The capital, kinshasa, is located on the congo river about 320 miles 515 km from its mouth. Identification of arms sources found in the conflict in drc. Scott, 1950 historical dictionary of democratic republic of. Background and current developments congressional research service 3 address crossborder issues, specifically to deal with the threats of the interhamwe and exfar former rwandese armed forces, groups responsible for the 1994 genocide in rwanda. Democratic republic of the congo history britannica. Officially known as the democratic republic of the congo, the country has a 25mile 40km coastline on the atlantic ocean but is otherwise landlocked. Cia activities in the democratic republic of the congo. A very short overview of belgian, and latterly us, imperialism in congo, written by marty jezer in 2001. Just four days later there are early signs of mutiny in the army. During the previous decade, congo had been ravaged by widespread violence, including the worlds deadliest conflict since world war ii a conflict that involved three congolese. Van reybrouck, a belgian historian, spent years working on this overview of the congolese people. Congo possess legal personality and are managed by local authorities. It shared a name with the neighboring republic of the congo to the west, a french colony that also gained independence in 1960. 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.
Conflicts and wars remain a major feature of the congolese history. 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. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Congos baka people, who live by hunting and fishing, have inhabited an area in the northeastern. 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. Congo is a 1980 science fiction novel by michael crichton. In recent weeks the democratic republic of the congo, formerly known as zaire, and before that the.
History of the democratic republic of the congo wikipedia. The independent republic of the congo was declared on 30 june 1960, with joseph kasavubu as president and patrice lumumba as prime minister. The democratic republic of the congo roots of the crisis the crisis in the democratic republic of the congo, or drc, has many layers. It was hard to find any proper academic studies on the belgian congo, for one, there is not a lot. In french, belgian diplomat jules marchal has published a much cited four volume book set on the congo free state. All smithsonian museums and smithsonian libraries locations continue to be closed to support the effort to contain the spread of covid19. The nation becomes independent on 30 june 1960 as the democratic republic of the congo. Democratic republic of the congo, country located in central africa. Table of contents preamble title i general provisions. Alastair leithead takes an epic journey from the atlantic ocean to the far reaches of the congo. The state included the entire area of the present the democratic republic of the congo.
Democratic republic of congo executive summary despite noticeable progress in some dimensions of childrens rights and significant gross domestic product gdp growth, the democratic republic of congo drc is a challenging place for most children and their families, particularly for those living in conflictaffected and hardtoreach areas. Under leopold ii, the congo free state became one of the most infamous international. We are not announcing a reopening date at this time and will provide updates on a regular and asneeded basis. King leopolds congo in the cambridge history of africa.
Congo is a young country with the majority of its population 18 years old or younger. Pdf on jun 1, 2014, randi solhjell and others published the democratic. Democratic republic of congo profile timeline bbc news. 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 modern history of the congo has been marred by numerous conflicts since. 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. This phenomenon, known as the resource curse explains the history and perpetuation of violence in the drc. Conflicts in the democratic republic of congo united nations. Political map showing the countrys districts, cities and towns, rivers, lakes, roads, railroads and airports. Belgium took personal control of the territory, ruthlessly exploiting congos. The earliest inhabitants of the region comprising presentday congo were the bambuti people. Cares target groups include poor and vulnerable women, adolescent girls and boys as well as displaced and returning populations. Since the late 19th century, congo s vast natural resources have continually attracted violent intervention from abroad and stoked internal conflicts. The overall programthe largest in the cias history up until thencomprised activities dealing with regime change, political action, propaganda.
Causes, impact and implications for the great lakes region executive summary the democratic republic of congo is recovering from conflicts, posting substantial improve ment in overall macroeconomic performance since the cessation of the war, on the back of robust copper and cobalt exports. In particular, king leopold ii of belgium made plans to colonize the area in 1870. Table of contents preamble title i general provisions chapter 1 the state and sovereignty chapter 2 nationality. Precolonial congo and europes interest in africa t he area that is now the democratic republic of congo spans 1. The country is often referred to by its acronym, the drc, or called congo kinshasa. In recent weeks the democratic republic of the congo, formerly known as zaire, and before that the belgian congo, has been in the news. Democratic republic of the congo migration profiles. Congo by michael crichton in doc, epub, fb3 download ebook. The democratic republic of the congo enough project. Congo the democratic republic of the congo today to stabilize the government and minimize communist influence in a strategically vital, resourcerich location in central africa. Within the context of the drcs ongoing peace consolidation and economic reconstruction, the.
Congo free pdf, doc, epub, fb3 free download ebook. Brazzaville, congos current national capital, was the administrative center of french equatorial africa which extended up to the sahara. He gave it a new name belgian congo and then gave some of the land away to the french later to become the republic of the congo. A chronology of key events in the history of the democratic republic of congo, from the 1200s to the present. Brazzaville, congo s current national capital, was the administrative center of french equatorial africa which extended up to the sahara. Congos government has never effectively represented or. The congo and king leopold i n 1903, a british man named roger casement submitted a report to the british parliament about his investigations in what was then known as the congo free state. 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. Harry white, missionary to the congo smithsonian libraries. Deforestation and forest degradation in the congo basin.
A very brief history of the democratic republic of congo. Leopold felt stifled by his countrys parliamentary democracy, as hochschild tells it. The congo free state was a corporate state privately controlled by leopold ii of belgium through the association internationale africaine, a nongovernmental organization. Congo s government has never effectively represented or.
The history of conflict in the drc remains a driving factor of the current conflict. The belgian king leopold ii privately owned the congo free state, a territory in central africa which was more than seventysix times. Since the late 19th century, congos vast natural resources have continually attracted violent intervention from abroad and stoked internal conflicts. Precolonial congo region was governed by federated states. Congos history of natural resource exploitation are the direct and indirect. Crichton calls congo a lost world novel in the tradition founded by henry rider haggards king solomons mines, featuring the mines of that works title. The novel centers on an expedition searching for diamonds and investigating the mysterious deaths of a previous expedition in the dense tropical rainforest of the congo. Unicef annual report 2015 democratic republic of congo. Click on a datetime to view the file as it appeared at that time. A brutal civil war, an horrendous aids epidemic, the assassination of its dictator, laurent kabila, and. The democratic republic of the congo was originally a belgian colony that was established in 1908. Care in the democratic republic of the congo has strengthened its structure and strategy to assist the most vulnerable members of congolese society eradicate poverty and reduce their vulnerability to social injustice. In 1997, laurent kabila overthrew mobutu sese seko after 32 years of authoritarian and corrupt rule and replaced the old regime by an equally. Hochschilds book is a history of belgiums king leopolds crimes against humanity in the rainforest of equatorial africa.
Featured texts all books all texts latest this just in smithsonian libraries fedlink us genealogy lincoln collection. Background report on eastern democratic republic of the congo. When, in 2006, joseph kabila became the first democratically elected president of the democratic republic of the congo, many congolese and international observers hoped that stability had finally come to the country. Nutrition profile malnutrition in childhood and pregnancy has many adverse consequences for child survival and longterm wellbeing. Distribution of the causes of deforestation and forest degradation in different regions of the planet. 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. Distribution of the forest cover of the countries of the congo basin.
All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. A short history of colonialism in congo, 18851997 a very short overview of belgian, and latterly us, imperialism in congo, written by marty jezer in 2001. For this reason, understanding and appreciating the food and food practices of another culture is part of building your own cultural competence. Democratic republic of the congo international migrant stock by age and sex 1990 2000 20 male female total male female total male female total 04 15 722 15 217 30 939 11 602 11 321 22 923 8 478 7 859 16 337 59 26 778 26 152 52 930 15 865 15 624 31 489 11 791 10 840 22 631. Food and cultural practices of the congolese community in. This video is an audio reading of a few articles regarding the history of the congo free state.
About threequarters of the population live in the cities of brazzaville and pointenoire, or in towns along the railway that runs between them. Food and cultural practices of the congolese community in australia a community resource food is central to the cultural and religious practices of most communities. The history of the democratic republic of the congo, the 18th largest country in the world, is fraught with violence, conflict and exploitation. Additionally, the lack of media attention, which cannot be explained by the. The largest city in central africa, it serves as the countrys official administrative, economic, and cultural centre. United by destiny and history around the noble ideas of liberty, fraternity, solidarity, justice. Smithsonian libraries, natural history building, 10 th st. The reason is the fury of the african soldiers that in spite of independence the officers in the congolese army are without exception white. Georges nzongolantalaja charts the history of the congos own democratic traditions, and argues that outside intervention has not assisted their development. 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. A brief history of the democratic republic of the congo. An overview of its to 1885 berlin conference, congo given. Historical dictionary of the democratic republic of the congo, third.
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