6 april 2019: 135 jaar geleden verscheen het eerste nummer van 'Le Mouvement Géographique'

The first edition of the 'Mouvement Géographique' was published in Brussels on April 6th 1884. Its primary aim was the promotion of Belgian colonisation in Africa. Although rarely publishing first hand information, the paper, nevertheless, constitutes a documentary source of great importance. Two periods can be distinguished in the history of the 'Mouvement Géographique'. Up to 1890, the paper is wholeheartedly behind the actions and plans of the Congo Free State and the colonial policy of Léopold II. From 1890, when the paper became the property of the 'Compagnies du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie', it distances itself from the Congo Free State. Thus, in analysing the editorial contents of the paper and the personality of its founder, A.J. Wauters, it becomes clear that this paper represents an essential document on the first thirty years of Belgium involvement in the Congo. Furthermore, its level of specialisation and regularity of publication means that there is no real equivalent in any other colonising country.

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ref: Henri Nicolai, « Le mouvement géographique, un journal et un géographe au service de la colonisation du Congo », Civilisations [En ligne], 41 | 1993, mis en ligne le 29 juillet 2009, consulté le 26 avril 2016.
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