The Congo Crisis, 1960-1965

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

Why the newly independent Congo collapsed into mutiny, secession and civil war; how Congolese leaders, Belgium, the superpowers and the UN shaped the crisis; and how far peace processes worked.

• Belgian rule and a rushed independence

  Belgium left the Congo with almost no trained leaders and then granted independence in a hurry. The new state was weak from its first day.

• Mutiny, Belgian intervention and secession, 1960

  Within two weeks of independence the army mutinied, Belgian troops returned and mineral-rich Katanga broke away. Economic interests and regional loyalties drove the secessions.

• Lumumba, the superpowers and the first coup

  When the UN would not crush Katanga, Lumumba turned to the Soviet Union. The USA saw a Cold War threat and backed his rivals. Lumumba was overthrown and murdered.

• ONUC and the end of Katanga's secession

  ONUC moved from neutrality to the use of force. It ended Katanga's secession in 1963, at a heavy cost to the UN.

• Peace processes and their limits, 1961-1965

  Talks restored a central government in 1961, but deals with Katanga failed until force was used. After the UN left, rebellion and outside intervention ended in Mobutu's dictatorship.

• Weighing causes, actors and management

  A weak state left by colonial rule was pulled apart by economic interests and regional loyalties. Outside powers turned it into a Cold War crisis, and the UN held the country together at a high cost.

• Put it together: Who shaped the Congo Crisis?

  Choose an actor and test its influence on the crisis.