ABSTRACT
Congo’s First Republic spanned a period of socio-political and economic upheaval that significantly shaped the trajectory of the newly independent African state. France, The Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, and the European Community provided the Congolese government with financial assistance. Much of the misfortune during Congo’s First Republic can be attributed to the interference of external factors, including from across Africa. In the case of Congo, the colonial-social class known as ‘evolues’ led the demand for decolonisation. The growing Congolese demand for self-rule put pressure on the Belgian authorities to change their colonial policy, especially in the light of recent violent anti-colonial struggles across British and French Africa. Belgium’s attempt to appease the masses by granting limited political representation to its Congolese subjects did not end discontent in the colony. On 9 July 1960, Kasavubu and Lumumba were travelling across Congo to quell the growing unrest.
