was made to temper Congolese opinion.
caption: The Place du 4 Janvier in Kisangani is one of the Congo's public spaces which take their name from the Léopoldville riots
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