It shares common borders with gabon, cameroon, central african. Since the late 19th century, congos vast natural resources have continually attracted violent intervention from abroad and stoked internal conflicts. Jul 14, 2017 a very brief history of the democratic republic of congo this year im using the drc as a major case study in underdevelopment it is last on the uns hdi rankings after all heres my mainly cut and paste from wikipedia very brief history of the drc ill add in video links, general links, pictures and extracts from numerous. Decades of misrule and two civil wars have devastated the countrys economy, social fabric, government capacity and infrastructure. 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. Jan 10, 2019 a chronology of key events in the history of the democratic republic of congo, from the 1200s to the present. From the personal colony of king leopold ii of belgium, to the dictator joseph mobutus personal piggy bank, to a country divided by a twentyyear civil war, the drc has a history of division and conflict. Oct 16, 2018 officially known as the drc, dr congo, the congo, or congo kinshasa, the democratic republic of the congo is a country located in the central region of the african continent. The taxtogdp ratio in the republic of the congo decreased by 3. A guide to the united states history of recognition, diplomatic, and consular relations, by country, since 1776.
Conflicts and wars remain a major feature of the congolese history. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about congo, democratic republic of thes geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. A very brief history of the democratic republic of congo. This is a list of presidents of the republic of the congo since the creation of the post of president in 1960, to the present day. 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 capital, kinshasa, is located on the congo river about 320 miles 515 km from its mouth.
The congo free state was a corporate state privately controlled by leopold ii of belgium through the association internationale africaine, a nongovernmental organization. In comparison, the average for the 26 african countries in revenue statistics in africa 2019 remained at 17. The sheer human toll of violence, displacement, disease, and seemingly endless extreme poverty seen over the last two decades in the democratic republic of congo drc is as shocking as anything we have seen in recent times. The democratic republic of the congo s membership in international organizations the d. Staff recommended that the authorities continue in their cautious approach to borrowing, relying mainly on concessional borrowing, and that the drc.
Background report on eastern democratic republic of the congo. Under leopold ii, the congo free state became one of the most infamous international. Belgium took personal control of the territory, ruthlessly exploiting congos. A very short overview of belgian, and latterly us, imperialism in congo, written by marty jezer in 2001. However, the country is still highly vulnerable to shocks, in particular to its export revenues. Officially known as the democratic republic of the congo, the country has a 25mile 40km coastline on the atlantic ocean but is otherwise landlocked. In recent weeks the democratic republic of the congo, formerly known as zaire, and before that the belgian congo, has been in the news. Since independence in 1960, the history of the democratic republic of congo drc has been marked by successive conflicts, weak governance, economic mismanagement and widespread corruption. 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.
The democratic republic of congo is unfortunately synonymous with its. The democratic republic of the congo roots of the crisis the crisis in the democratic republic of the congo, or drc, has many layers. The earliest inhabitants of the region comprising presentday congo were the bambuti people. Until the arrival of the portuguese it was the dominant force in the region along with the kingdom of luba, the kingdom of lunda, the mongo people and the anziku. Belgiums king leopold ii claimed congo free state as his personal possession. Kasavubu became president and lumumba kasavubu became. Democratic republic of the congos drc risk of debt distress remains moderate. Background and current developments congressional research service summary in october 2008, the forces of the national congress for the defense of the congolese people cndp, under the command of general laurent nkunda, launched a major offensive against the.
Relations congressional research service 3 historical background due to its resources, vast territory, and location figure 1, drc has long served as an arena of regional and international competition. The kingdom of kongo existed from the 14th to the early 19th century. Formerly, between 1971 and 1997, the country was known as zaire, which is a name that is still used at times. 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. However, for more political analysis to these events, readers should turn to. Republic of the congo countries office of the historian.
Of rectangular form, it is composed of two rightangled triangles of green and red. Congos government has never effectively represented or. Human habitation of the congo basin came relatively late in the sangoan era 100,000 to 40,000 bce. In 1997, laurent kabila overthrew mobutu sese seko after 32 years of authoritarian and corrupt rule and replaced the old regime by an equally. History of the democratic republic of the congo wikipedia. The state included the entire area of the present the democratic republic of the congo. Yet the rich country leaders and their media drew everyones attention to 2000 ethnic albianians being killed in kosovo to gain support for a war there. A brief history of the democratic republic of the congo, the. The most populous city is the capital, brazzaville, which is located in the southeastern corner of the country and is a major inland port on the congo river.
Media in category history of the republic of the congo the following 18 files are in this category, out of 18 total. The first congo war comes to a gradual end as mobutu is deposed by rebel leader laurent kabila, who declares himself president and reorganizes zaire as the democratic republic of congo. For thousands of years, the land forming the contemporary democratic republic of the congo was home to hundreds of hunter gatherer tribes. The kongo kingdom was at its height from the th to the 14th centuries. 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. A chronology of key events in the history of the democratic republic of congo, from the 1200s to the present. A brutal civil war, an horrendous aids epidemic, the assassination of its dictator, laurent kabila, and. The culture of the democratic republic of the congo. The republic of congo, also known as middle congo, congo brazzaville, and congo but not to be confused with the democratic republic of the congo, formerly zaire, which was also at one time known as the republic of the congo, is a former french colony of westcentral africa. Picsim 2005 republic of congo 3 republic of congo history colonial beginnings congo was originally a kingdom in central africa which was then incorporated into the french empire in the 1880s. Democratic republic of congo profile timeline bbc news. 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. Congos history of natural resource exploitation are the direct and indirect. Congo as a whole is sparsely inhabited, with more than half of its population living in the cities.
Democratic republic of the congo countries office of the. The democratic republic of congo, formerly known as zaire, provides plenty of ingredients for savage imagery, incredible stories, wishful thinking, conventional wisdom and the fuelling of scientific theories about politics, economics and the state in africa. Conflicts in the democratic republic of congo united nations. A total of six people have been president of the republic of the congo. 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. Democratic republic of the congo, country located in central africa.
Precolonial history of the democratic republic of the congo. This is a list of prime ministers of the republic of the congo since the formation of the post of prime minister in 1963, to the present day a total of sixteen people have been the prime minister of the republic of the congo not counting one acting prime minister. Republic of the congo republic of the congo history. Democratic republic of the congo history britannica. The democratic republic of the congo the enough project. The democratic republic of the congo enough project. In response to a request from the government of the democratic republic of the congo drc, in 2009 the united nations environment programme unep initiated a national, multithematic assessment of priority environmental issues facing the country. List of presidents of the republic of the congo simple. Aug 21, 2010 this part of the web site looks at the conflict in the democratic republic of congo. The democratic republic of congo drc faces a defining period in its history. Republic of the congo summary prior to its independence in 1960, the republic of congo was part of french equatorial africa aef. Dr congo is a vast country with immense economic resources and, until recently, has been. List of prime ministers of the republic of the congo simple. Democratic republic of the congo summary the united states recognized the democratic republic of the congos independence in 1960 and established diplomatic relations at the same time.
But to truly understand how drc has gotten to this point, you have to understand something of its history. Democratic republic of the congo 0 100 200 mi 01 2 3 km office of information and communications technology geospatial infomration section. Media coverage is poor and yet there have been millions of refugees and over five million killed since the war began around august 1998. The root causes of the current crisis are the presence of over a dozen militia and extremist groups, both foreign and congolese, in eastern congo. Republic of the congo capital at brazzaville britannica. During its recorded history, the area has also been known as congo, congo free state, belgian congo, and zaire. The thick, tropical forests and constant rain kept the population in the region quite low. The history of the democratic republic of the congo, the 18th largest country in the world, is fraught with violence, conflict and exploitation. Democratic republic of the congo history and culture. History of democratic republic of congo lonely planet. The people who used the largecore bifacial sangoan tools probably subsisted by gathering food and digging up roots. Infoplease has everything you need to know about congo, democratic republic of the.
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