The Batetela Rebellions were a series of uprisings by the Batetela people that occurred between 1895 and 1908 in the Belgian

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 Congo Free State

Congo Free State

The Congo Free State was a large area in Central Africa which was privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Its origins lay in Leopold's attracting scientific, and humanitarian backing for a non-governmental organization, the Association internationale africaine...

. The rebellions began as a response to 1893 execution of Batetela leader Gongo Lutete

Gongo Lutete

Gongo Lutete was a Congolese leader and chieftain during the late 19th century.As a boy he was enslaved by Arabs, but after winning his freedom he became a respected leader of the Batetela and Bakussu tribes in the Congo. In 1886, he joined forces with the Arab slave trader Tippu Tip near Stanley...

 during the 1892-1894 war in the Eastern Congo, but soon spread to other tribal groups and was a manifestation of widespread African discontent with the Belgian colonial authorities. The first outbreak, in 1895, was put down by Francis Dhanis

Francis, Baron Dhanis

Francis, Baron Dhanis was a Belgian civil servant born in London in 1861, the son of a Belgian merchant and of an Irish woman named Maher. He spent the first fourteen years of his life at Greenock, where he received his early education...

, and was followed by another from 1897–1899, which was more difficult to put down. Scattered pockets of resistance persisted and were not put down until 1908.