Introduction to History of Congo (Kinshasa)
Pygmies who roamed the area during the Stone Age are believed to be the original inhabitants of what is now the Congo. The Congo Basin is thought to have been the starting point of the Bantu expansion throughout eastern and southern Africa that began about the first century A.D. Most of the peoples now inhabiting the country had established themselves in the region by 1000 A.D. By the time white explorers arrived in the late 15th century, the Kongo, Luba, Lunda, Mongo, Mangbetu, and Zande had become the most powerful chiefdoms.
Important dates in Congo (Kinshasa)A.D. 700's Advanced civilizations grew up in what is now Congo.c. 1400 Kongo and other kingdoms grew up in the area.Early 1500's The slave trade began in what is now Congo.1885 King Leopold II of Belgium took control of the area and named it the Congo Free State.1908 The Belgian government took control of the Congo Free State and renamed it the Belgian Congo.1960 The Belgian Congo gained independence from Belgium and was renamed Congo.1965 President Joseph Mobutu came to power and established a one-party state.1971 The country's name was changed to Zaire.1977 and 1978 Katanga rebels invaded Zaire from Angola, but were defeated.1997 Rebels led by Laurent Kabila overthrew President Mobutu and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo.1998-2003 A major war took place between the Congolese government and rebel groups, with each side backed by troops from other African countries.2006 Congo (Kinshasa) held its first multiparty elections since 1965.Exploration
The first European known to have visited the region was Diogo Cão, a Portuguese explorer, who reached the Congo River in 1482. Trading posts were later set up along the coast, but there was little exploration of the interior. The Portuguese failed to find deposits of gold and other minerals and soon turned to enslaving the indigenous peoples to provide labor for Portuguese colonies in the New World. Several million blacks were taken from the region during the next few hundred years.
It was not until the mid-19th century that Europeans came to realize the economic potential of the Congo area. David Livingstone, a British missionary, traveled through the Congo during his exploration of Africa's interior, 1849–73. Further exploration was undertaken by Henry M. Stanley, a United States journalist, who navigated the entire length of the Congo River, 1876–77.
Belgian Rule
Stanley's accounts of the region's potential wealth attracted the attention of King Leopold II of Belgium, who saw central Africa as an area for colonial expansion. Leopold met with Stanley and together they formed the Committee for the Study of the Upper Congo. Under its direction, Stanley returned to the Congo, acquired territory from the indigenous peoples, and opened trading posts. Leopold then formed the International Association of the Congo, a private development company. Under the company's name, he applied for recognition of his holdings as an independent state. Recognition was granted by the Treaty of Berlin (1885), which established the Congo Free State with Leopold as sovereign.
Progress was made in transportation, communication, and urban development, but increasing criticism over the exploitation of blacks by Belgian agents caused Leopold to give up his interest in the area. It was annexed by Belgium in 1908 and was renamed the Belgian Congo.
During World War I Belgian troops from the Congo took part in the conquest of German East Africa. In 1941 the Congo army helped win Ethiopia from the Italians.
Independence
Following World War II Joseph Kasavubu, Patrice Lumumba, and other black nationalists began to work for independence. Rioting in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa) and other parts of the colony in 1959 led the colonial government to outline a program for gradual self-rule. At the nationalists' insistence, Belgium set a definite date for independence. On June 30, 1960, the Congo was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo and became an independent republic with Kasavubu as president and Lumumba as prime minister. Within days after independence the army overthrew its Belgian officers. Reports of atrocities against whites caused Belgium to send paratroopers to help evacuate the white population and restore order. The government requested military assistance from the United Nations. With the arrival of several thousand UN troops, Belgium withdrew its forces.
Meanwhile, mineral-rich Katanga province, led by Moise Tshombe, seceded from the republic in July, 1960. In early 1961 Lumumba was murdered and the country fell into anarchy. Shortly afterward, UN forces intervened to prevent civil war. They came under heavy attack by Katangan rebels but by the end of 1962 had taken control of most of the province. Tshombe declared an end to the secession in 1963, and UN forces withdrew in 1964.
Tshombe then became prime minister, but he was dismissed and sent into exile in 1965. With the government torn by dissension between supporters of Kasavubu and Tshombe, General Joseph Mobutu, commander of the armed forces, seized power in 1965. In 1967, Tshombe was sentenced to death by Mobutu and was taken into custody by local authorities in Algeria, where he remained until his death of natural causes in 1969.
By 1970 the Congo had achieved a degree of political stability. In November of that year, Mobutu was elected president In 1971 the republic adopted the name Zaire as part of a campaign to erase reminders of its colonial past. In 1972 Mobutu changed his name to Mobutu Sese Seko.
During the 1970's Mobutu firmly established his control, becoming a virtual dictator. Most industries were nationalized during the early 1970's. By the mid-1970's the country had fallen into severe economic difficulty, because of a decline in prices for its principal export, copper, and because of widespread mismanagement of the nationalized firms.
Opposition to the government grew in the late 1970's and throughout the 1980's. In 1996 an armed rebellion broke out in the eastern part of the country. The following year Mobutu was driven from office and rebel leader Laurent Kabila, supported by Rwanda and Uganda, took control of the government, renaming the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kabila pledged to institute democratic reforms but instead ruled as a dictator. In 1998 a rebellion was launched against the Kabila government with the support of Rwanda and Uganda, countries that were dissatisfied by Kabila's reluctance to crack down on Hutu militias operating out of his country. The rebel group was close to taking the capital in August when the armies of three other neighboring countries—Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe—intervened, forcing a rebel retreat to their stronghold in the eastern part of the country. It is estimated that more than two million people were killed since fighting began.
In 2001 Kabila was assassinated. His son, Joseph Kabila, was named his successor. The government, led by Joseph Kabila, signed a peace treaty with rebel groups and opposition political parties in 2002; in 2003, these groups formed a transitional government with Kabila.
Violence broke out again in mid-2003 when hundreds of people were killed as a result of clashes between ethnic groups in and around the city of Bunia. In mid-2004, the city of Bukavu was briefly captured by rebels. Fighting erupted again in late 2004 between the Congolese army and soldiers loyal to one of the ethnic groups. In 2005, more outbreaks of violence occurred, involving Congolese troops, ethnic rebels, UN peacekeepers, and Hutu militia from Rwanda.
Tensions remain high in the area. Since 1998, almost 4 million people in Congo have died from conflict-related causes, mostly from disease and malnutrition.
In 2005, voters approved a new constitution. The government officially adopted it in February, 2006.
Multiparty parliamentary and presidential elections were held in Congo in July, 2006, for the first time since 1965; however, no presidential candidate received more than half of the votes. Later that year, a runoff election was held, and Joseph Kabila became the president in December, 2006.