Saturday, 2 May 1885
On 2 May 1885, the Congo Free State was established by King Leopold II of Belgium. Congo was a large region in central Africa that had been able to resist European penetration. It occupies most of the Congo River basin and was controlled by the Belgian King. The region’s workers were ordered to use a small percentage of land that was not farmed as state property and the population could only sell its developed products. The Congolese were forced to meet quotas of rubber and ivory; when they failed to do so they were tortured and killed by the Belgium guards. Estimates of the number of people that were killed during the rule of Leopold range from 5 million to 22 million.
In 1908, the Belgian parliament eventually annexed the Congo, as a colony of Belgium to be run by state rather than the King. In 1960 the region gained its independence. It was renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Friday, 2 May 1952
The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946, and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 (later merged with British European Airways Corporation to form British Airways).
In 1952, BOAC became the first airline to introduce a passenger jet, the de Havilland Comet. On 2 May 1952 the first regular jet flight, with a Havilland Comet, left London with 36 passengers on board. It arrived in Johannesburg 18 hours later. The London-Johannesburg route therefore became the first regular service flown by a jet airliner.
Friday, 2 May 1980
Pope John Paul II began his first tour of Africa, including visits to Zaire (presently known as the Democratic Republic of Congo), Congo, Kenya, Ghana, Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso ) and the Ivory Coast. He started his tour in Zaire, where Roman Catholicism had recently been suppressed. During his visit he again established himself as a strong defender of human rights, workers rights and religious freedom. He called for the creation of a new world economic order and a guarantee of workers rights.
The Pope believed in speaking on behalf of those who did not have a voice, in this case the Africans.
Monday, 2 May 1988
Olivia Forsyth escaped from her guards and took refuge in the British embassy in Luanda. She was a self-confessed SA spy of the security police in the African National Congress who was held prisoner at the ANC Quatro prison camp in Angola for seven months and spent another fifteen months under ANC guard in Luanda.
Wednesday, 2 May 1990
The Groote Schuur talks between the South African government and the African National Congress (ANC) were held on 2, 3 and 4 May 1990. These talks took place at the most delicate stage of negotiations. Violence in the townships was still widespread, and growing more brutal. In what became known as the Groote Schuur Minute the parties agreed on conditions to be met for ending political conflict in South Africa. The conditions included the release of political prisoners, the return of political exiles, and the gradual lifting of the nationwide State of Emergency. The Groote Schuur talks were followed by the Convention for a Democratic South Africa(CODESA) in 1991 and 1992.
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