“Une telle apathie est presque coupable”. How in Belgium’s Journal des tribunaux the interest for the Congo Free State sparked off (1885-1908)

When the Congo Free State (CFS) was established in 1885, King Leopold II ruled it as its personal territory. At first Belgian politicians and lawyers seemed not to care about the colonial ambitions of its sovereign. That changed during the 1890s, when the Leopoldian CFS was internationally accused of committing crimes against humanity. Belgium’s Parliament urged to find a solution in the annexation project during the first decade of the 20th century. How did Belgian lawyers perceive this issue ? Through means of legal periodicals, which reflect and shape opinions on certain topics, it is possi... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Vandenbogaerde, Sebastiaan
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Verlag/Hrsg.: Association Clio et Themis
Schlagwörter: legal history / colonial history / periodical studies / Belgium / Congo / histoire du droit / histoire coloniale / études des revues / Belgique
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26941260
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : http://journals.openedition.org/cliothemis/1019

When the Congo Free State (CFS) was established in 1885, King Leopold II ruled it as its personal territory. At first Belgian politicians and lawyers seemed not to care about the colonial ambitions of its sovereign. That changed during the 1890s, when the Leopoldian CFS was internationally accused of committing crimes against humanity. Belgium’s Parliament urged to find a solution in the annexation project during the first decade of the 20th century. How did Belgian lawyers perceive this issue ? Through means of legal periodicals, which reflect and shape opinions on certain topics, it is possible to reconstruct the annexation history of the CFS by Belgium in 1908. The Journal des tribunaux is the most relevant titles on this subject, as it is the primus inter pares of legal periodicals at that time and connected to all the relevant associations in the political, legal and colonial world. ; Lorsque l’État Indépendant du Congo (EIC) fut établi en 1885, le roi Léopold II le considéra comme son territoire personnel. Au début, les politiciens et les avocats belges ne semblaient pas se soucier des ambitions coloniales de son souverain. Leur attitude changea au cours des années 1890, lorsque Léopold II et l’ÉIC furent internationalement accusés de commettre des crimes contre l’humanité. Le Parlement belge chercha et trouva une solution dans le projet d’annexion durant la première décennie du xxe siècle. Comment les avocats belges perçurent cette question ? À travers les revues juridiques, qui reflètent et forment des opinions, il est possible de reconstruire l’histoire de l’annexion de l’État libre congolais par la Belgique. Le Journal des tribunaux est le titre le plus important de son époque, primus inter pares des revues juridiques, il est lié à toutes les associations des mondes politique, juridique et colonial.