Democratic republic of the congo simple english wikipedia. The precolonial history of the modernday democratic republic of the congo encompasses the history of the congo basin region up to the establishment of european colonial rule in the era of new imperialism and particularly the creation of the congo free state and its expansion into the interior after 1885. The country that began as a kings private domain the congo free state, evolved into a colony the belgian congo, became independent in 1960 as the republic of the congo, and later underwent several name changes to the democratic republic of the congo, then to zaire, and back again to the democratic republic of the congo is the product of a complex pattern of. The use of the french language in congolese literature is a dominant factor. Democratic republic of congo profile timeline bbc news.
Esteemed scholar david van reybrouck balances hundreds of interviews with a diverse range of congolese with meticulous historical research to construct a multidimensional portrait of a nation and. On that date, the republic of the congos independence from french equatorial africa was proclaimed. During the 1960s, usaid programs were directed at developing the united nations new role as the coordinator of bilateral assistance. He provided only the minimum infrastructure necessary to support the extraction of the countrys vast mineral wealth and killed an estimated 10 million congolese, setting a pattern which.
Republique democratique du congo, commonly referred to as dr congo, congokinshasa or the drc, is a country in central africa. In an attempt to legitimize itself as one of subsaharan africas main oil producers the congo has tried to increase financial transparency in the petroleum sector as well as initiate a freer press. A recent new constitution granted the president an array of new powers and extended his term from five to seven years. The republic of the congo gains independence from belgium. Recognition of the republic of congos independence, 1960. During its recorded history, the area has also been known as congo, congo free state, belgian. Africa boosters, who argue that the region has finally turned a corner and sits on the cusp of a major economic breakthrough, rarely mention the democratic republic of the congo, whose population remains poorer than it was at independence, in 1960. Patrice lumumba, leader of the congolese national movement the countrys first nationwide party, wins the.
However, history shows that this meant little in reality and the countrys deeprooted problems remained, namely the ethnic conflict which had spilled into the east of the country from rwanda. Precolonial history of the democratic republic of the congo. From the beginnings of the slave trade through colonization, the struggle for independence, mobutus brutal three decades of rule, and the civil war that has raged from 1996 to the present day, congo. Essay on history of the democratic republic of congo. The democratic republic of congo, formerly zaire, is located at the center of africa.
With a population of over 71 million, the democratic republic of the congo. The two expat britons met on 10 november 10 1871 near modernday kigoma in tanzania, but it was stanleys subsequent african sojourns, under the sponsorship of the british daily telegraph newspaper to trace the course of the congo river, that marked his own place in history. Discover librarianselected research resources on belgian congo from the questia. It borders on angola in the southwest and west, on the atlantic ocean, cabinda an angolan exclave, and the republic of the congo in the west, on the central african republic and south sudan in the north, on uganda, rwanda, burundi. Democratic republic of the congo, formerly zaire zi. Drc tales focus on a 1950s missionary family, greed and corruption in the 1960s, and the fallout from 1990s genocide.
As a new tutsi government was established in rwanda after the genocide, more than two million hutus sought refuge in eastern congo. I guess some of these children in the congo arent so lucky, but i was a child, canings were a common place in books and in comics half the stories in the beano ended with an child bending over and getting six of the best from a jubilant teacher. Michael deibert does the nearly impossible task of clearly defining the players and their roles in the history of the democratic republic of congo from the days prior to belgian rule up to 20. Epic in scope yet eminently readable, penetrating and deeply. Human security is likely to remain a distant dream for many years to come due to the prevalence and intensity of rape and other sexual violence, which is described as the worst in the world. The republic of the congo is a member of the central african economic and monetary community cemac with cameroon, central african republic, chad, equatorial guinea, and gabon.
It borders on angola in the southwest and west, on the atlantic ocean, cabinda an angolan exclave, and the republic of the congo in the west, on the central african republic and south sudan in the north, on uganda. Between hope and despair african arguments michael deibert. Three new books on the democratic republic of the congo. Namikas offers a fine history of the cold war politics of congo during the early 1960s, informed by access to recently declassified archival material in moscow and washington. Democratic republic of the congo history britannica. List of books and articles about belgian congo online research. Folk stories from the congo archives melvin burgess. The second congo war at the end of the first congo war, zaire was renamed the democratic republic of the congo. Democratic republic of the congo history and culture. Republic of the congo countries office of the historian. Guy menga is remembered as one of the first congolese playwrights who set the tone for modern congolese literature in the 1970s.
The democratic republic of the congo article about the. Jan 10, 2019 a chronology of key events in the history of the democratic republic of congo, from the 1200s to the present. Embassy of the republic of congo in washington dc about. Waves of bantu migrations from 2000 bc to 500 ad moved into the basin from the northwest and covered the precolonial states absorbed or overthrown by the colonial powers.
Tram 83 by fiston mwanza mujila, the poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolver, heart of darkness by jose. Early in 2003 when the worlds attention was focused on the. May 04, 2014 if you placed the democratic republic of congo on a map of europe, its eastern border would sit at moscow and its western border would be at paris. Republic of the congo republic of the congo history. Democratic republic of the congo, country located in central africa. Democratic republic of the congo countries office of the. Belgium colonizes kongo and announces the establishment of the congo free state.
After independence, new authors inspired by the older generation of congolese authors and new issues affecting the republic of congo became known to the growing literary scene. Democratic republic of the congo formerly zaire questia. As the modern territorial boundaries of the democratic republic of the. The country that began as a kings private domain the congo free state, evolved into a colony the belgian congo, became independent in 1960 as the republic of the congo, and later underwent several name changes to the democratic republic of the congo, then to zaire, and back again to the democratic republic of the congo is the product of a complex pattern of historical forces. The united states recognized the republic of the congo on august 15, 1960, in a congratulatory message from president dwight d. The epic history of a people traces the history of one of the most devastated nations in the world. If you placed the democratic republic of congo on a map of europe, its eastern border would sit at moscow and its western border would be at. On that date, the area formerly known as the belgian congo was proclaimed independent from belgian sovereignty. Dec 12, 20 the best books on democratic republic of the congo. The epidemic of domestic sexual violence that lacerates the soul of south africa is mirrored in the pattern of grotesque raping in areas of outright conflict from darfur to the democratic republic of the congo, and in areas of contested electoral turbulence from kenya to zimbabwe.
The belgian state annexes congo amid protests against the millions of congolese that have been killed or worked to death during the belgian control of the territory. History of democratic republic of congo lonely planet. Kasavubu became president and lumumba kasavubu became. Usaid has provided assistance to the democratic republic of the congo drc continuously since the countrys first years of independence. Top sights in democratic republic of the congo, africa. One of africas largest, most populated, and generously endowed countries, the democratic republic of the congo has both dominated the surrounding region and been greatly affected by it as well. The bambuti were linked to pygmy tribes whose stone age culture was slowly replaced by bantu tribes coming from regions north of presentday democratic republic of the congo about 2,000 years ago, introducing iron age culture to the region. The country encompasses the entire congo river basin, the potential source of % of the worlds hydroelectric power. The earliest inhabitants of the region comprising presentday congo were the bambuti people. The people who used the largecore bifacial sangoan tools probably subsisted by gathering food and digging up roots. The best books on democratic republic of the congo. We found 68 books set in the democratic republic of the congo. Sep 12, 20 michael deibert is the author of democratic republic of congo.
About 50 percent of the congos population is roman catholic, while 20 percent is protestant. Democratic republic of congo history, language and culture. Books set in the democratic republic of the congo 68 books. History of the democratic republic of the congo wikipedia. Heinemann educational books, 1971 social science 218 pages. Essay on history of the democratic republic of congo bartleby. The first real states, such as the kongo, the lunda, the luba and kuba, appeared south of the equatorial forest on the savannah from the 14th century onwards. The united states recognized the republic of congo democratic republic of the congo on june 30, 1960, in a congratulatory message from president dwight d. The remaining 30 is a mix of muslims and kimbanguists. The area now known as the democratic republic of the congo was populated as early as 80,000 years ago, as shown by the 1988 discovery of the semliki harpoon at katanda, one of the oldest barbed harpoons ever found, which is believed to have been used to catch giant river catfish. Democratic republic of the congo history facts and timeline. List of settlements in the democratic republic of the congo. Democratic republic of the congo countries office of. The people of the congo, as this book shows, have suffered cruelly.
Human habitation of the congo basin came relatively late in the sangoan era 100,000 to 40,000 bce. It is the second largest country in africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world. This is a list of cities and towns in the democratic republic of the congo. Officially known as the democratic republic of the congo, the country has a 25mile 40km coastline on the atlantic ocean but is otherwise landlocked. The democratic republic of the congo has undergone a long period of war, and it appears that political renewal and economic recovery are bleak. Democratic republic of the congo democratic republic of the congo history.
Books on the congo history of zaire and the belgian congo. Jean malonga is considered as one of the deans of the congolese literature through his book entitled,coeur daryenne published in. The current territory of the democratic republic of congo was occupied by humans in the paleolithic at least 80,000 years ago. In the wake of the 1994 rwandan genocide in which 800,000 tutsis and moderate hutus were killed, millions of rwandan refugees flooded into the eastern democratic republic of congo. The country was then renamed the democratic republic of the congo. These programs focused on implementing a comprehensive economic stabilization program to. The troubled heart of africa is the only book to give a complete history of the congo, filling in the blanks in the countrys history before the advent of henry stanley, david livingstone, king leopold, and other. Patrice lumumba, leader of the congolese national movement the countrys first nationwide party, wins the first national election. Discovered in the 1990s, the earliest discovered human remains in the democratic republic of the congo have been dated to approximately 90,000 years ago. Caning not the sort of thing we do nowadays in europe. Michael deibert is the author of democratic republic of congo. If you placed the democratic republic of congo on a map of europe. Essay on genocide in the democratic republic of the congo 882 words 4 pages.
Historical dictionary of the democratic republic of the congo. Between hope and despair zed books, 20, published in cooperation with the royal african society, the international african institute and the world peace foundation. Wrong mixes horror stories and a wellresearched history of mobutus regime with an account of ordinary life in a country plunged into economic crisis. Whether called the congo free state, or zaire, or the democratic republic of the congo, the country remains perilously unstable. This book begins with a survey of congos early history, when diverse. In 2001, one of kabilas bodyguards assassinated him, and joseph, his son, became the president. Oct 01, 2009 the democratic republic of the congo has undergone a long period of war, and it appears that political renewal and economic recovery are bleak. Democratic republic of the congo history facts and. A chronology of key events in the history of the democratic republic of congo, from the 1200s to the present. There is a 5% duty on basic necessities, 10% on raw materials and capital goods, 20% on intermediate and miscellaneous goods, and 30% on consumer goods.
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