Research project IM/MB/23/METIS1 (Research action IM)
Pursuant to the Chamber of Representatives unanimously adopted resolution "on the segregation of the métis during the Belgian colonisation of Africa", and in accordance with the Government agreement of 30 September 2020, the State Archives of Belgium, supported by the Departments of Science Policy, Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, have been entrusted with a major societal mission divided into two phases, each responding to a wish set out by the resolution in its articles 6 and 7, which request:
- that a detailed historical investigation be carried out into the role of civil and religious authorities in the treatment of the métis during the colonial period in the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi (art. 6).
- that all personal files of the métis be inventoried and that correlations be made between
Phase 1, which is the subject of this research contract, corresponds to article 7 of the resolution and is structured around 2 central tasks:
I. Locate, identify, and list information documenting the individual and collective trajectories of métis individuals born in the context of the Belgian colonization, and establish links between this information with a view to reconstituting family links.
II. Respond to individual origins research requests sent by métis or their relatives and descendants.
Phase 1 began on the 1st September 2019. It has been supported by the FPS Foreign Affairs with a budget of 400,000€. This phase was planned for a period of four years, i.e. until August 31, 2023. The workload of phase 1 proved much more extensive than initially planned. In addition, the COVID-19 crisis and its restrictive measures to access first-hand sources held in the archives have also caused a certain delay in the work of the researchers.
Through this contract, the Belgian Science Policy is contributing to the co-financing (50%) of an extension to phase 1 of the mission, until 31 January 2026.
