“Une telle apathie est presque coupable”. How in Belgium’s Journal des tribunaux the interest for the Congo Free State sparked off (1885-1908)

Abstract

When the Congo Free State (CFS) was established in 1885, King Leopold II ruled it as its personal territory. At first Belgian politicians and lawyers seemed not to care about the colonial ambitions of its sovereign. That changed during the 1890s, when the Leopoldian CFS was internationally accused of committing crimes against humanity. Belgium’s Parliament urged to find a solution in the annexation project during the first decade of the 20th century. How did Belgian lawyers perceive this issue ? Through means of legal periodicals, which reflect and shape opinions on certain topics, it is possible to reconstruct the annexation history of the CFS by Belgium in 1908. The Journal des tribunaux is the most relevant titles on this subject, as it is the primus inter pares of legal periodicals at that time and connected to all the relevant associations in the political, legal and colonial world.

Keywords

• legal history
• colonial history
• periodical studies
• Belgium
• Congo