Inventory of the Conseil national de libération (Congo) Commandement des forces armées populaires. Etat major général records

Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Konzak
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2008
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu


Title: Conseil national de libération (Congo) Commandement des forces armées populaires. Etat major général records, 1959-1988
Date (inclusive): 1959-1988
Collection Number: 76079
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material: In French and Likeleve
Physical Description: 20 manuscript boxes, 1 reel of magnetic tape (6.1 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Includes materials such as government records, correspondence, reports, orders, battle plans, and lists; all relating to military and political aspects of a rebellion in the Kwilu region of the Congo in 1964. Materials were collected and organized by Herbert F. Weiss, a scholar and professor of the City University of New York. Also includes indexes and summaries created by Weiss. A portion of the collection is also available on microfilm (21 reels). Sound use copy of sound recording available.
Creator: Weiss, Herbert F.
Creator: Conseil national de libération (Congo). Commandement des forces armées populaires. Etat major général
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Access

Microfilm use only. Materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Use

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Acquisition Information

Materials were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1976.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Etat major général records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Alternative Forms of Material Available

A portion of the collection is available on microfilm (21 reels)

Biography / Administrative History

The Kwilu Rebellion
The recently independent Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo) experienced a wave of unrest in 1964, sparked by a rebellion in its Kwilu province under the leadership of Pierre Mulele. In the Kwilu province, a solid group of Mulele followers formed among members of his own ethnic group, the Mbunda, as well as among Antoine Gizenga's kinsmen, the Pende, both of whom had long been the target of government repression.
The Kwilu rebellion began in January 1964, when Mulelist insurgents attacked government outposts, mission stations, and company installations. Troops were immediately sent to the area, and by April a measure of stability had been restored to the area. However, the rebels did establish control over an entire region for a period of nearly two years, ending in December 1965. The initial success of Mulelism encouraged a series of further uprisings, which brought the central government to the brink of collapse.
Although the Kwilu rebellion was ultimately reduced by a combination of military force and regional economic stagnation and thus failed in its objective, it has attracted considerable scholarly attention because it illustrates the origination and evolution process of social movements in the postwar third world.
Additional Sources:
Hermann Kinder and Werner Hilgemann, The Anchor Atlas of World History, 2, Garden City, New York, 1978, p. 268.
Mark Traugott, "The Economic Origins of the Kwilu Rebellion," Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 21, No. 3. (Jul., 1979), pp. 459-479.
Renee C. Fox, Willy de Craemer, and Jean-Marie Ribeaucourt "The Second Independence: A Case Study of the Kwilu Rebellion in the Congo (in Millennial Overtones in Rebellion)," Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 8, No. 1. (Oct., 1965), pp. 78-109.

Scope and Content of Collection

Includes materials such as government records, correspondence, reports, orders, battle plans, and lists; all relating to military and political aspects of a rebellion in the Kwilu region of the Congo in 1964. Materials were collected and organized by Herbert F. Weiss, a scholar and professor of the City University of New York.
The Kwilu Rebellion documents were collected by Weiss after the materials were abandoned by a section of the Conseil national de libération (CNL) general headquarters unit near Gungu towards the end of 1964 or early 1965. A majority of the documents are dated in the spring and summer of 1964, the period of the highest amount of rebel activity. Documents created by the rebellion were individually numbered when filed and originally kept bound into rolls with bits of flexible root. Some papers were held together with handmade wood needles. The documents were created in the local language, Likeleve, and French. Included are Weiss' translations into French of these documents.
The records contain additional Kwilu administration documents, generally government documents, correspondence, and reports, arranged chronologically in two groups, general documents and specific subject related documents.
Additional translations into French, summaries, and indexes of the original Kwilu Rebellion documents and some Kwilu Administration documents, created by Weiss are also available. Additional materials included were given to Weiss by Professor Benoit Verhaegen, another noted academic working on aspects of the Kwilu Rebellion.
Bundundu Government documents were collected by Weiss in 1972 with the backing of the State/Party, the MPR, for use in a more general analysis of the Province than the focused Kwilu Documents. The documents from various levels of the administration (colonial and post-colonial) focused on the province (Leopoldville Province until shortly after independence and later variously Kwilu Province and Bandundu Province) where the Kwilu Rebellion occurred.
Sound recordings include interviews with individuals involved in the Kwilu Rebellion, Constant N'dom, Felix Mukulubundu, and W. Mwatha. Constant N'dom, a high-school student when the Kwilu Rebellion broke out, was recruited and assigned to the Direction Générale, the highest administrative organ of the rebellion. After the rebellion, he married and moved to Belgium, later returning. In 2006 elections, he joined the opposition to J. Kabila and was elected member of Parliament from the Kwilu region. The late Felix Mukulubundu came from the Kwilu, where he actively participated in the CNL. He was assigned to head a training camp for Congo partisans located not far from Brazzaville, a project that was rapidly abandoned. Thus, Mukulubundu never actively participated in the rebellion in the Congo.

Arrangement

The collection has generally been kept in the original order of the creator.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Congo (Democratic Republic) -- History
Kwilu region (Congo) -- History

 

Kwilu Rebellion documents, in numbered sequence 1964.

Scope and Contents note

Documents about the Kwilu rebellion, abandoned by a section of the Rebellion's general headquarters unit. Includes translations in French of selected documents. In numbered sequence, although not all numbers are present in the documents
box 1, folder 1

"Les partisans au Kwilu: Analyse des origins sociales des membres et cadres des équipes de base" and "Kwilu Rebellion Documents", by Herbert Weiss undated

box 1, folder 2-11

1-0688, 0790-1000

box 2, folder 1-12

1001-1618, 2000-2645

box 3, folder 1-10

3000-4000

box 4, folder 1-9

4001-4685, 4700-5000

box 5, folder 1-9

5000-5796

box 6, folder 1

Kwilu Rebel équipe Lists circa 1960.

Scope and Contents note

Missing numbers from previous files may be found here. File includes various numbers from 0183-5647.
box 6, folder 2-7

Translations into French, documents 0001-2296

box 7, folder 1-12

Translations into French, documents 2301-5682

 

Kwilu Administration documents 1959-1966.

Scope and Contents note

Generally government documents, correspondence, and reports. Arranged chronologically in two groups, general documents and specific subject related documents. Some materials are numbered and correspond to the card files below
box 7, folder 13

undated, 1959-1966

box 7, folder 14

1960-1963

box 7, folder 15

1964

box 8, folder 1

1965-1966.

Scope and Contents note

Numbered 6001-6085
box 8, folder 2-5

1965-1972.

Scope and Contents note

Numbered G65-G72
box 8, folder 6-10

Photocopied documents, government documents regarding rebellion 1964.

Scope and Contents note

Numbered B97-B256
box 8, folder 11-12

Kwilu Idiofa (territory) administrative reports 1960-1961

box 8, folder 13-14

Rebellion 1960-1964

box 9, folder 1-2

Early rebellion 1963

box 9, folder 3

David J. Yongo 1963-1966.

Scope and Contents note

Numbered Q1-Q33
box 9, folder 4-5

Rebellion 1964-1965

box 9, folder 6-7

Administration and Church 1964-1966

 

Indexes and Card files undated, 1979.

Scope and Contents note

Summary abstracts on cards of both the Kwilu Rebellion Documents and some Kwilu Administration Documents created by Herbert Weiss. Also includes an unused attempt to categorize the content of the documents by computer program reports. Arranged in numerical sequence, although not all numbers are present in the documents
box 9, folder 8-9

Indexes and Computer Reports undated

Scope and Contents note

Weiss' attempt to categorize the content of the documents by computer program reports, and other miscellany, eventually unused.
tape Cabinet

Data tape 1979

 

Card files undated

box 9, folder 10

1-2100

box 9, folder 11

2101-4000

box 9, folder 12

4001-5500

box 9, folder 13

5501-5796

box 9, folder 13

6001-6085

box 9, folder 13

ADM IA 1 - IA 23

box 9, folder 13

ADM B1-B256

box 9, folder 13

ADM Q1-Q32

 

Professor Benoit Verhaegen Kwilu materials circa 1962-1966.

Scope and Contents note

Sources, interviews and miscellany collected from Verhaegen, author of Rébellions au Congo, Vol 1 & 2 (CRISP, Brussels, 1969). Arranged by physical form
box 9, folder 10-11

Kwilu Administration sources circa 1962-1966

box 9, folder 12

Interviews and miscellany

 

Bandundu Province Government Documents 1956-1959.

Scope and Contents note

Documents from various levels of the Administration (colonial and post-colonial) focused on the province (Leopoldville Province until shortly after independence and later variously Kwilu Province and Bandundu Province) where the Kwilu Rebellion occurred.
box 13, folder 1

1956-1959

box 13, folder 2-3

1961-1962

box 13, folder 4-5

1965-1966

box 14, folder 1-2

1965-1966

box 14, folder 3-4

1966

box 14, folder 5-6

1967-1968

box 14, folder 7-8

1969

box 14, folder 9-10

1970

box 14, folder 11-12

1971

box 14, folder 13

1972

 

Sound Recordings 1975 1980-1988

Scope and Contents note

Interviews of Constant N'dom, assigned to the Direction Générale, the highest administrative organ of the rebellion, and Felix Mukulubundu, who actively participated in the CNL and was assigned to head a training camp for Congo partisans. Arranged alphabetically by interviewee, then chronologically with notations from original labels.
 

Interviews of Constant N'dom 1975, 1988

box 15

Weiss N'Dom undated

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000925
box 15

N'Dom 1975 July 5

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000924

Scope and Contents note

Program on side A seems to be recorded over a recording of a lesson on "The Changing Nature of American Politics". Applicable program on this side lasts about twenty minutes. Side B is dictation for letters on culture. In English.
box 15

Comments on "F", Doc Ser. A 1988 July

Physical Description: 2.0 Cassettes

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000927
box 15

N'Dom Weiss Tape 3 1988 July 26

box 15

N'Dom Doc G 1988 October

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000928
box 15

N'Dom "Conflicts" 7/18/89 1989 July 18

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000929
box 15

N'Dom 7/25/89, DG replies continued

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000931
box 15

N'Dom 1989 July 20 1989 July 24

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000930
box 15

N'Dom July 28, 89, DG, N'Dom DG docs. 7/31/89

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000932
box 15

N'Dom/Weiss discussion for September 1989

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000933
 

Interviews of Felix Mukulubundu 1984

box 15

Mukulu. Kw. Reb and ABO Mukulubundu, Mmme Mulele +, Mukulubundu 1984 April 5

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000922
box 15

Mukulubundu 1984 December 17-18

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000921

Scope and Contents note

(4 cassettes, recorded on both sides) Taped interview with Felix Mukulubundu in French.
box 15

Interview W. Mwatha BX 6/30/75, Warren Weinstein Human rights 12/80 1975 June 30, 1980 December.

Conditions Governing Access note

Use copy reference number: 76079_a_0000923

Scope and Contents note

Side A: Interview with Mwatha; Side B: Warren Weinstein, human rights. Weinstein discusses human rights in Africa during the Nixon and Carter administrations. The Mwatha interview is in French, the Weinstein interview is in English.
 

Kwilu Rebellion documents II 1955-1970

box 16, folder 1-7

Kwilu rebellion equipé and village lists 1964

Scope and Contents note

Documents were a part of the Kwilu Rebellion documents, in numbered sequence, separated for research use by Herbert Weiss.
box 16, folder 8

Kwilu Rebellion demography 1961-1969 chart undated

box 16, folder 9

Kwilu Rebellion documents, missionary materials retained by the rebels circa 1955.

Scope and Contents note

The documents are a part of the foot locker of rebel documents acquired by Herbert Weiss that created the Kwilu Rebellion documents series.
box 16, folder 10

Kwilu rebellion documents French translations, numbered over 6000 1964-1966

box 16, folder 11

Non-rebel Kwilu documents 1966

box 16, folder 12-14

Idiofa territory original administrative documents 1955-1970

box 16, folder 15-20

Gungu (Kondu) administrative documents 1960-1970

box 17, folder 1-6

Gungu (Kondu) administrative documents 1960-1970

 

Kwilu Administration documents II 1959-1978.

Scope and Contents note

Mainly Photocopies.
box 17, folder 7

Kwilu pre-independence administrative documents 1959-1960.

Scope and Contents note

Includes original documents
 

Kwilu Province administrative documents

box 17, folder 8

1961-1962

box 17, folder 9-11

1962

box 17, folder 12-16

1963

box 17, folder 17

1964

box 18, folder 1-2

1964

box 18, folder 3-10

1966

box 18, folder 11-12

Kikwit, Kwilu, administrative documents 1963

box 18, folder 13

Kwilu appeal 1965

box 18, folder 14

Kwilu post-rebellion development 1966

 

Bandundu Administration documents II 1964-1978.

Scope and Contents note

Photocopies.
 

Bandundu Province administrative documents

box 18, folder 15-16

1964-1965

box 18, folder 17-19

1965

box 19, folder 1-5

1965

box 19, folder 6

Idiofa Uprising, Bandundu, Kwilu 1978

 

Interview files circa 1972-1984

box 19, folder 7

Interview Questionnaires of former rebels, N'Dom research circa 1972

box 19, folder 8

Ludo interviews 1978

box 19, folder 9

Mukulubundu (early Kwilu rebel leader) undated

box 19, folder 10

Mukulubundu interview transcript 1984

 

Research materials 1933-1988

box 20, folder 1

Les Bayansi du Bas Kwilu, by R. de Beaucorps 1933

box 20, folder 2

Principes fondamentaux d'une révolution, handwritten document undated

box 20, folder 3

Kwilu periodicals 1966

box 20, folder 4-5

Failed attempts to quantify information in Kwilu Rebellion documents with computers at MIT circa 1968-1970

box 20, folder 6

Kwilu Rebellion published participant and expert commentaries circa 1988

box 10

Material not yet described

box 11

Material not yet described

box 12

Material not yet described