Belgian Colonial Empire

The Belgian colonial empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Kingdom of Belgium from 1908 to 1962, dominated overwhelmingly by the Belgian Congo, which alone made up roughly 98 percent of Belgium's overseas territory and was about 76 times the size of Belgium itself. The Congo began as the personal possession of King Leopold II, known as the Congo Free State, and was annexed by the Belgian state in 1908 after international outcry over documented atrocities there, remaining a colony until its independence in 1960. Belgium also administered Ruanda-Urundi, present-day Rwanda and Burundi, from 1922 until their independence in 1962, and briefly held the Lado Enclave from 1894 to 1910 along with minor concessions in Guatemala and Tianjin and a share in the administration of Tangier. Belgian rule relied on what is described as a colonial trinity of state, missionary and commercial interests, and pursued urbanization and development programs in the Congo during the 1940s and 1950s before independence movements ended Belgian control.