ABSTRACT
From 1908–1960, Belgium continued to exercise great control over the Belgian Congo. The colonial administration, Catholic Church, and private enterprise formed the “colonial trinity” that fostered capitalistic development, fueled by the immense mineral and agricultural resources of the country. By the 1920s, the Belgian Congo boasted new infrastructure (buildings, roads, railroads, waterways), primary schools, and a healthcare network that was among the best in tropical Africa. Yet the power balance continued to favor Brussels, and many Congolese suffered grave injustices and incessant discrimination at the hands of the white masters. In the wake of World War II, the colonial government had begun to accommodate a growing middle-class of Congolese by improving housing, transport, water, and electricity in urban areas. Yet to safeguard the existing social hierarchy, the Belgians blocked Congolese people from higher education or specialized technical training. As a result, when the country precipitously gained independence on June 30, 1960, there was not a single university-trained Congolese doctor, lawyer, economist, or agronomist to run a country the size of Western Europe.
