Mineral wealth in a small part of Congo was three quarters of the economy. So when chaos decends after independence a few want to free themselves of that. Not easy to do. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Aesthetically this stamp has a lot to recommend it. There was a feeling at the time that the whole independence of Katanga was a front for Belgian mining interest. So this stamp and a few others take on this by directly showing the native black arts in which locals took pride. Others show natives working and fighting for a better life. One could make the argument that all this flies in the face of reality. But stamp issues are about putting a places best self forward. Katanga’s stamp issues did that well.
Todays stamp is issue A1, a 1.5 Franc stamp issued by Katanga on March 1, 1961. It was part of a 14 stamp issue in various denominations that depict the artistry of the native wood carvers. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents whether it is mint or used and what ever denomination the particular stamp is.
Katanga is a province of the formally Belgian Congo. It contains Belgium developed mining operations of copper, zinc, and uranium. The operations of the lucrative mines required much Belgian expertise and the province contained thousands of Belgian expatriates. The revenue from the mines were profitable for Belgium and provided 75 percent of the colony’s budget.
There were a lot of hard feelings at the time of independence. The first prime minister went out of his way to insult the Belgian King publicly during independence ceremonies. This set forth chaos directed at looting any foreign wealth in the country. The looting and even attacks on Belgian citizens had tacit government approval. Responding to this a rival Congolese politician named Moise Tshombe declared Katanga independent from Congo. Congo’s first prime minister was removed from office, taken to Katanga, beaten, killed, and his corps burned in acid until all that remained were a few teeth. Katanga quickly hired white South African and Rhodesian mercenaries to chase off the looting Congo army. The mercenaries were supplemented by a Belgian parachute regiment. The Belgian mining company paid Tshombe 25 million dollars into his personal account from money due the Congo government.
World opinion was just not going to tolerate this. Tshombe’s name was synonymous with sellout in Africa. The United Nations refused to recognize Katanga and even authorized military force to bring Katanga back into Congo. The UN forces sent in were at first not willing to attack. UN Secretary General Dag Hammerjold flew to nearby Northern Rhodesia to conduct negotiations but his plane crashed in mysterious circumstances.
In late 1962, the UN forces finally attacked Katanga after the Belgian army left and succeeded in conquering it. There is a sense of who conquered who though. Tshombe was named Prime Minister of all of Congo and a few of his white mercenary units were incorporated into the army of Congo.
A year later there was a coup and Tshombe went into exile in Spain. He was tried in absentia for treason and sentenced to death. Spain refused to extradite. In 1967, Tshombe attempted to return to Congo on a chartered business jet. A spy from French Intelligence hijacked the plane to Algiers where Tshombe died of “heart failure” at 49.
The mines were nationalized in 1966. The Belgian mining concern ordered their employees back to Belgium. Congo attempted to order them to give a years notice before leaving. A deal was eventually struck but the output of the mines has now dropped to less than 10 percent of previous output. This is entirely due to mismanagement rather than depletion of the resources. Over the years there have been various schemes to get the mines producing again, most recently with aid from China. So far no luck.
Well my drink is empty and I may have a few more while I contemplate how the disaster could have been avoided. There is no doubt that the chaos and destruction in Congo lengthened white rule in Southern Africa. At the same time, virtually all the black leaders ended up cruel corrupt fools. No one to toast. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.