ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the amputation of hands of plantation workers and their subsequent disability was crucial in the discourses surrounding the foundation of Leopold II's Kongo Free State. When exploring the history of Belgian-Congo, one can find evidence where disability has played a crucial role in the colonization of the Congo. When one examines the discourse used by Leopold II, King of Belgium, to legitimize his colonization efforts in Central Africa, one immediately becomes aware of the importance attributed to disability. The record indicates that thousands of Congolese people were disabled as a result of mutilation and amputation, so disability is very much part of the Belgian-Congo's history. The history of education in the Belgian-Congo, especially the rise and development of the Catholic missionary system, has been the subject of several in-depth studies. The primary objective of the Belgian colonial educational system, therefore, should not be considered something aimed at the emancipation of the colonized men, women and children.
