the international exposition of 1897. as part of that, 267 congolese men, women and children were taken by force to belgium and exhibited to the public in fenced fake villages right here on this site. when belgium gained independence from the netherlands in the 19th century, the western nations scramble for africa was in full throttle. now, king leopold wanted a piece of the action, but without the support of his own government, he had to win over investors and the public. the exposition was a huge success, and so began belgium s long and violent history in the congo. when i arrived there in 2001 as director, i found a museum that basically hadn t changed since 1956. basically the year when i first visited the museum. as a child? as a child, yeah.
from the netherlands in the 19th century, the western nations scramble for africa was in full throttle. now, king leopold wanted a piece of the action, but without the support of his own government, he had to win over investors and the public. the exposition was a huge success, and so began belgium s long and violent history in the congo. when i arrived there in 2001 as director, i found a museum that basically hadn t changed since 1956. basically the year when i first visited the museum. as a child? as a child, yeah. it was still a colonial museum doing colonial propaganda in all sense of the word. so full of stereotypes, that the congolese were basically violent with spears and with a very aggressive face.