Lubumbashi

Lubumbashi is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and serves as the capital of the Haut-Katanga Province. Located in the southeasternmost part of the country near the border with Zambia, the urban area supports an estimated population of around 2,584,000 residents as of 2021.

Originally established by the Belgian government in 1910 under the name Élisabethville, the site was chosen by Vice-Governor-General Emile Wangermée due to its close proximity to the Etoile du Congo copper mine and a nearby copper ore smelting oven operated by Union Minière du Haut Katanga. Throughout the colonial era, the semi-private concessionary company Comité Spécial du Katanga maintained its headquarters in the city, driving regional prosperity alongside massive transport investments that transformed the Katanga province into a major global copper producer.

A historical turning point for the city arrived in 1957 when Élisabethville was established as a fully autonomous city, allowing Congolese residents to vote in free municipal elections for the first time. During these elections, voters overwhelmingly supported the nationalist Alliance des Bakongo, which demanded immediate independence from Belgium.

Decades earlier, deep social divides characterized the urban layout. The European city center was strictly reserved for a minority white population consisting mainly of Belgians, alongside British, Italian, and Jewish Greek communities. Congolese citizens were generally restricted to daytime access unless employed as house servants living in backyard quarters. The black population initially resided south of the center in the cité indigène known as Quartier Albert, which is present-day Kamalondo, separated from the European zone by a 700-meter-wide neutral zone. Continued growth eventually established new indigenous quarters that persist today as the major suburbs of Kenia, Katuba, and Ruashi.

Labor tensions marked the colonial period, notably in December 1941 when miners launched a strike against severe forced-labor regimes imposed for war efforts. A subsequent protest at the Union Minière football stadium turned violent when police opened fire, killing numerous participants. Despite rigid colonial structures, the expanding mining economy fostered a significant workforce. By 1954, the city counted 8,000 black homeowners alongside thousands of skilled workers, contributing to living standards that were estimated to be among the highest for black Africans on the continent at that time. Educational and health infrastructure expanded with institutions established by the Benedictine and Salesian orders, alongside the founding of the University of Élisabethville between 1954 and 1955, which is now known as the University of Lubumbashi.