 One example among many is that of Father Gustaaf Hulstaert (1900–1990), who in 1937 created the periodical "Aequatoria" devoted to the linguistic, ethnographic and historical study of the Mongo people of the central Congo basin.The colonial state took an interest in the cultural and scientific study of the Congo, particularly after the Second World War, through the creation of the "Institut pour la Recherche Scientifique en Afrique Centrale" (IRSAC, 1948).In the early 1950s, political emancipation of the Congolese elites, let alone of the masses, seemed like a distant event.