Talk:Congo Free State

Diseases
The third paragraph of the lead mentions "deaths caused by the exploitation and the lack of immunity to new diseases introduced by contact with European colonists". This is reffed to the Oxford History of Africa. I don't have access to that source, so I can't check if that's what it really says -- but the diseases that felled so many of the Africans were endemic, not introduced. The population's vulnerability was due not to European introduction, but to the chaos, malnutrition, and exhaustion resulting from the European regime. -- Elphion (talk) 20:51, 30 April 2021 (UTC)

Orphaned table
added an irrelevant table with no context; I have reverted this. Midofe1996 has added this table (against concensus) several times at Atrocities in the Congo Free State. See Talk:Atrocities in the Congo Free State/Archive 1 for the discussion at that article. Most of the points raised there apply here as well. -- Elphion (talk) 00:17, 4 October 2021 (UTC)


 * Why irrelevant? This table is totally documented Midofe1996 (talk) 01:12, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

As explained at Talk:Atrocities in the Congo Free State/Archive 1 -- Elphion (talk) 14:26, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

The table has been removed again. Midofe1996 (talk) has still not given any indication why the table is relevant. -- Elphion (talk) 20:43, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

pictures Economy during Leopold's rule
"Mining by the company Union Minière du Haut Katanga" is a picture of 1922, not Congo Free State but Belgian Congo, it could be used in the Belgian Congo article, but should be removed here Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum (talk) 17:44, 4 October 2021 (UTC)


 * I agree that the photos are most likely from ca 1922. They appear in a 1922 periodical touting progress in the Katanga mining operation, so although undated, they are likely from shortly before publication.  The Commons description of the photos dates them to 1891, but I suspect that date comes from the text "Established in 1891" prominently displayed just below the banner of the periodical.  The links in the Commons description supporting the 1891 date are completely unhelpful. I've updated the Commons description accordingly. -- Elphion (talk) 18:25, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

Current map? Why?
Why is the picture of the map of the Congo Free State a map of the now current Democratic Republic of the Congo? For example, German Togoland (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togoland) shows a map that’s of the world during that time. Can we get a new map put in that’s of the Congo Free State? TheGoldenPickaxe (talk) 18:07, 28 February 2024 (UTC)


 * I could make a map based on this raster image, I’d probably finish it by next week.
 * Sprucecopse (talk) 23:08, 28 February 2024 (UTC)
 * That would be amazing! Thanks so much! TheGoldenPickaxe (talk) 15:17, 1 March 2024 (UTC)
 * That would be great but I don't think that Belgium should be highlighted in the new map as it is in the raster image since the Congo Free State wasn't a colony of Belgium. Zoocat56 (talk) 23:04, 1 March 2024 (UTC)
 * That’s true, though it is in essence Belgium’s slice of the African cake. I can understand why they highlighted it, they share the same head of state. Maybe a lighter shade of green could be used for Belgium as to denote its indirect relation to the state? Sprucecopse (talk) 23:44, 1 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I'm fine with using a different shade to indicate the personal union between the two states. That's a good idea. Zoocat56 (talk) 06:19, 2 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Here is the draft of the map, it's taken from a 1923 projection so if anything is off please let me know. I have to say that I wish Belgium was more visible. Perhaps a thick green circle could encircle Belgium for added emphasis and clear view?@TheGoldenPickaxe, @Zoocat56
 * Sprucecopse (talk) 18:46, 4 March 2024 (UTC)
 * https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Orthographic_Globe_Map_of_the_Congo_Free_State.svg Sprucecopse (talk) 18:46, 4 March 2024 (UTC)
 * In term of the borders it would be better to base the map on the GEA map showing the German possesions. @Sprucecopse Zoocat56 (talk) 19:34, 4 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I could try but the GEA map is giving me issues in Illustrator for some reason. Sprucecopse (talk) 19:42, 4 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Sorry for not responding sooner. I like how the map looks and agree that Belgium could maybe be highlighted by a lighter green. TheGoldenPickaxe (talk) 16:45, 6 March 2024 (UTC)