The Royal Museum for Central Africa or RMCA ( nl, Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika or KMMA; french: Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale or MRAC; german: Königliches Museum für Zentralafrika or KMZA), also officially known as the AfricaMuseum, is an
ethnography
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...
and
natural history museum situated in
Tervuren
Tervuren () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636. The total a ...
in
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hain ...
, Belgium, just outside
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. It was built to showcase
King Leopold II's Congo Free State
''(Work and Progress)
, national_anthem = Vers l'avenir
, capital = Vivi Boma
, currency = Congo Free State franc
, religion = Catholicism (''de facto'')
, leader1 = Leop ...
in the
International Exposition of 1897.
The museum focuses on the
Congo, a former
Belgian colony. The sphere of interest, however, especially in biological research, extends to the whole
Congo River basin,
Middle Africa,
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historica ...
, and
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...
, attempting to integrate "
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
" as a whole. Intended originally as a colonial museum, from 1960 onwards it has focused more on ethnography and
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
. Like most museums, it houses a research department in addition to its public exhibit department. Not all research pertains to Africa (e.g. research on the
archaeozoology of
Sagalassos, Turkey). Some researchers have strong ties with the
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
The Museum of Natural Sciences of Belgium (french: Muséum des sciences naturelles de Belgique, nl, Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen van België) is a museum dedicated to natural history, located in Brussels, Belgium. The museum is a part of t ...
.
In November 2013, the museum closed for extensive renovation work, including the construction of new exhibition space, and re-opened in December 2018.
History
International Exposition (1897)
After the
Congo Free State
''(Work and Progress)
, national_anthem = Vers l'avenir
, capital = Vivi Boma
, currency = Congo Free State franc
, religion = Catholicism (''de facto'')
, leader1 = Leop ...
was recognised by the
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergenc ...
of 1884–85,
King Leopold II wanted to publicise the
civilising mission
The civilizing mission ( es, misión civilizadora; pt, Missão civilizadora; french: Mission civilisatrice) is a political rationale for military intervention and for colonization purporting to facilitate the Westernization of indigenous pe ...
and the economic opportunities available in his private colony to a wider public, both in Belgium and internationally. After considering other places, the king decided to have a temporary
[ exhibition in his royal estate in ]Tervuren
Tervuren () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636. The total a ...
, just east of Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, in today's province of Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hain ...
.
When the 1897 International Exposition was held in Brussels, a colonial section was built in Tervuren, connected to the city centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
by the monumental Avenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan. The Brussels–Tervuren tram line 44 was built at the same time as the original museum by Leopold II to bring the visitors from the city centre to the colonial exhibition. The colonial section was hosted in the . The building was designed by the French architect Alfred-Philibert Aldrophe and the classical gardens by the French landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...
Elie Lainé. In the main hall, known as the Hall of the Great Cultures (french: Salon des Grandes Cultures, link=no), the architect and decorator designed a distinctive wooden Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
structure to evoke a Congolese forest, using Bilinga wood, an African tree. The exhibition displayed ethnographic
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...
objects, stuffed animals
A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be cal ...
and Congolese export products (e.g. coffee, cacao and tobacco). In the park, a temporary "human zoo
Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were public displays of people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays sometimes emphasized the sup ...
"—a copy of an African village—was built, in which 60 Congolese people lived for the duration of the exhibition. Seven of them, however, did not survive their forced stay in Belgium.
File:Affiche exposition coloniale Tervuren.jpg, Poster for the colonial section of the 1897 International Exposition
File:Plan de lexposition coloniale 1897 a Tervuren.jpg, Plan of the colonial section of the 1897 World's Fair in Tervuren
File:Tervuren 1897 salon des grandes cultures.jpg, Wooden structure by in the Hall of the Great Cultures during the exhibition
File:Village congolais - Exposition Tervuren 1897 (album Alphonse Gautier).jpg, The 'Congolese Village' human zoo
Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were public displays of people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays sometimes emphasized the sup ...
during the exhibition
Development of the museum
This exhibition's success led to the permanent establishment, in 1898, of the Museum of the Congo (french: Musée du Congo, link=no, nl, Museum van Kongo, link=no), and a permanent exhibition was installed in the Palace of the Colonies. A decade later, in 1912, a small, similar museum—the —was opened in Namur
Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration.
Na ...
. The museum began to support academic research, but due to the avid collecting of the scientists, the collection soon grew too large for the museum and enlargement was needed. Tervuren, which had become a rich suburb of Brussels, was chosen as the location of the enlarged museum. The new museum started construction in 1904 and was designed by the French architect Charles Girault
Charles-Louis Girault (27 December 1851 – 26 December 1932) was a French architect.
Biography
Born in Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, he studied with Honoré Daumet at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He received the first Pr ...
in neoclassical "palace" architecture, reminiscent of the Petit Palais
The Petit Palais (; en, Small Palace) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France.
Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...
in Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, with large gardens extending into the Tervuren Forest (a part of the Sonian Forest). It was officially opened in 1910, a year after the death of Leopold II, by his successor, King Albert I, and named the Museum of the Belgian Congo (french: Musée du Congo Belge, link=no, nl, Museum van Belgisch-Kongo, link=no).
The following years saw the consolidation and enlargement of the museum's collections. In 1934, the museum's herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (calle ...
was transferred to the National Botanic Garden of Belgium (today's Meise Botanic Garden
The Meise Botanic Garden ( nl, Plantentuin Meise, french: Jardin botanique de Meise), until 2014 called the National Botanic Garden of Belgium ( nl, Nationale Plantentuin van België, french: Jardin Botanique National de Belgique), is a botani ...
in Meise
Meise () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Meise proper and Wolvertem (a '' deelgemeente''), and, several smaller villages like Sint-Brixius-Rode, Oppem, Meusegem, Impde/ ...
, Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hain ...
). In 1952, the adjective "Royal" was added to the museum's name. In preparation for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair ( Expo '58), in 1957, a large building was constructed to accommodate the African personnel working in the exhibition: the (CAPA). In 1960, following the independence of the Congo, the museum's name was changed to its current name: the Royal Museum for Central Africa ( nl, Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika, link=no or KMMA, french: Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale, link=no or MRAC, german: Königliches Museum für Zentralafrika, link=no or KMZA).
File:Musée du Congo, Tervuren, Belgium; one of five interior scen Wellcome V0014542.jpg, The interior of the original exhibit in the
File:Algemeens Wereldtentoonstelling van Brussel 1910 - Koloniale Afdeeling Park van Tervueren (imp. E. & H. Mertens).jpg, Poster for the colonial section of the Brussels International Exposition of 1910
File:Homme-léopard (Tervueren).jpg, The museum's '' Leopard Man'' statue, from ''Le Monde colonial illustré'' (1934)
File:Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale-Portail (1).jpg, Portal of the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Dutch name shown)
Renovation (2013–2018)
By the turn of the millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
, the museum was in need of a thorough renovation. The more than 100-year-old central building was no longer adapted to the needs of a current museum operation. Besides, the permanent exhibition was outdated and its presentation not very critical of the colonial history. A new scenography was thus urgently required.
A global master plan was drawn up in 2007 for the entire site. The Belgian Buildings Agency entrusted the plan to the Temporary Association Stéphane Beel Architects (TV SBA). In late 2013, the museum was closed to allow a major renovation of its exhibits and an extension. The Belgian Government
The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...
spent €66 million on the museum's modernisation. The exhibition area was increased from to , while presenting fewer pieces; 700 against 1,400 previously (out of a total of 180,000 objects preserved). The additional space allowed contemporary art from Central Africa to be displayed alongside the original colonial exhibits. Renamed AfricaMuseum, the museum was reopened on 9 December 2018.
Buildings
The current AfricaMuseum complex consists of six buildings. The centrally located main building houses the permanent exhibitions. It was built under Leopold II by the French architect Charles Girault
Charles-Louis Girault (27 December 1851 – 26 December 1932) was a French architect.
Biography
Born in Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, he studied with Honoré Daumet at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He received the first Pr ...
. The building is long and wide. The facade is decorated in the style of the neoclassical French grand palaces. On the right (south-west) side of this imposing building is the Executive Pavilion, and on the left (north-east), the Stanley Pavilion, which houses the entire Stanley Archive. The former (now the Palace of Africa) has been transformed into a reception centre, media library and banquet hall. The (CAPA) building, erected in 1957 for the African staff, houses several scientific departments.
Following the museum's complete renovation, a part of the previously scattered archives are now presented in new on-site exhibition spaces. A reception pavilion, newly built in 2016, between the management building and the Palace of Africa, functions as the entrance building. In this building are the ticket offices, cloakrooms, a shop, a restaurant, as well as a picnic area for children. An underground gallery leads from the reception building into the existing museum building. This space is also used for temporary exhibitions. In the museum's enclosed courtyard, a sunken garden with a light shaft was added, bringing light to this underground level.
File:Palais des Colonies (Tervuren) 03.JPG, Palace of the Colonies, Aldophe (1897)
File:Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika in Tervuren 01.jpg, Main museum building, Girault (1905–1910)
File:Pavillon de Stanley-Tervuren (3).jpg, Stanley Pavilion
File:Tervuren, Centre d'Accueil du Personnel Africain.jpg, (CAPA) building (1957)
File:Entrance building Royal Central African Museum.jpg, New entrance pavilion (2018)
Collections
The AfricaMuseum houses collections that are unique in the world, of which only a small proportion can be exhibited. According to the museum's website, the objects and animals on display in the main building make up less than 5% of the total museum's collection:
* The Department of Zoology has over 10,000,000 specimens, including 6,000,000 insects and 1,000,000 fish.
* The Department of Geology and Mineralogy holds more than 56,000 wood samples in its xylotheque
A xylotheque or xylothek (from the Greek for "wood" and meaning "repository") is special form of herbarium that consists of a collection of authenticated wood specimens. It is also known as a xylarium (from the Greek for "wood" and Latin mean ...
, as well as 200,000 rock samples and 17,000 minerals.
* The Department of Cultural Anthropology can boast of 120,000 ethnographic
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...
objects (1,600 of which are in the exhibition rooms). The ethnomusicology collection comprises 8,000 musical instruments, as well as 2,500 hours of recordings of traditional music from sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
, in particular in Central Africa (Congo, Rwanda and Burundi), of which the oldest dates back to 1910 (wax Edison scrolls). Additionally, more than 500,000 films and photos are kept in the film and photo libraries.
* Finally, the Department of History and General Scientific Services manages thousands of historical objects and 350 archives, including some of Henry Morton Stanley
Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa and his sear ...
's journals. Some of the collections are digitally accessible.
The herbarium
A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study.
The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (calle ...
collection of the then-Congo Museum was transferred to that of the National Botanic Garden of Belgium
The Meise Botanic Garden ( nl, Plantentuin Meise, french: Jardin botanique de Meise), until 2014 called the National Botanic Garden of Belgium ( nl, Nationale Plantentuin van België, french: Jardin Botanique National de Belgique), is a botan ...
in 1934.
File:Royal Museum for Central Africa Interior 1.jpg, The interior of the museum, photographed in 2011, shortly before the museum's major renovation
File:Display of unidentified objects - Royal Museum for Central Africa - DSC06903.JPG, Ethnographic objects on display in the museum before its restoration
File:Diorama with zebras - Royal Museum for Central Africa - DSC06752.JPG, Diorama of stuffed animals from the museum before its restoration
File:Everything passes, except the past (DSCF3558).jpg, Long dugout canoe
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the ter ...
in the entrance of the renovated museum
Archives
The museum stores archives documenting its own institutional history, as well as archives of private businesses, organisations, and individuals. As of 2018, online finding aids
A finding aid, in the context of archival science, is an organization tool, a document containing detailed, indexed, and processed metadata and other information about a specific collection of records within an archive. Finding aids often consist o ...
exist for archives of Lieutenant-General , musicologist Paul Collaer, geologist , Commandant Francis Dhanis
Francis Ernest Joseph Marie Dhanis (11 March 1861 – 13 November 1909) was a Belgian colonial civil servant and soldier noted for his service for the Congo Free State during the Congo Arab War and Batetela Rebellion.
Early life and car ...
, Governor-General of the Belgian Congo Félix Fuchs
Félix Alexandre Fuchs (1858–1928) was a Belgian colonial civil servant and lawyer who served as Governor-General of the Belgian Congo between 1912 and 1915.
A lawyer by profession, Fuchs joined the administration of the Congo Free State in ...
, Lieutenant-General Cyriaque Gillain
Cyriaque Cyprien Victor Gillain (11 August 1857 – 17 August 1931) was a Belgian officer who served in World War I and was chief of the Belgian general staff between April 1918 and February 1920.
Youth and education
Gillain was born in Bi ...
, General-Major , explorer , American explorer Richard Mohun, Colonel Emmanuel Muller, German explorer Paul Reichard Paul Reichard (2 December 1854 – 16 September 1938) was a German explorer who traveled extensively in Africa.
His discoveries led to the establishment of the German East Africa Protectorate.
Early years
Paul Reichard was born on 2 December 1854 ...
, Captain Albert Sillye, British explorer Henry Morton Stanley
Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa and his sear ...
, soldier and explorer Émile Storms, Vice-Governor General of the Congo Free State Alphonse van Gèle
Alphonse van Gèle, also written van Gele or Vangele (25 April 1848 – 23 February 1939), was a Belgian soldier who served as the Vice-Governor General of the Congo Free State from December 1897 until January 1899.
He established the Equator S ...
, historian Jan Vansina
Jan Vansina (14 September 1929 – 8 February 2017) was a Belgian historian and anthropologist regarded as an authority on the history of Central Africa, especially of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. He was ...
, territorial administrator Auguste Verbeken, historian Benoît Verhaegen
Benoît Verhaegen (1929–2009) was a Belgium, Belgian academic and African studies, Africanist who specialised in the political sociology and post-colonial history of the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ver ...
, Commandant Gustave Vervloet, as well as the railway enterprises Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga
The ''Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga'' (BCK) was a railway operator in the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and later in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zaire. Most of the lines were in the southern Katanga Province, wi ...
(BCK) and .
Research
The publicly accessible exhibitions only represent about 25 percent of the museum's activities. The scientific departments, which represent the bulk of the museum's academic and research facilities, together with the main collections, are housed in the former , the Stanley Pavilion and in the CAPA building.
There are 4 departments:
*Department of Cultural Anthropology
**Ethnography
**Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsc ...
and Prehistory
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The us ...
**Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...
and Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...
**Anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...
and Ethnohistory
Ethnohistory is the study of cultures and indigenous peoples customs by examining historical records as well as other sources of information on their lives and history. It is also the study of the history of various ethnic groups that may or may n ...
*Department of Geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...
and Mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...
**General Geology
**Mineralogy and Petrography
Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The class ...
**Cartography
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...
and Photo interpretation
Aerial photographic and satellite image interpretation, or just image interpretation when in context, is the act of examining photographic images, particularly airborne and spaceborne, for the purpose of identifying objects and judging their s ...
**Physical
Physical may refer to:
* Physical examination, a regular overall check-up with a doctor
* ''Physical'' (Olivia Newton-John album), 1981
** "Physical" (Olivia Newton-John song)
* ''Physical'' (Gabe Gurnsey album)
* "Physical" (Alcazar song) (2004)
* ...
and Mineral chemistry
*Department of Zoology
**Vertebrates
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with ...
(Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and t ...
, Ichthyology
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish ( Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish ( Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Oct ...
, Herpetology
Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians ( gymnophiona)) and ...
, Osteology
Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, func ...
and Mammalogy In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous system
In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part ...
)
**Entomology
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...
**Invertebrates
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...
non-insects (Arachnology
Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of ...
, Myriapodology
Myriapodology is the scientific study of myriapods which includes centipedes and millipedes. The field of myriapodology can also cover other myriapods such as pauropods and symphylans. Those who study myriapods are myriapodologists.
Societies
* ...
, Acarology)
*Department of History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
and General Scientific Services
**History of the Colonial Period
**Contemporary History
**Agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
and Forest economics (Geomorphology
Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or ...
, Laboratory of Wood Biology)
The museum also maintains a library of some 130,000 titles. In the context of discussions about the restitution of cultural objects in museum collections of colonial origin, the AfricaMuseum started to publicly present information about the provenance
Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...
of such objects in its permanent exhibition in 2021.
Controversy
There has been controversy surrounding the Royal Museum for Central Africa. It had previously been called a museum that "has remained frozen in time".[ No mention was made of the pillage of resources and ]atrocities in the Congo Free State
In the period from 1885 to 1908, many well-documented atrocities were perpetrated in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which, at the time, was a state under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of the Belgians ...
, nor during Belgium's larger colonial era.[ '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' reported in July 2002 that, after initial outrage by Belgian historians over the popular history book '' King Leopold's Ghost'' by Adam Hochschild
Adam Hochschild (; born October 5, 1942) is an American author, journalist, historian and lecturer. His best-known works include '' King Leopold's Ghost'' (1998), '' To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914–1918'' (2011), ''Bu ...
that gives his view of the Congo Free State in what some critics called a "tendentious diatribe", the state-funded museum would finance an investigation into Hochschild's allegations.
The resulting, more modern exhibition ''The Memory of Congo'' (February–October 2005) tried to tell the story of the Congo Free State before it became a Belgian colony and a less one-sided view of the Belgian colonial era. The exhibition was praised by the international press, with French newspaper ''Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' claiming that "the museum has done better than revisit a particularly stormy page in history... thas pushed the public to join it in looking into the reality of colonialism." Hochschild himself had a mixed critique of the renovated museum.
Gallery
See also
* Atrocities in the Congo Free State
In the period from 1885 to 1908, many well-documented atrocities were perpetrated in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which, at the time, was a state under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of the Belgians ...
* Belgian Federal Science Policy Office
The Federal Public Planning Service Science Policy ( nl, Programmatorische Federale Overheidsdienst Wetenschapsbeleid; french: Service public fédéral de programmation Politique scientifique; german: Föderaler Öffentlicher Programmierungsdienst ...
(BELSPO)
* Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference 1889–90
* Brussels Conference Act of 1890
The Brussels Conference Act of 1890 (full title: Convention Relative to the Slave Trade and Importation into Africa of Firearms, Ammunition, and Spiritous Liquors) was a collection of anti-slavery measures signed in Brussels on 2 July 1890 (and w ...
* Archives Africaines of the Belgian SPF Affaires étrangères, Commerce extérieur et Coopération au Développement
* Belgium in "the long nineteenth century"
In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the "long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Austrian rule and periods of French and Dutch occupation of the region, leading to the creation of the ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
Issued by the museum
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About the museum
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External links
Official museum site
Collection etnomusicology
{{Authority control
Palaces in Belgium
Museums in Flemish Brabant
Natural history museums
African art museums
Museums established in 1898
1898 establishments in Belgium
Ethnographic museums in Europe
Art museums and galleries in Belgium
Forestry museums
Forestry in Belgium
Central Africa
Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage
Tervuren
Leopold II of Belgium
Belgian colonisation in Africa
Congo Free State
Archives in Belgium
World's fair architecture in Belgium