ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 focuses on the developments leading to the nationalisation of the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga and the birth of the new Congolese takeover company, the Société Générale Congolaise des Minérais (1960–7), and the subsequent negotiations dealing with compensation for being nationalised (1967–70). The literature dealing with the decolonisation in the Belgian Congo leading to its independence on 30 June 1960 and to the subsequent political, economic and military turmoil known as the ‘Congo Crisis’ is voluminous and comprehensive. Previous studies have revealed the roles played by the United Nations, Belgium, the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union and the neighbouring Central African Federation and Angola in the crisis. Missing from this corpus, however, is an in-depth analysis of the pivotal role played by the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga, the largest company in the Congo, and especially the preponderant role played by its parents, Tanganyika Concessions and the Société Générale de Belgique, with their significant and numerous subsidiary companies.
