Decolonial Trail
Throughout the city, you can still find traces of a colonial past in various places. Discover these traces.
The City of Ghent is launching a Decolonial Trail, an accessible way to reflect on the importance of decolonisation. The trail is dedicated to the resistance fighters and the victims of Belgian colonialism.
Critical and honest look
Colonisation is a historical reality that we cannot undo. A critical and honest look at our past and the colonial present is of great importance.
From 1885 to 1908, Congo was the private property of Leopold II, King of Belgium (1835–1909). Belgium ruled it as a colony from 1908 to 1960. Rwanda and Burundi were Belgian colonies from 1916 to 1962.
Throughout the city, you will find various traces of colonialism that we will revisit. For our past lives on in the present, with visible and invisible traces.
programme
-
Along the trail
-
-
Removed bust of Leopold II and Congo Pioneers memorial
A bust of King Leopold II (1835–1909) once stood here. The colonial star-shaped monument honours only the people of Ghent. Today, a sculpture honours the victims.
-
-
-
2 Show all photos
The bust was made by Géo Verbanck and was unveiled in 1955 in honour of the king. It remained there until 2020, when it was removed after being damaged. Leopold II was the owner of the Congo Free State, where his reign was characterised by systematic exploitation, hard labour, mutilations, and mass violence. Even though the cruelties in the Congo are internationally condemned, Leopold II is still honoured a lot in Belgium, without a critical reflection on his violent inheritance. The removal of such symbols is not an attempt to erase history, but provides room for a dialogue on historical injustice and contributes to a more profound, more critical, and more inclusive understanding of our past and present.
King Leopold II
King Leopold II was never legally prosecuted for the crimes that occurred under his reign in the Congo Free State (1885 - 1908). Even though worldwide indignation arose over the atrocities committed in the Congo, he was never held responsible. Some important facts:
- Forced labour for raw material extraction, often resulting in fatalities.
- Mutilations, such as cutting of hands for punishment.
- Mass mortality resulting from violence, hunger, disease, and exhaustion.
Colonial monument
The colonial monument at Acht Mei Plein was erected in 1936 on 'Ghent Colonial Day'. This monument honours more than sixty Ghent citizens who died in the Congo, mainly members of the Force Publique. This military force maintained the colonial rule, in which systematic exploitation, hard labour, mutilations, and mass violence were applied. The monument fits within the colonial propaganda in the 1920s and 1930s and was supported by the 'Union of Congolese Remembrance', that glorifies the role of the Belgian colonists and soldiers. At the same time, the monument is in sharp contrast to the virtually total lack of tributes to the Congolese, Rwandan, and Burundian victims of the Belgian colonial regime, whose suffering and resistance for a long time remained invisible in the public sphere.
Sculpture
Today, you find here a sculpture that honours the resistance fighters and victims of Belgian colonialism. The detail in the work refers to a Central-African mask. Masks have important ritual functions in diverse cultures, among other during rituals of transition. This intervention wants to contribute to a new way to view the colonial past and its effects up to this day.
At various locations in the city, information has been provided at locations that have a colonial history.
-
-
Sakala bust
Sakala was not seen as a full person, but as a curiosity, exhibited during public events and used as propaganda for and living proof of the colonial mission.
-
-
-
2 Show all photos
Sakala was the son of Mambouco, a leader in the Kionzo district in western Congo. In 1885, the Belgian military officer Lieven Van de Velde brought the twelve-year-old boy to Belgium, where he became the first Congolese to attend a Belgian school. Sakala was not seen as a full person, but as a 'curiosity' – exhibited during public events and presented as living proof of the so-called success of the colonial mission: propaganda for the then widespread imperialist ideology of the supposed 'natural superiority’ of ‘the white race'. Sakala was presented as proof of the effects of Belgian civilisation. The phenomenon of human zoos, in which men, women, and children were exhibited as 'exotic curiosities', is a painful aspect of Belgian colonial history. These practices, which took place during World's Fairs in cities like Brussels, Antwerp, and Tervuren, reflected the racist ideologies that were justified by colonialism. This illustrates the dehumanisation to which black bodies were subjected to, being reduced to objects of entertainment and exotic fantasies.
-
-
Statue of King Baudouin
Here stands a statue of King Baudouin, a symbol of the Belgian monarchy and its ties with the Congo.
King Baudouin delivered a controversial speech at the independence of the Congo in 1960, in which he praised the genius of King Leopold II, a king under whose rule hideous atrocities were committed in the Congo and who had exploited Congo as private property. His words contrasted sharply with Patrice Lumumba's speech, which emphasized the brutal colonial suppression and the social struggle of the Congolese people. While Baudouin was glorifying the colonial legacy, Lumumba demanded justice and self-determination.
-
Paul de Smet de Naeyer park
Here stands a bronze bust of Paul de Smet de Naeyer, a Ghent-based cotton magnate and former Catholic Prime Minister of Belgium. He defended colonial policy as an economic and civilising project.
-
-
-
2 Show all photos
Paul de Smet de Naeyer was a Ghent cotton industrialist and Catholic Party politician who served as Belgian Prime Minister. He was closely involved in the foundation of Belgian Congo and honorary chair of the World's Fair in Ghent - a grand international event where countries presented their achievements and where colonialism was often justified. De Smet de Naeyer was a strong supporter of the colonisation of the Congo, which he defended as economically viable and 'civilising'. The Belgian exploitation of the Congo contributed to Belgium’s economic prosperity. The Catholic Church supported this policy, while socialist and liberal voices condemned it morally. This gave rise to heated political debate in Belgium.
-
-
Floraliënlaan
Until 2022, this street was called Leopold II Avenue, referring to the king who ruled Congo Free State with a brutal hand. Following a lengthy public consultation process, the name was changed to Floraliënlaan, referring to the plant exhibition.
Floraliënlaan has an emotionally charged history. The street's former name was Leopold II-Laan, after the Belgian king and personal owner of the Congo Free State (1885–1908), who ruled with a regime of systematic exploitation, hard labour, mutilations, and mass violence. For years, people strived to have the name changed, with Patrice Lumumba — Congo’s first democratically elected Prime Minister — as main alternative. In 2017, the organisation LABO vzw held an action by covering a street name sign with a sticker carrying the name ‘Patrice Lumumba Laan’. In 2021, the Ghent City ‘Decolonisation’ working group proposed to change the name officially and the City of Ghent decided to change it to 'Floraliënlaan'. The name refers to the plants exhibition in the nearby Citadelpark, which had its first exhibition in 1809 and was named 'Floraliën' in 1873.
-
Gebroeders Vandeveldestraat
Lieven and Jozef Van de Velde were two men from Ghent who played an active role in the colonisation of Congo. They helped to explore and subjugate Congolese territories on behalf of Leopold II, whose regime was notorious for exploitation and violence.
-
-
-
2 Show all photos
The street Gebroeders Vandeveldestraat runs from Recollettenlei to Oude Houtlei. The part of this street between Posteernestraat and Recollettenlei used to be called Kort Onderbergen. In 1905, the street was extended to Oude Houtlei and was named Gebroeders Vandeveldestraat. The name refers to the house where the brothers Jozef and Lieven Van de Velde were born in 1850 and 1855. In the 19th century, both brothers were involved in the colonisation of the Congo, and they are regarded as 'colonial pioneers'.
Since 1876, the area was the personal possession of the Belgian king Leopold II under the name Congo Free State. In that year, he founded the Association Internationale Africaine. The official purpose of this association was to abolish the slave trade in the Congo and to continue the exploration of the country. In reality, the Congo became a personal domain of King Leopold II, where he would exploit the raw materials as well as the people on a grand scale. Several soldiers, explorers, and officers were sent on missions to set up trade posts and to subdue the population.
In 1881, Lieven and Jozef Van de Velde were given the assignment by the Association Internationale Africaine to join an exploration along various Congo rivers. They arrived in 1882, and both were part of several research teams. In the same year, Jozef died in Boma from what was called bilious fever at the time. His brother, Lieven, returned to Ghent in 1883, but went on another mission in 1885. This time, as a topographer, he received the assignment to explore, study, and chart the region between Vivi and Issanghala in the Lower Congo, with a view to the construction of a future railway that would run from the Atlantic Ocean to the Upper Congo. Van de Velde also carried out an ethnographic research during his six-month stay. The political conquest strategy applied by Leopold II was based on the conclusion of treaties with important Congolese figures. Explorers like Lieven and Jozef had to build this trust and as such form alliances to enable the Belgian Coloniser to set up stations and trading posts. As such, Lieven developed a relationship of trust with Mambouco, a leader in the Kionzo district in western Congo. This was a result of his contribution to the non-violent suppression of a local uprising on 15 January 1883.
Upon his return to Ghent in 1885, Lieven Vandevelde brought with him the 12-year-old son of Mambouco, Sakala (his statue can be found in Citadelpark). Lieven considered the boy to be his adoptive son, and set himself up as his tutor. This attitude from Lieven should be seen in the then widespread imperial mindset based on the supposed 'natural superiority’ of ‘the white race'. During his stay in Belgium between 1885 and 1887, Lieven used Sakala in his propaganda tours. The public was not interested in Sakala as a person, only in who he had become under the influence of Belgian civilisation. After his death in 1888, the street Kort Onderbergen was renamed as Gebroeders Vandeveldestraat. By that time, the brothers' birth house had been demolished.
Our colonial history is a fact. The City of Ghent is revising this inheritance, as our past lives on in the present, leaving visible as well as invisible tracks.
-
-
Colonial Rubber nv (Stropkaai 8)
Colonial Rubber nv was a rubber factory founded by Pol De Schamphelaere in Ghent. Raw materials came from Congo, where rubber extraction was characterised by extreme exploitation, mutilation and violence.
Colonial Rubber NV (Stropkaai 8) was founded in Ghent by Pol De Schamphelaere, an industrialist who expanded his family business with the production of rubber products, including condoms and bicycle tyres. The company had several establishments, such as at Stropkaai and in Hogepontstraat in Gentbrugge. Colonial Rubber was closely linked to the colonial reality, as the rubber production took place in the Independent State of the Congo under the rule of King Leopold II. The extraction of rubber in the Congo involved extreme exploitation, mutilation, and violence, and the local population was forced to work in brutal conditions to maximise profits. The company promoted the produced tyres with the slogan 'Colonial tyres. Always victors.' This slogan reflects how the colonial violence and the economic interests were glorified and normalised.
De Schampelaere was not only a famous family business, but also a renowned name in the Ghent social life. They supported and funded all kinds of initiatives, funds, and unions, among other things to improve education in Ghent. The high profits gained by the rubber factory, were only possible through the cheap import of rubber, which was extracted in an unfair and unworthy manner by the Congolese and Indonesian population. Up to this day, this makes the philanthropy of the De Schampelaere family a paradox that is difficult to understand.
-
All texts are based on the research by Collectif Mémoire Coloniale et lutte contre les discriminations and Ghent University, design by Studio Part in agreement with Gent Mondiaal, Collectif Faire-part, Collectif Mémoire Coloniale et lutte contre les discriminations, Umoja and the participants in the public consultation process on the decolonisation of the City of Ghent, with the support of the City of Ghent.
Would you like to discover more traces?
The map layer ‘Ghent Seen: Colonial Traces’ by Gent Gemapt collects information about places in the city that have a link to colonial history. By re-examining the colonial legacy, we are building an inclusive city where everyone feels recognised and valued.
Go to the digital mapEnglish translations made by Artevelde Hogeschool
