Jean Schramme
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Major Jean Schramme |
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Jean Schramme, Congo mercenary.
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| Birth name | Jean Schramme |
| Nickname(s) | "Black Jack" |
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March 25, 1929 Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium |
| Died | December 14, 1988 (aged 59) Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso, Brazil |
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| Other work | Technical Adviser, Exército de Libertação de Portugal |
Jean Schramme (March 25, 1929, Bruges, Belgium – December 14, 1988, Rondonópolis, Brazil) was a Belgian mercenary and planter. He managed a vast estate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo until 1967.
When the Belgian Congo gained its independence in 1960, the country quickly descended into civil war. Several hundred white people were held hostage, and Belgium sent troops to Congo to free them and to protect its interests. Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the Congo was murdered. The rich province of Katanga, soon followed by the eastern part of Kasai were trying to gain independence. As they were rich in copper, cobalt and diamonds, they believed that they would be better off without the rest of Congo. A violent clash between pro-secession and pro-unity movements soon broke out.
In 1965, Colonel Mobutu became president and from then on Belgium started protecting his regime against rebellion. Mobutu immediately began to arrest the former government ministers of Congo. In 1971, he changed the name of the country to "Zaire".
On June 30, 1967, president Moise Tshombe of Katanga's Jet aircraft was hijacked to Algiers, before he could return to Congo after his exile in Spain. He was imprisoned in Algeria and two years later he died in suspicious circumstances. For Schramme, this was a sign that he was fighting the wrong enemy and on July 3, 1967 he began to lead an uprising in Katanga against Mobutu.
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Wikipedia