Journal of Belgian History, XLVIII, 2018, 1-2

This thematic issue in English contains six articles and about the history of Congo during the First World War. This issue was born from the conference  ‘Une guerre oubliée? Les colonies d’Afrique Centrale dans la Premières Guerre mondiale’, organized by the Université Saint-Louis in Brussels in December 2014. The guest editors are : Enika Ngongo, Bérengère Piret and Nathalie Tousignant.

Before the Centenary in 2014, there was a clear delay in Belgian historiography with regard to the colonial areas and their populations during the First World War. The four-year Centenary however has created a context where several researchers have tried to make up for this delay. This issue presents a wide variety of subjects, such as violence and the colonial experiences of Congolese soliders, or the Belgian military operations in German Africa. This thematic issue will hopefully serve as an important stepping stone for new research about the Belgian Congo during and after the First World War.

The contents of this issue will be made accessible online in May 2019 !