Work
Report of the Commission of Inquiry (1905)
The Congo Free State's own Commission of Inquiry reported on 30 October 1905 on ill-treatment of the people of the Congo.
- Dates
- 30 Oct 1905
What it found
Beyond these cases it then seems that the mutilations have never had the character of torture inflicted voluntarily and knowingly.
1
Who disputes it
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Findings of the experts to the Belgian Chamber's colonial past commission (2024)
English: the experts write that the report presents the mutilations as customary habits, justifies punishments as necessary and adopts a racist view of African inferiority.le rapport occulte certaines découvertes telle que l’adoption d’une perspective raciste sur l’infériorité africaine, la présentation des mutilations comme autant d’habitudes coutumières, la justification des punitions comme une nécessité
2
Each side is quoted in its own words. Whether a finding holds is not decided here.
The Commission was appointed by decree of the Free State on 23 July 1904. It confirmed some abuses and explained others in terms its critics, including the Belgian Chamber’s experts of 2024, dispute.
Connections 7
part of
- Commission of Inquiry of the Congo Free State (1904-05) 30 Oct 1905 Primary record 1
followed from
- Commission of Inquiry of the Congo Free State (1904-05) Primary record 1
finding disputed by
-
Findings of the experts to the Belgian Chamber's colonial past commission (2024)
7 Mar 2024
According to Findings of the experts to the Belgian Chamber's colonial past commission (2024)
Primary record
2
English: the experts write that the report presents the mutilations as customary habits, justifies punishments as necessary and adopts a racist view of African inferiority.
features
- Boali questioned by the Commission at Baringa Primary record 1
- Henry Morton Stanley cited on the fall in population Primary record 1
- Lake Tumba (Lake Mantumba) missionary testimony on depopulation Primary record 1
- Mbandaka (Coquilhatville) the Commission sat here Primary record 1
Timeline 3 dates
- 30 Oct 1905 Report of the Commission of Inquiry (1905)
- 30 Oct 1905 Report of the Commission of Inquiry (1905) part of Commission of Inquiry of the Congo Free State (1904-05)
- 7 Mar 2024 Findings of the experts to the Belgian Chamber's colonial past commission (2024) disputes a finding of Report of the Commission of Inquiry (1905) According to Findings of the experts to the Belgian Chamber's colonial past commission (2024)
Proof 2 sources
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The Congo: a report of the Commission of Enquiry appointed by the Congo Free State government (English translation, 1906), Commission of Enquiry of the Congo Free State, translated by G. P. Putnam's Sons (Project Gutenberg), 30 Oct 1905.
Primary record
Beyond these cases it then seems that the mutilations have never had the character of torture inflicted voluntarily and knowingly.
the Report which the Commission appointed to investigate the State territories, submitted to the Government on the 30th of October, 1905.
The woman Boali said that a capita, whose advances she had repulsed, shot her and thinking her dead, cut off her foot so as to be able to remove her anklet.
if the word of Stanley is accepted, it is certain that a large part of the population has disappeared
Mr. Clark also explained that the numerous wars with the State had caused the depopulation reported in the region of Lake Tumba.
During the sojourn at Coquilhatville, the members visited the missions of Bamania and of Bolengi.
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Special commission to examine the Independent State of the Congo and Belgium's colonial past: findings of the experts (Chamber of Representatives, DOC 55 1462/006, in French), Chamber of Representatives of Belgium, 7 Mar 2024.
Primary record
le rapport occulte certaines découvertes telle que l’adoption d’une perspective raciste sur l’infériorité africaine, la présentation des mutilations comme autant d’habitudes coutumières, la justification des punitions comme une nécessité
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