The political climate and
current instability of the Democratic Republic of Congo creates an
international media haze around the country that fixates largely on the
inhumane treatment of workers in mines, the ongoing war in the region, and
atrocities that have been committed during wartime. The media’s focus on
these issues, important as they may be, have the unfortunate side effect of
taking away from the personal side of the DRC. The Congo is often portrayed
one-dimensionally as a war-torn, politically unstable region—and far less
attention is devoted to simply understanding the people and their history. The
DRC has a rich and vibrant culture, and this blog post attempts to serve merely
as a brief introduction to Congolose history.
A Brief History
Before and up to the European
arrival, the Kongo Empire served as the dominant political force in the region.
The empire extended out to parts of Angola and Cabinda. The empire was headed
by a king known as the “Manikongo”to his subjects. At the height of its power,
the Kongo Empire was the biggest empire
in western central Africa.
The Portuguese arrived in 1484,
and began trading with the Congolese people. The Congolese traded ivory,
copper, and slaves (from various tribes) in return for textiles, jewelry, and
manufactured goods. The slave trade continued till the 1800s, when slavery was
made illegal in Europe. The Portuguese arrival provided the region’s first
exposure to Western education and Christianity.
The Portuguese did not venture
much further than the mouth of the Congo River, but in 1867, British citizen
Henry Morton Stanley successfully completed an expedition through the Congo.
Stanley came back from this expedition with the determination to colonize
Africa under a European power. King Leopold II of Brussels, determined to
conquer a piece of Africa, hired Stanley, ostensibly to form a train route
through the upper Congo. Leopold soon clarified his vision, however, and
Stanley found himself negotiating with natives and tribes to buy or bully pieces
of land from them. In 1885, King Leopold
established the “Congo Free State.” Small swaths of territory were also given
to France and Portugal.
During his cruel rule, Leopold
established quotas in which the Congolese were required to produce certain
quotas of ivory and rubber. Those failing to meet his quotas were punished by
having their hands chopped off. The Congolese population decreased
significantly during this time period. In 1908, Leopold technically handed the
territory over to Belgium, turning the territory into the “Belgian Congo.”
The Congolese finally got their
independence from Belgium in 1960, and renamed their country “Republic of the
Congo.”Patrice Lumumba served as the Republic’s first prime minister from 1960
until his assassination in 1961. Mobuto Sese Soke took over as the president of
the region in 1965, and renamed the region Zaire in 1971. Mobuto was a corrupt
leader who embezzled over $5 billion USD from his country during his time in
office. He was overthrown during the First Congo War by Laurent Kabila in 1997.
Kabila renamed the region the “Democratic Republic of the Congo,” and served
until his death in 2001. He is succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila.
Demographics
French is the official language
of the DRC. Kikongo, Lingala Swahili, and Tshiluba are also nationally
recognized languages. The population of the DRC is 66 million. The majority of
the Congolese population practice forms of Christianity. The population is
comprised of numerous ethnic groups, the largest of which are: the Bakongo, the
Sangha, Teke, and M’Bochi.
Sources
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