1957–1960: (The Belgian Congo’s Unraveling — Local Elections in 1957–1958 Designed to Placate Reform Demands Instead Sparking an Array of Nationalist Parties…

1957–1960: (The Belgian Congo’s Unraveling — Local Elections in 1957–1958 Designed to Placate Reform Demands Instead Sparking an Array of Nationalist Parties, Patrice Lumumba as the Only Leader Attempting a Truly Nationwide Organization, Political Rallies in 1958–1959 Leading to Rioting, and Belgium Losing Control Because Elections Had Been Delayed Too Long): Pressures for change were mounting in the Belgian territories despite Brussels’s determination to maintain control. Local elections in 1957–1958, designed to placate demands for reform, instead encouraged the rapid emergence of an array of nationalist parties, including the broad movement under the charismatic and ideologically driven Patrice Lumumba — who in many respects appeared to be the only Congolese leader interested in creating a truly nationwide organization. Political rallies in 1958 and 1959 led to rioting, and violence spread through the territory. The Belgians began to lose control: elections had been delayed too long, and Belgium had left it too late to manage the transition to its advantage or even in a reasonably orderly fashion. The colony that had been governed as a private estate — first Leopold’s, then Belgium’s — would enter independence with virtually no preparation, no trained administrators, and no political infrastructure, a recipe for the chaos that would engulf the Congo in the years to come.