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Archduke Simeon of Austria

Born Katana, 29 Jun 1958

5 facts1 source

Living person. The family sees only the name, dates and photo; everything else stays private unless they choose to share it.

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 29 Jun 1958

    Born in Katana

Family

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Parents

Partner

During his lifetime

He has lived through 8 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Katana.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1950s · Archduke is born in Katana

In the news1959

Anti-colonial riots in 1959

Anti-colonial riots demanding independence from Belgium erupted in the city of Kinshasa, then known as Léopoldville.

Getting around

River Steamer Journeys to Leopoldville

Traveling by a stern-wheeler steamer like the Reine Astrid from Stanleyville to Leopoldville took eight mornings to complete.

In Africa1957

Ghana leads the way to independence

Ghana became the first colony south of the Sahara to win its independence.

Daily life

Training for Ideal Households

Girls were taught in schools to become respectable housewives and manage European-style households, while boys in professional schools were instructed on how to build durable, modern brick homes. These programs were part of a colonial social engineering project aiming to shape the nuclear family.

What people wore

Women's elegance clubs and pagne fashion

Women's elegance clubs promoted new fashion trends, such as wearing wax-print pagnes and Sputnik-style hairdos, often participating in fashion shows held in local bars.

Music

Musical Instruments of Urban Kinshasa

In the early 1950s, urban musicians adapted Latin American instrumentation, including lead and rhythm guitars, double bass, clarinet, conga drums, maracas, and the claves rhythm sticks. Earlier "tango ya ba-Wendo" performances often featured traditional instruments like the likembe and accordion accompanied by empty bottles for percussion.

At the table

Libations to the ancestors

Before drinking palm wine or beer, it was customary to pour a few drops onto the ground as a libation to the ancestors.