The people of the congo, as this book shows, have suffered cruelly. The republic of the congo gains independence from belgium. It borders on angola in the southwest and west, on the atlantic ocean, cabinda an angolan exclave, and the republic of the congo in the west, on the central african republic and south sudan in the north, on uganda, rwanda, burundi. With a population of over 71 million, the democratic republic of the congo is the. The democratic republic of the congo is a different country from the republic of the congo. Democratic republic of the congo, country located in central africa. History, language and culture in democratic republic of congo.
History of democratic republic of congo the belgian congo was created in 1885, essentially as the personal property of the belgian monarch, king leopold ii. The armed forces of the democratic republic of the congo french. Or click on one of the links below to go to another section of the site. A chronology of key events in the history of the democratic republic of congo, from the 1200s to the present. Childrens books about the democratic republic of the congo. Timeline of historical events the congo basin in ancient and precolonial times colonial conquest, 18851890 leopoldian congo, 18851908 the colonial state, 19081945 the crisis of decolonization, 19451960 the first republic, 19601965 the second republic, 19651990 transition to democracy, 19901997 the third republic, 1997. Democratic republic of the congo formerly zaire questia. Democratic republic of congo profile timeline bbc news.
Books set in the democratic republic of the congo 68 books. Democratic republic of the congo enchantment of the world second series by terri willis and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Whether called the congo free state, or zaire, or the democratic republic of the congo, the country remains perilously unstable. Between hope and despair african arguments michael deibert.
Scroll down to browse childrens books about the democratic republic of the congo. Just previous to this, in may a growing nationalist movement, led by patrice lumumba, had won the parliamentary elections. The epic history of a people traces the history of one of the most devastated nations in the world. Three new books on the democratic republic of the congo.
On that date, the area formerly known as the belgian congo was proclaimed independent from belgian sovereignty. The second congo war at the end of the first congo war, zaire was renamed the democratic republic of the congo. The people who used the largecore bifacial sangoan tools probably subsisted by gathering food and digging up roots. All books set in the democratic republic of the congo on mappits literary map.
These book on topic democratic republic of the congo highly popular among the readers worldwide. Democratic republic of the congo south african history. Democratic republic of the congo countries office of. Infoplease has everything you need to know about congo, democratic republic of the. The democratic republic of the congo dr congo is one of the most populous countries in subsaharan africa, and the largest frenchspeaking african country. Discover the list of some best books written on democratic republic of the congo by popular award winning authors. Democratic republic of the congo, formerly zaire zi. Brief history of congo, democratic republic of the. Esteemed scholar david van reybrouck balances hundreds of interviews with a diverse range of congolese with meticulous historical research to construct a multidimensional portrait of a nation and. Early in 2003 when the worlds attention was focused on the unfolding. Tram 83 by fiston mwanza mujila, the poisonwood bible by barbara kingsolver, heart of darkness by jose.
The democratic republic of the congo has undergone a long period of war, and it appears that political renewal and economic recovery are bleak. He provided only the minimum infrastructure necessary to support the extraction of the countrys vast mineral wealth and killed an estimated 10 million congolese, setting a pattern which. Officially known as the democratic republic of the congo, the country has a 25mile 40km coastline on the atlantic ocean but is otherwise landlocked. A very brief history of the democratic republic of congo. Discover librarianselected research resources on belgian congo from the.
Democratic republic of the congo places librarything. The capital, kinshasa, is located on the congo river about 320 miles 515 km from its mouth. Van reybroucks carefully researched and elegantly written book takes in the reader. 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.
In 2001, one of kabilas bodyguards assassinated him, and joseph, his son, became the president. Esteemed scholar david van reybrouck balances hundreds of interviews with a diverse range of. Smarthistorys free, awardwinning digital content unlocks the expertise of hundreds of leading scholars, making the history of art accessible and engaging to more people, in. Michael deibert is the author of democratic republic of congo. Drc tales focus on a 1950s missionary family, greed and corruption in the 1960s, and the fallout from 1990s genocide. Democratic republic of the congo history britannica. The earliest inhabitants of the region comprising presentday congo were the bambuti people. 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. Democratic republic of the congo history facts and. History early history the indigenous inhabitants of the region of the congo. List of books and articles about belgian congo online research. The best books on democratic republic of the congo.
There were probably people living in the area that is today known as the democratic republic of the congo as. The province of katanga in the south is famed for its deposits of copper. Books on the congo history of zaire and the belgian congo. The country was then renamed the democratic republic of the congo. During its recorded history, the area has also been known as congo, congo free state, belgian congo, and zaire. Skills in ironworking and trade along the lualaba river in such metals as copper permitted the luba elite to form a kingdom which spread across and out from the upemba depression in what is today southern dr congo. Civil wars in the democratic republic of congo, 19602010. Human habitation of the congo basin came relatively late in the sangoan era 100,000 to 40,000 bce.
The fardc was rebuilt patchily as part of the peace process which followed the end of the second congo war in july 2003. Namikas offers a fine history of the cold war politics of congo during the early 1960s, informed by access to recently declassified archival. Kisanganis book is also primarily historical, analyzing half a dozen episodes of conflict in different parts of congo going back to the 1960s. History of the democratic republic of the congo wikipedia. From the beginnings of the slave trade through colonization, the struggle for independence, mobutus brutal three decades of rule, and the civil war that has raged from 1996 to the present day, congo. 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. The kingdom of luba, located in central africa, thrived from the 15th to 19th century ce and was the first such state in the congo basin.
The united states recognized the republic of congo democratic republic of the congo on june 30, 1960, in a congratulatory message from president dwight d. Van reybrouck recounts the history of the democratic republic of congo from the early slave trade, to the time of european exploration and colonization. Republic of the congo republic of the congo history. Since gaining independence from belgium in 1960, the country and its 75 million residents have experienced numerous political and economic crises, including a war that claimed millions of. About 50 percent of the congos population is roman catholic, while 20 percent is protestant. A brief history of the democratic republic of the congo. Democratic republic of the congo drc, country located in central africa. The troubled heart of africa is the only book to give a complete history of the congo, filling in the blanks in the countrys history before the advent of henry stanley, david livingstone, king leopold, and other.
Patrice lumumba, leader of the congolese national movement the countrys first nationwide party, wins the first national election. They are located next to each other and have similar names, but they are different countries. Childrens books set in the democratic republic of the congo. This book begins with a survey of congos early history, when diverse. However, history shows that this meant little in reality and the countrys deeprooted problems remained, namely the ethnic conflict which had spilled into the east of the country from rwanda. Precolonial history of the democratic republic of the congo. If you placed the democratic republic of congo on a map of europe. As the modern territorial boundaries of the democratic republic of the congo did not. For kisangani, the countrys instability stems from the failure of the central state to accommodate the aspirations of regional elites in the provinces, who respond by provoking ethnic disputes as a way of getting attention from the central authorities. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about congo, democratic republic of thes geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages.
Historical dictionary of the democratic republic of the congo. One of africas largest, most populated, and generously endowed countries, the democratic republic of the congo has both dominated the surrounding region and been greatly affected by it as well. 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. Between hope and despair zed books, 20, published in cooperation with the royal african society, the international african institute and the world peace foundation. The area now known as the democratic republic of the congo was populated as early as 80,000 years ago, as shown by the 1988 discovery of the semliki harpoon at katanda, one of the oldest barbed harpoons ever found, which is believed to have been used to catch giant river catfish.
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