World History
History of Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a short but helpful history to the African nation formerly known as Zaire.
From the site:
The area known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. by Bantus from present-day Nigeria. Discovered in 1482 by Portuguese navigator Diego Cao and later explored by English journalist Henry Morton Stanley, the area was officially colonized in 1885 as a personal possession of Belgian King Leopold II as the Congo Free State. In 1907, administration shifted to the Belgian Government, which renamed the country the Belgian Congo. Following a series of riots and unrest, the Belgian Congo was granted its independence on June 30, 1960. Parliamentary elections in 1960 produced Patrice Lumumba as prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president of the renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Within the first year of independence, several events destabilized the country: the army mutinied; the governor of Katanga province attempted secession; a UN peacekeeping force was called in to restore order; Prime Minister Lumumba died under mysterious circumstances; and Col. Joseph Désiré Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko) took over the government and ceded it again to President Kasavubu.
Unrest and rebellion plagued the government until 1965, when Lieutenant General Mobutu, by then commander in chief of the national army, again seized control of the country and declared himself president for 5 years. Mobutu quickly centralized power into his own hands and was elected unopposed as president in 1970. Embarking on a campaign of cultural awareness, Mobutu renamed the country the Republic of Zaire and required citizens to adopt African names. Relative peace and stability prevailed until 1977 and 1978 when Katangan rebels, staged in Angola, launched a series of invasions into the Katanga region. The rebels were driven out with the aid of Belgian paratroopers.
- History Of Rwanda
History of Rwanda. This is a brief essay on the history of the African nation of Rwanda. Unfortunately, the recent history of this country his dealt with genocide and war crimes tribunals. The Encyclopædia Britannica notes that Rwanda is a, "landlocked...
- History Of Senegal
History of Senegal. This is a short overview to the history of the African nation of Senegal. Wikipedia notes, "The Republic of Senegal is a country south of the Senegal River in West Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania...
- King Leopold's Soliloquy
King Leopold's Soliloquy - Mark Twain's pamphlet condemning King Leopold of Belgium for his brutal rule of the Congo, published in 1905 by the American Congo Reform Association. From the site: Mark Twain wrote King Leopold's Soliloquy soon...
- History Of Burundi
History of Burundi. This essay provides a good overview to the history of the African nation of Burundi. From the site: In the 16th century, Burundi was a kingdom characterized by a hierarchical political authority and tributary economic exchange....
- History Of Angola
History of Angola This is a brief but well done history of Angola. From the site: In 1482, when the Portuguese first landed in what is now northern Angola, they encountered the Kingdom of the Congo, which stretched from modern Gabon in the north...
World History
History of Democratic Republic of Congo
History of Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a short but helpful history to the African nation formerly known as Zaire.
From the site:
The area known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. by Bantus from present-day Nigeria. Discovered in 1482 by Portuguese navigator Diego Cao and later explored by English journalist Henry Morton Stanley, the area was officially colonized in 1885 as a personal possession of Belgian King Leopold II as the Congo Free State. In 1907, administration shifted to the Belgian Government, which renamed the country the Belgian Congo. Following a series of riots and unrest, the Belgian Congo was granted its independence on June 30, 1960. Parliamentary elections in 1960 produced Patrice Lumumba as prime minister and Joseph Kasavubu as president of the renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Within the first year of independence, several events destabilized the country: the army mutinied; the governor of Katanga province attempted secession; a UN peacekeeping force was called in to restore order; Prime Minister Lumumba died under mysterious circumstances; and Col. Joseph Désiré Mobutu (later Mobutu Sese Seko) took over the government and ceded it again to President Kasavubu.
Unrest and rebellion plagued the government until 1965, when Lieutenant General Mobutu, by then commander in chief of the national army, again seized control of the country and declared himself president for 5 years. Mobutu quickly centralized power into his own hands and was elected unopposed as president in 1970. Embarking on a campaign of cultural awareness, Mobutu renamed the country the Republic of Zaire and required citizens to adopt African names. Relative peace and stability prevailed until 1977 and 1978 when Katangan rebels, staged in Angola, launched a series of invasions into the Katanga region. The rebels were driven out with the aid of Belgian paratroopers.
- History Of Rwanda
History of Rwanda. This is a brief essay on the history of the African nation of Rwanda. Unfortunately, the recent history of this country his dealt with genocide and war crimes tribunals. The Encyclopædia Britannica notes that Rwanda is a, "landlocked...
- History Of Senegal
History of Senegal. This is a short overview to the history of the African nation of Senegal. Wikipedia notes, "The Republic of Senegal is a country south of the Senegal River in West Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania...
- King Leopold's Soliloquy
King Leopold's Soliloquy - Mark Twain's pamphlet condemning King Leopold of Belgium for his brutal rule of the Congo, published in 1905 by the American Congo Reform Association. From the site: Mark Twain wrote King Leopold's Soliloquy soon...
- History Of Burundi
History of Burundi. This essay provides a good overview to the history of the African nation of Burundi. From the site: In the 16th century, Burundi was a kingdom characterized by a hierarchical political authority and tributary economic exchange....
- History Of Angola
History of Angola This is a brief but well done history of Angola. From the site: In 1482, when the Portuguese first landed in what is now northern Angola, they encountered the Kingdom of the Congo, which stretched from modern Gabon in the north...