Remembering Congo’s Tropical Cowboys

When picturing images of cowboys, viewers might be tempted to automatically imagine white men saddled up on horses, the likes of Buffalo Bill or John Wayne. However, in Africa (and contrary to popular culture), cowboys have another, more coloured history. Beyoncé’s album serves as a reminder of the much-overlooked presence of Black people in cowboy-centered media.

Recent studies have confirmed that some cows imported into the Americas in the 17th century have DNA traces from Africa. Additionally, enslaved Africans were presumed to be more knowledgeable in the field so were brought in to rear these cows, playing a significant role in the history of cowboys in the US. Cows originally didn’t exist in the Americas prior to Christopher Columbus’ travels in the 1400s. The explorer brought the animals back with him from the Caribbean. Popular accounts say they were bred locally before they were imported to other regions. In a 2023 paper, researchers from the Florida Museum of Natural History conducted DNA tests on cattle remains from the 16th to 18th centuries. The results showed that, consistent with the traditional picture, seven of the earliest cattle samples, coming from Puerto Real in Haiti and dating to around 1500 to 1550, had similar maternal DNA, which tied their origins broadly to Europe. But one specimen from Bellas Artes in Mexico revealed a lineage that likely originated directly from Africa in the first half of the 17th century.

Black America has a rich cowboy history. The Empancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the end of the American Civil War in 1865, marked the end of institutionalized slavery in Southern States. In search of a source of income, formerly enslaved Black people moved West and began tending to ranches. Nat Love, who was a Tennessee native, wrote his autobiography, The Life and Adventures of Nat Love, which detailed his life as an African American cowboy. Another cowboy, Bass Reeves, who had escaped his plantation in Arkansas, fled to Oklahoma which was then Native American land. When slavery was abolished with the 13th Amendment, Reeves returned to Arkansas where he got married and had eleven children. It was only ten years after the abolishment that he returned to Native American territory. There, he was appointed as the first Black marshal of the lawless West and is speculated to have inspired the main character in The Lone Ranger (a 2013 film about a Texas ranger who captures outlaws in the Old Wild West) with his impact in the community and his incredible shooting skills.

Cowboys became entertainment figures in American culture with Western movie productions gaining prominence in the mid-20th century. These films depicted their daring exploits, confrontations, and exciting lives in the West. Unfortunately, due to racism in the US, the role of Black cowboys was greatly overlooked. Instead, there was focus on white cowboys and characters on screen.

Even outside the US, cowboy culture was alive. In Africa, cowboys have a robust history dating as far back as the 1950s. More than being simple animal herders, these cowboys were abolitionists who played their part in dismantling Europe’s imperialism on the continent.

In 1940s Kinshasa, Congo, decades after Reeve’s achievements, colonialization and segregation were still rife. The country was under Belgian rule and a revolution was brewing amidst the racial divide and inequality. King Leopard II, who headed the Belgian government at the time, had acquired the Congo as his personal possession under the pretext of ‘civilizing’ the Congolese people. Under his rule, the Congolese people were treated harshly as many of them were brutalized, maimed, and forced to mine for valuable resources to enrich Leopard II. The Congolese fought back in protest to the brutality and their internal rebellions and external pressures from the international community forced Leopard II to turn the Congo over to the Belgian government under the name of the Belgian Congo.