Pierre Ryckmans was a Belgian colonial administrator who served as Governor-General of Belgium's principal African colony, the Belgian Congo, between 1934 and 1946. Ryckmans began his career in the co
Governor General Pierre Ryckmans
Ryckmans as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo at the inauguration of the monument to King Albert I in Léopoldville, 1938
Two Force Publique soldiers in 1943
Force Publique
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The Force Publique was the military of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo from 1885 to 1960. It was established after Belgian Army officers travelled to the Free State to found an armed force
Pierre Ryckmans (governor-general)
…such as the large mining companies, and the right of both Protestants and Catholics to receive government subsidies for their schools. World War II Two Force Publique soldiers in 1943 His first five years in the Belgian Congo - during which he was twice on leave – were years of progress for the administration. In…
Force Publique soldiers on parade with their Belgian officer in the late 1940s
A Congolese man, Nsala, looking at the severed hand and foot of his five-year-old daughter who was killed, cooked, and cannibalized by members of the Force Publique in 1904.
Force Publique soldiers some time after 1910
The Force Publique, 1928