Patrice Lumumba And Imperialism In The Congo

1PatriceLumumbaandImperialismintheCongoN am eP ro fe sso rC la ss2IntroductionMostofusknowlittleabouttheCongoapartfromindividualswhostudygeopoliticsorhavedirectrelationswiththecontinent.Eventhen,itneedstobewell-knownjusthowmuchimperialismshapedtheCongofromtheeraofBelgiancolonialism.However ,thereisthestoryofPatriceLumumba-theinauguralMinisterofthenewlyindependentCongo.However ,Lumumba,whowitnessedthecolonizationoftheCongo,couldnotescapethegraspofimperialism.LumumbawasassassinatedwithinthefirstyearofhistenurebyassociatesoftheBelgianandUnitedStatesgovernments.Eachofusisaproductofourpastasindividualsandasasociety .Eventsdonotunfoldinavacuum.Theeventsoftodayarearesultofthepast.OnecanturntoGeor gesNzongola-Ntalaja'sbookPatriceLumumba(2014)tolearnthefactsofLumumba'scase.ThisreportwillanalyzeNzongola-Ntalaja'saccountofLumumba'spoliticallife,alongwithananalysisofvariousof ficialtextsandencyclopediapassagesontheissueofimperialismintheCongo.ShortlyafterCongoleseindependencein1960,LumumbaappealedtotheUnitedStatesandtheUnitedNationstohelpsuppresstheBelgian-supportedKatanganasecessionists.BothrefusedduetosuspicionsamongtheW estthatLumumasecretlyheldapro-communistview .ThesesuspicionsdeepenedwhenLumumbaturnedtotheSovietUnionforassistance.Thisledtogrowingdif ferencesbetweenPresidentJosephKasavubuandchief-of fstaf fJoseph-DesireMobutuandbetweentheUnitedStatesandBelgium,whoopposedtheSovietsintheColdW ar.Lumumbawascapturedandimprisonedenroutebystateauthority .Lumumbawashanded3overtoKatangaanauthoritiesandexecutedinthepresenceofKatangaanandBelgianof ficialsandof ficers.Lumumba sbodywasflungintoashallowgravebutlaterdestroyed(Brittanica).Followinghisexecution,hewaswidelyseenasamartyrwithinthebroaderpan-Africanmovement.Lumumba,oneofthefirstAfricanleaderstostandagainstneo-colonialismandW esternimperialism,inspiredandpavedthewayformanymoreAfricanleaderstoguidetheirrespectivecountriestowardtrueindependence.Overtheyears,inquirieshaveshedlightontheeventssurroundingLumumba'sdeath,particularlytherolesplayedbyBelgiumandtheUnitedStates.In2022,theBelgiangovernmentof ficiallyapologizedforitsroleintheunjustexecutionofLumumba(Brittanica).B othB elg iu ma n dt h eU nite dS ta te sw erea ff e cte db yt h eC oldW ari nt h eira ttitu dest o w ardL um um ba,w hot h eyf e are dw asb eco m in gi n cre asin glys u bje ctt oc o m munis ti n flu en ced urin gh ist e n urea sP rim eM in is te ro ft h eC ongo( F in an cia lT im es,2 020).T heyt h oughth ew asl e an in gt o w ard st h eU SSR ,a lth ought h atw asb ecau seL um um baf e ltt h att h eU SSRw ast h eo nep ow ert h atc o ulds u pporth isc o untr y 'se ff o rtst oe lim in atea lie nr u le .T heU SAw ast h ef ir s tc o untr yf ro mw hic hL um um bar e q ueste da ssis ta n