Literature Circle 3

Historian

This part of The Poisonwood Bible takes place durring 1960 and 1961. On June 30, 1960 Patrice Lumumba was elected Prime Minister of the independent Belgian Congo. Lumumba was Prime Minister and Joseph Kavabusu was President. After Lumumba became Prime Minister and Kasavubu presidentriots started to occur, a military coup broke out. Africa's richest (in natural resousces) province Katanga which was under the control of Moise Tshombe withdrew from "the repuplic". They did this because they wanted to be independent so they could decide what they wanted to do with their resources. 20,000 UN peace keepers were sent to Katanga to protect the European citizens in the province. Around this time the Kasai province also anounced that they wanted to become independent.

Lumumba asked for help from the USSR, but this didnt work out. In December 1960, Kasavubu and Mobutu overthew the repuplic and took away all of Lumumba's power and the army arrested him. At the end of 1960 the Congo became divided into four quasi-independent parts. On January 17, 1961 Lumumba was murdered while trying to escape from prizon. Lots of people thought the US played a part in his assianation.

The USSR tried to blame Hammarskjöld for Lumumba's assianation, and they wanted him to resign but he refused. On February 21, 1961 the Security Council used resolution 161. This resolution allowed the Council to take action if a civil war broke out. There was lots of tension, and many outbreaks between the africans and the missionaries. One example of this happening in the book was the Prices and the Congolese people were arguing over the food they caught, and they were also mad that Leah was trying to kill animals with the men.