Fighting for White Rule in Africa: The Central African Federation, Katanga and the Congo Crisis 1958-1965

Abstract

This article assesses the role of the Central African Federation (CAF) of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the turmoil surrounding Belgium’s withdrawal from the Congo in June 1960. This is a subject largely ignored in the historiography on the collapse of the Congo and this article seeks to show that the CAF, keen to preserve white-settler rule in southern Africa, supported Belgian settler interests in the Congo, notably in neighbouring mineral-rich Katanga province, that were trying to block the transition to a united independent black Congo. Led by Sir Roy Welensky, the CAF initially pushed for a political union with Katanga province. When this failed, it actively supported the secession of Katanga, led by the pro-Western Congolese leader Moïse Tshombe, with economic, political and military assistance. The help included the extensive deployment of white mercenaries recruited in Southern Rhodesia and South Africa to support white-settler interests in the Congo from 1960 to 1965. This article also touches upon the role of Portuguese Angola and South Africa in the Congo crisis.