At independence on June 30, 1960, the formal economy of the Congo was based almost entirely on the extraction of minerals from Katanga Province. Most of this extraction was controlled by UMHK, which had no interest in parting with its highly profitable mining operations. UMHK and the Belgian military backed a Katangan politician, Moise Tshombe, in declaring Katanga’s secession from the Republic of Congo eleven days after the nation’s independence.
