Congo

Relief

The country's major relief features include the coastal region, two major basins or depressions, high plateaus, and three mountain ranges. The narrow coastal region is composed of a fairly low plain that runs inland from the Atlantic Ocean to the Cristal Mountains, where a high escarpment rises above the plains.

Most of the country is composed of the central (or Congo) basin, topographically a vast rolling plain with an average elevation of about 1,700 feet above sea level. Its lowest point of 1,109 feet (338 metres) occurs at Lake Mai-Ndombe (formerly Lake Léopold II), and the highest point of 2,296 feet (700 metres) occurs in the hill country of Mobayi-Mbongo and Zongo in the north. This basin may once have been an inland sea whose only remaining vestiges are now Lakes Tumba and Mai-Ndombe in the west-central part of the basin.

A high longitudinal basin—the western arm of the East African Rift System—forms the country's eastern border. Along its Congo section, the depression contains Lakes Albert, Edward, Kivu, Tanganyika, and Mweru.

The high plateaus border almost every side of the central basin. In the north the basin is protected by the Ubangi-Uele plateaus forming the divide between the drainage basins of the Nile and Congo rivers. Rising to between 3,000 and 4,000 feet, the plateaus also separate the central basin from the vast plains of the Lake Chad system. In the south the plateaus begin at the lower terraces of the Lulua and Lunda river valleys and rise gradually toward the east. In the southeast the ridges of the plateaus of Katanga (Shaba) province tower over the entire area; they include Kundelungu at 5,250 feet (1,600 metres), Mitumba at 4,921 feet (1,500 metres), and Hakansson at 3,609 feet (1,100 metres). The Katanga plateaus extend as far north as the Lukuga River and contain the Manika Plateau, the Kibara and the Bia mountains, and the high plains of Marungu.

The northern escarpment of the Angola Plateau rises in the southwest. In the west there is a coastal plateau zone that includes the hill country of Mayumbe and the Cristal Mountains. Mount Ula at 3,446 feet (1,050 metres) is the highest point of the Cristal Mountains.

The eastern part of the country is the highest and most rugged. It contains striking chains of mountains that are part of the East African Rift System. The Mitumba Mountains stretch along the Western Rift Valley, rising to an elevation of 9,800 feet above sea level. The snow-covered peaks of the Ruwenzori Range between Lakes Albert and Edward lie astride the Uganda border and contain Congo's highest elevation of 16,795 feet (5,119 metres) at Margherita Peak. The Virunga Mountains, to the north of Lake Kivu, form a volcanic range that stretches across the Rift Valley.

Drainage and soils

The Congo River basin and its drainage network. [Credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]

There are two types of soils: those of the equatorial areas and those of the drier savanna (grassland) regions. The equatorial soils occur in the warm, humid lowlands of the central basin, which receive abundant rainfall throughout the year and are covered mainly with thick forests. This soil is almost fixed in place because of the lack of erosive forces in the forests. In the shore areas, however, swamp vegetation has built up a remarkably thick soil that is constantly nourished by humus, the organic material resulting from the decomposition of plant or animal matter.

Although in the savanna regions the soils are constantly endangered by erosion, the river valleys contain rich and fertile alluvial soils. Special note should be made of the highlands of eastern Congo in the Great Lakes region, which are partly covered with volcanic lava that has been transformed into exceptionally rich soil. This is the most productive agricultural area of the country.

Climate

The major part of Congo lies within the inner humid tropical, or equatorial, climatic region extending five degrees north and south of the Equator. Southern Congo and the extreme north have somewhat drier subequatorial climates.

The seasonally migratory intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is a major weather feature of Congo's climate. Along this zone the trade winds originating in the Northern and Southern hemispheres meet, forcing unstable tropical air aloft. The resulting cooling and condensation of the uplifted air produces prolonged and heavy rainfall. In July and August this zone of maximum rainfall occurs in the north. It passes into central Congo in September and October. From November to February the southern parts of the country receive their maximum precipitation. Moving northward, the ITCZ crosses central Congo again in March and April, so that this zone has two rainfall maxima. Only the extreme eastern highlands lie outside the path of the ITCZ and are subject to the influence of the southeastern trade winds alone. Elevation and proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and its maritime influences are additional factors of climatic differentiation.

There are four major climatic regions in the country. In the area of the equatorial climate, temperatures are hot, and the average monthly temperature rarely drops below 75° F (24° C). Humidity is high, and it rains almost throughout the year. Annual precipitation at Eala averages 71 inches (1,800 millimetres). The tropical or subequatorial climate occurs to the north and south of the equatorial region. It is marked by distinct dry and rainy seasons. The dry season may last from four to seven months (usually April to October) of the year, depending largely on distance from the Equator. At Kananga about 62 inches of rain falls annually. In some areas and at indefinite periods, a short dry season of several weeks' duration may occur during the rainy season.

The Atlantic climate is limited to the west coast. It is marked by the modifying influences of low altitude and the cold Benguela Current. At Banana the average annual temperature is 77° F (25° C), and rainfall averages about 30 inches yearly. The mountain climate occurs in the eastern high plateaus and mountains. At Bukavu the average annual temperature is 66° F (19° C), and annual precipitation measures about 52 inches.

Plant and animal life

Plant life is profuse and follows climatic patterns. In the centre of the Congo basin is an intricate forest system, commonly known as the equatorial rainforest. There trees reach 130 to 160 feet in height, and many plant varieties and species can be found in a small area. In the tropical climate zone, grassland and woodland are characteristic, while in the west the coastal swamps and the mouth of the Congo are dominated by stands of mangrove. The eastern plateaus are covered by grasslands. Mountain forest, bamboo thickets, and Afro-Alpine vegetation occur on the highest mountains.

The central basin is a vast reservoir of trees and plants that are native to the area. Among these, the mahogany, ebony, limba, wenge, agba, iroko, and sapele are sources of timber. Fibrous plants include raffia and sisal. There are also plants used in traditional medicine, including cinchona (the source of quinine) and rauwolfia (an emetic and antihypertensive), as well as copal, rubber, and palm trees. Many types of edible mushrooms grow wild; other wild edible vegetables grow in the forests, grasslands, and swamps. Eucalyptus trees have been imported and form important stands in the highlands; they are used for construction timber and poles.

Animal life is also rich and diversified. Chimpanzees are found mostly in the equatorial forest, and gorillas occur in the eastern mountains around Lake Kivu. Elephants and various species of monkey and baboon are found in the forest and the savanna woodland. The short elephants are, however, exclusively forest-bound.

In the primary forests of Uele, Aruwimi, and Ituri are the okapi, the giant wild boar, and the short antelope. The lion and leopard inhabit the grasslands, and the jackal, hyena, cheetah, wildcat, wild dog, buffalo, antelope, wild hog, and black and white rhinoceroses are found in the grasslands and savanna woods. Giraffes mainly inhabit the northeastern grasslands.

Hippopotamuses and crocodiles are common in the rivers and lakes, and whales, dolphins, and lungfishes are found near the coast. Congolese rivers, lakes, and swamps are well stocked with a variety of fish, such as the capitaine from the Congo River and catfish, electric fish, eels, cichlids, and many others. There is also a good supply of jellyfish in Lake Tanganyika. Reptiles are common and include various snakes, such as pythons, vipers, and tree cobras, as well as lizards, chameleons, salamanders, frogs, and turtles.

Birdlife includes the pelicans, parrots, and many species of sunbird, pigeon, duck, goose, eagle, vulture, cuckoo, owl, crane, stork, and swallow. The insects are innumerable. There are hundreds of species of butterfly; in the savanna woodlands the butterflies have their special season at the beginning of the rains, when they can be seen flying in great numbers, filling the sky and wandering over the blooming trees. There are also bees of all types, different species of grasshopper, and caterpillars, praying mantises, beetles, dragonflies, scorpions, mosquitoes, tsetse flies, ants, termites, spiders, centipedes, and millipedes.

Elephants wade across a stream in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [Credit: Carmen Redondo—Corbis]

Settlement patterns

The traditionally inhabited regions are the forests, savanna woodlands, and grasslands. People have worked these areas and have become specialized to their environment. The individuals who live in the forests, such as the Bambuti (Pygmies) of the Ituri Forest, have specialized mostly in hunting and fishing, while agriculture has remained secondary or is nonexistent.

In the savanna woodlands the inhabitants combine cultivation with hunting and fishing. In some areas across the southern half of the country, the people are engaged in the raising of small livestock and poultry and traditionally mine copper, iron ore, and other minerals. In the grasslands inhabitants confine themselves almost solely to agriculture. In the eastern grasslands, however, agriculture is combined with the raising of large livestock.

A large percentage of the Congolese population is rural, and most of the people live in scattered villages. The style of housing varies regionally, as does the general size of the villages. A village with 10 to 25 housing units is generally considered small, while one with 150 to 200 is considered large. The savanna woodlands of the south-central regions, and to some extent the coastal region, are the most populous areas, with the largest villages having 300 to 500 people. The eastern grassland areas have isolated farms and hamlets.

A tailor in his shop in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. [Credit: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images]

There are nine other major cities; all are administrative or commercial centres with the exception of Likasi, which is mainly an industrial and mining town. Kananga is the capital of Kasaï-Occidental (Western Kasai) province. Lubumbashi (formerly Élisabethville), the administrative headquarters of Katanga, is the heavily industrialized capital of the nation's copper-mining activities. Mbuji-Mayi is the capital of Kasaï-Oriental (Eastern Kasai) province and the country's diamond centre. Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville), the terminal point of navigation on the Congo River from Kinshasa, is the capital of Orientale province. Bukavu, the headquarters of Sud-Kivu province, is a major tourist centre; Kikwit, the former capital of Bandundu province, is the terminal port on the Kwilu River; and Matadi, the capital of Bas-Congo, is the country's main port. Mbandaka is a river port and the capital of Équateur province.

All of these towns were developed during the colonial period, when there were separate sectors for the Europeans and the Africans. The European neighbourhoods were characterized by big houses with large yards, wide and paved streets, and adequate electricity. The crowded African areas had smaller houses and yards and poor, if any, electric supply. These characteristics still hold true, although the traditional European sectors include Africans of the upper income group.

Ethnic composition

It is common for the modern African to prefer an identification as simply an African or as a citizen of a particular country. It is possible, however, to distinguish ethnic, linguistic, or cultural groups among the Congolese population.

The Bantu peoples constitute a large majority of the country's population and occupy more than two-thirds of the national territory. They entered the region of modern Congo during the 10th to the 14th century from the west and north and established kingdoms that were flourishing at the time of European penetration after the 16th century. The major kingdoms were those of the Kongo, Teke (Bateke), Luba, Pende, Yaka, Lunda, Songe, Tetela, and Kuba peoples. Major cultural clusters today include the Mongo (in the centre), Kongo (west), Luba (south-central), Lunda (south), Bemba (southeast), and Kasai (southwest). Bantu tribes in the north and northeast include Ngala, Buja, Bira, Kuumu, and Lega (Rega).

The Pygmies are considered the earliest inhabitants of the Congo basin, having arrived possibly during the Upper Paleolithic Period. The remaining Pygmies—the Bambuti, Twa, and Babinga—inhabit the forests of Kibali and Ituri and the regions of Lakes Kivu and Tanganyika and the Lualaba, Tshuapa, Sankuru, and Ubangi rivers.

There are other small non-Bantu African populations. The Sudanese groups who settled in the north include the Zande (Azande), Mangbetu, Banda, and Barambu (Abarambo). The Nilotic peoples live in the northeast; they include the Alur, Kakwa, Bari, Lugbara, and Logo. Hamitic peoples from North Africa and Rwanda are few; they include the Tutsi, who live in the lake region.

The permanent European and Asian population comprises about half of the country's aliens. Most of them came to Congo for temporary employment. Much of the remaining alien population is composed of Africans of non-Congolese nationality.

Linguistic composition

More than 200 languages and dialects are spoken in Congo. Communication between groups has been facilitated by four national languages: Swahili, Tshiluba (Kiluba), Lingala, and Kikongo. French is the only official language and the language of instruction, business, adminstration, and international communications. The four national languages are used in local trading and radio broadcasting. Lingala is growing rapidly; it is the official language of the military and is widely spoken in Kinshasa, where it is used in popular music.

Religion

The traditional religious beliefs in a supreme being, the power of the ancestors, spirits of nature, and the efficacy of magic were torn apart or greatly disturbed with the introduction of Christianity. There is a sizable Christian population, including the local sect of the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth by the Prophet Simon Kimbangu (Kimbanguism). The rest of the African population continues to follow traditional beliefs or professes no religion. The foreign community includes a small Jewish population and some Hindus and Muslims.

Resources

The country's main economic resource is its mineral deposits. The abundance of minerals in Katanga (Shaba) province (Swahili shaba, “copper”) was a source of the desire of European powers to control the area. Minerals of Katanga include copper, cobalt, zinc, cassiterite (the chief source of metallic tin), manganese, coal, silver, cadmium, germanium (a brittle element used as a semiconductor), gold, palladium (a metallic element used as a catalyst and in alloys), and platinum.

The region west of Lake Kivu contains cassiterite, columbotantalite, wolframite (a source of tungsten), beryl, gold, and monazite (a phosphate of the cerium metals and thorium). Lake Kivu has a vast reserve of methane, carbonic, and nitrogen natural gases. There are deposits of iron ore in south-central Congo. Industrial diamonds are found in the central regions, and gem-quality diamonds occur in the south-central part of the country.

There are gold, coal, and iron-ore deposits in northeastern Congo, and there are prospective deposits of gold, monazite, and diamonds in the northwestern regions. The diamond deposits in the western region are insignificant for industrial exploitation. Coastal Congo contains bauxite, gold, and offshore deposits of petroleum. The limestone deposits that occur throughout the country are considered to be among the richest in Africa.

Congo's forest reserves cover more than half of the country and are considered to be the largest in Africa. The wide variety of wild game supplements the local diet and contributes to a certain extent to local commerce. The rivers, lakes, swamps, and ocean contain a vast reserve of fish.

The country's hydroelectric resources have an estimated potential of 13 percent of the world's capacity and 50 percent of Africa's potential capacity. This tremendous potential is derived from the many rapids along the rivers of the Congo system. Thermal energy can be derived from the forests and coal and petroleum deposits, as well as the uranium deposits in Katanga.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

Domestic agriculture is the main source of food supply and cash income for the majority of the population. Although the country is rich in agricultural potential, the deterioration of the transportation network and agricultural services since independence have led to a regrowth of subsistence agriculture and a collapse of market production. Foodstuffs such as cereals and fish must be imported in increasing amounts. Coffee is the chief agricultural export; palm oil, rubber, and cotton, once mainstays of the export economy, have become almost negligible.

Lunda children pounding cassava into flour, southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo. [Credit: John Anthony/Bruce Coleman Ltd.]

Livestock and poultry are kept in every province. Cattle are raised mainly in the eastern and southern regions. Pigs are kept in the west and sheep in the eastern highlands. Other farm animals include chickens, geese, pigeons, and rabbits. Commercial meat production is limited, however, and the country depends upon imports to fulfill most of its requirements.

A small part of the yearly production of timber is exported for veneering or plywood; most, however, is used locally for fuel. There is some commercial freshwater and ocean fishing. Local hunting and fishing for private consumption are not ordinarily reported in official statistics and are difficult to measure.

Industry

Mining produces more than half of the national budget and more than 80 percent of total exports. Congo is a leading producer of industrial diamonds, accounting for about one-third of the world's total production. It also produces about half of the world's cobalt. It is a major producer of copper and tin. Coal production is low, however, because of mining difficulties and the increasing production of hydroelectricity. Other minerals mined include cadmium, silver, manganese, gold, wolframite, columbotantalite, beryl, and monazite. The most important mining company is the state-owned Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines).

Manufacturing industries can be classified into two main categories. Consumption industries produce processed foods, beverages, cigarettes, cloth, printed material, hosiery, shoes and leather, metallic fabrics, and such chemical products as soap, paints, rubber, and plastics. The supply and equipment industries include spinning and weaving plants, chemical factories, and facilities to produce machinery, transport materials, nonmetallic minerals, and wood products. A petroleum refinery near Moanda was established in 1968.

The hydroelectric dam on the Congo River at Inga Falls, near Matadi, Democratic Republic of the &elipsis; [Credit: Georg Gerster/Comstock Inc.]

Finance and trade

The national central bank, the Bank of Congo, is located in Kinshasa, as are numerous commercial, savings, and development banks. Most of these banks maintain branch offices in the regional capitals and major cities. There are also mortgage and credit banking institutions. Totally foreign-owned banks include U.S., British, and French institutions as well as the International Bank for Africa in Congo.

Congo has a favourable balance of trade. Mineral products account for most of total exports. The second most valuable exports are agricultural products; exported manufactures are of limited value and volume. Imports consist of consumer goods, machinery (largely mining and transport equipment), construction materials, leather and textiles, fuel, chemical products, metal products, and increasing amounts of foodstuffs.

Transportation

The organization of the transportation network is of the most crucial importance to Congo, a country of continental dimensions and rich economic resources. The country's generally poor transportation infrastructure is a major factor in the underdevelopment and stagnation of the economy. The Congo River, the spinal cord of the country, and its tributaries serve as the main transport arteries. The rivers are supplemented by rail, road, and air services.

Navigation is possible throughout the year on sections of the Congo River. It is navigable from Banana to Matadi, Kinshasa to Kisangani, from Obundu to Kindu, and from Kongolo to Bukama for a total of 1,428 miles. Its tributaries add at least another 8,750 miles of navigable rivers. The main port for maritime shipping is Matadi near the mouth of the Congo River.

The agricultural region of Mayumbe is served by the Boma-Tshela railway. Other lines connect the Uele with the Itimbiri River and Lake Tanganyika with the Lualaba River, and two railways serve the rich southern regions.

There are four major routes that combine water and rail transport. The only such route to lie wholly within Congo runs by rail from Katanga to Ilebo, by boat along the Kasai and Congo rivers to Kinshasa, and by rail to Matadi. The international routes run across Lake Tanganyika and Tanzania to the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam; through Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to Beira, also on the Indian Ocean; and through Angola to the Atlantic Ocean port of Lobito. The Angolan route and the system to Beira have been unusable for years, however, because of ongoing civil wars in Angola and Mozambique. The heavy traffic that would normally follow these routes is sent via Zimbabwe to ports in South Africa. In an effort to lessen its dependence upon its neighbours, the government plans a railway to connect Katanga directly with its Atlantic Ocean ports by linking Ilebo with Kinshasa.

Ntsomo Payanzo

Bernd Michael Wiese

Government

Congolese voters at a polling station in Kinshasa looking at lists of candidates for parliamentary &elipsis; [Credit: Finbarr O` Reilly—Reuters/Landov]

The Popular Movement of the Revolution (Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution; MPR) was the sole legal political party from 1970 until 1990. It was presided over by then-president Mobutu Sese Seko and had branches at every administrative level throughout the country. The MPR splintered into factions after Mobutu was overthrown in 1997.

At the time of the transitional government, some of the most prominent political parties were the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy (Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie; PPRD); Union for Democracy and Social Progress (Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social; UDPS); Democratic Social Christian Party (Parti Démocrate Social Chrétien; PDSC); Popular Movement of the Revolution–Fait Privé (Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution–Fait Privé; MPR-FP), a faction of Mobutu's original party; Congolese National Movement–Lumumba (Mouvement National Congolais–Lumumba; MNC-L); Forces for Renovation for Union and Solidarity (Forces Novatrices pour l'Union et la Solidarite; FONUS); Congolese Rally for Democracy (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie; RCD); and Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (Mouvement pour la Libération du Congo; MLC). The latter two parties represented former rebel groups.

For administrative purposes, the country has long been divided into a varying number of regions or provinces. After the overthrow of Mobutu's regime in 1997, the country was organized into 10 provinces and the ville (city) of Kinshasa. The provinces are presided over by governors. The 2006 constitution provides for an increase in the number of provinces from 10 to 26, though the new provincial structure was not immediately implemented.

Ntsomo Payanzo

Bernd Michael Wiese

Ed.

Justice

For many years, the Supreme Court (located in Kinshasa) and the Courts of Appeal stood at the centre of Congo's judicial system, but, after the promulgation of the 2006 constitution, they were slated to be superseded by the new judicial structure. The 2006 constitution provides for an independent judiciary consisting of the Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation, the Council of State (a federal administrative court), the Military High Court, and lower courts and tribunals throughout the country.

Education

Since independence, public authorities have recognized the value of education and have given it greater attention. Primary education is compulsory, although it is difficult for the country to meet this pledge because of warfare, the lack of facilities, and an inadequate number of teachers.

Congo is served by universities in Kinshasa, Kisangani, and Lubumbashi. There are university institutes in the three university towns and at Buvaku and two arts academies in Kinshasa.

Health and welfare

In general, individuals build their own houses according to their needs and means. The government established a department that builds and rents houses and also sells condominiums. In the cities, however, the sales and rental of housing is largely a function of the private sector.

In 1960 Congo inherited a difficult medical situation, for there were no Congolese doctors. The colonial administration had trained some highly qualified medical technicians and nurses while confining medical practice to European doctors and missionaries. By the late 1970s, however, most of the doctors were Congolese. For the country's first decade, experienced medical assistants, technicians, and nurses filled the vacuum left by the shortage of doctors. By 1990 there was a meagre one doctor for every 15,500 persons.

Despite great efforts in the 1970s and '80s, the country suffered from ever-declining health care standards in the 1990s and 2000s because of the protracted civil war. Diseases such as AIDS, sleeping sickness, and various types of hemorrhagic fever went largely unchecked, often at epidemic levels. At the war's end, millions of people were left homeless and suffered from starvation and disease.

Precolonial perspectives

Before experiencing the radical social transformations of the colonial era, Congolese societies had already suffered major disruptions. From the 15th to the 17th century several important state systems came into existence in the savanna region in the southern half of the area. The most important were the Kongo kingdom in the west and the Luba and Lunda empires in the east. All three developed fairly elaborate political structures, buttressed by the symbolic force of kingship as well as by military force. Typically, power emanated from the capital city to the outlying areas through the intermediation of appointed chiefs or local clan heads. Competition for the kingship often led to civil strife, however, and the development of slave-trading activities injected a new source of instability into regional politics. The history of the Kongo peoples in the 16th century is largely the story of how the Atlantic slave trade created powerful vested interests among provincial chiefs, in time greatly lessening the capacity of the kingdom to resist the encroachments of its neighbours. Thus, in the late 16th century, the kingdom had all but succumbed to the attacks of the Jaga, a group of warriors from the east. Two centuries later the Lunda and Luba peoples underwent a similar process of internal fragmentation followed by attacks from various interlopers, including Arabs and mestizos, eager to control the trade in slaves and ivory. On the eve of the European conquest their political institutions were both fractious and oppressive.

In the tropical rainforest the radically different ecological conditions raised formidable obstacles in the way of state-building. Small-scale segmentary societies, organized into village communities, were the rule. Corporate groups that combined social and economic functions among small numbers of related and unrelated people formed the dominant mode of organization. Among such corporate groups, exchange took place through trading activities and reciprocal gift-giving. Social interactions in time produced a measure of cultural homogeneity among otherwise distinctive communities, as among Bantu and Pygmy. Bantu communities absorbed and intermarried with their Pygmy clients, who brought their skills and crafts into the culture. The element of continuity discernible in the persistence of house and village organization stands in sharp contrast to the more centralized state structures characteristic of the savanna kingdoms. Nonetheless, on the eve of the Belgian conquest, most Congolese societies had reached a degree of internal decomposition that greatly lessened their capacity to resist a full-scale invasion.

Resistance to outside forces in the savanna region was hampered by the devastating raids and civil wars that followed in the wake of the slave trade, by the improved capacity of Africans to destroy each other through the use of firearms, and ultimately by the all-too-familiar divisions between collaborators and resisters. The relative ease with which Congolese societies yielded to the European conquest bears testimony to the profound internal dislocations most of them had experienced in the course of previous centuries.

The Congo Free State

King Leopold II of the Belgians was the catalyst for organizing the conquest of the huge domain that was to become his personal fief. His thinly veiled colonial ambitions paved the way for the Berlin West Africa Conference (1884–85), which granted him possession of the area of the Congo River basin to be known as the Congo Free State (1885–1908). Thus armed with a mandate of international legitimacy, and under the guise of his African International Association's humanitarian mission of ending slavery and bringing religion and the benefits of modern life to the Congolese, Leopold created a coercive instrument of colonial hegemony. The name “Congo Free State” is most readily associated with the extraordinary hardships and atrocities visited upon the Congolese masses by Leopold's rule.

“Without the railroad,” said Leopold's agent, the British explorer and journalist Henry Morton Stanley, “the Congo is not worth a penny.” But also of great importance were the area's natural resources, primarily its wild rubber trees and ivory. Without recourse to forced labour, however, the railroad could not be built and rubber could not be collected in amounts large enough to be profitable; nor could African resistance in the east be overcome without a massive recruitment of indigenous troops. Greed and economic considerations led Leopold to transform his nascent administrative system into an infernal machine designed to extract a maximum output of labour from the people and natural resources from the land. In order to secure the labour necessary to accomplish Leopold's goals, his agents employed such methods as kidnapping the families of Congolese men, who were forced to meet often unrealistic work quotas to secure their families' release. Those who tried to rebel were dealt with by Leopold's private army, the Force Publique—a band of African soldiers led by European officers—who burned the villages and slaughtered the families of rebels. The Force Publique troops were also known for cutting off the hands of the Congolese, including children; the mutilations served to further terrorize the Congolese into submission.

Efforts to reveal the truth about Leopold's brutal regime were led by the Congo Reform Association, considered by many to be the world's first large-scale human rights movement, whose revelations generated a flood of criticism from around the globe. In response to international pressure, in 1908 the Belgian Parliament voted to annex the Congo Free State—essentially purchasing the area from King Leopold, thus placing what was once the king's personal holding under Belgian rule.

The destructive impact of the Free State on the African populations outlived its relatively brief life span. The widespread social disruption not only complicated the establishment of a viable system of administration; it also left a legacy of anti-Western sentiment on which subsequent generations of nationalists were able to capitalize.

Belgian paternalism and the politics of decolonization

Belgian colonial rule bore traces of its Leopoldian pedigree: the irreducible tendency to treat Africans as childlike creatures and a firm commitment to political control and compulsion—on which Belgian paternalism was based—were both characteristic features of Leopoldian rule. The elimination of the more brutal aspects of the Congo Free State notwithstanding, Belgian rule remained conspicuously unreceptive to political reform. By placing the inculcation of Western moral principles above political education and welfare benefits above the apprenticeship of social responsibility, Belgian policies virtually ruled out all initiatives designed to foster political experience and responsibility among Africans.

Not until 1957, with the introduction of a major local government reform (the so-called statut des villes), were Africans given their first taste of democracy. By then the impact of social change had become apparent in the rise of a class of Westernized Africans (évolués) anxious to exercise their political rights beyond the urban arenas; the heavy demands made upon the rural masses during the years of the two World Wars, coupled with the profound psychological impact of the postwar constitutional reforms introduced in neighbouring French-speaking territories, created a climate of social unrest suited for the development of nationalist sentiment and activity. The precipitating factor behind the political awakening of the Congolese masses was the publication in 1956 of a political manifesto calling for immediate independence. Penned by a group of Bakongo évolués affiliated to the Alliance des Bakongo (ABAKO), an association based in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa), the manifesto was the response of ABAKO to the ideas set forth by a young Belgian professor of colonial legislation, A.A.J. van Bilsen, in his “Thirty-Year Plan for the Political Emancipation of Belgian Africa.” Far more impatient in tone, the ABAKO manifesto stated: “Rather than postponing emancipation for another thirty years, we should be granted self-government today.”

Joseph Kasavubu. [Credit: AP]

The turning point in the process of decolonization came on January 4, 1959, when anti-European rioting erupted in Léopoldville, resulting in the death of scores of Africans at the hands of the security forces. On January 13 the Belgian government formally recognized independence as the ultimate goal of its policies—a goal to be reached “without fatal procrastination, yet without fatal haste.” By then, however, nationalist agitation had reached a threshold of intensity that made it virtually impossible for the Belgian administration to effectively control the course of events. To this growing turbulence the Belgian government responded by convening a Round Table Conference in Brussels, in January 1960, involving the participation of a broad spectrum of nationalist organizations. The aim was to work out the conditions of a viable transfer of power; the result, however, was an experiment in instant decolonization. Six months later, on June 30, the Congo formally acceded to independence, hurtling toward a self-induced apocalypse.

The Congo crisis

The triggering element behind the “Congo crisis” was the mutiny of the army (the so-called Force Publique) near Léopoldville on July 5, immediately followed by the intervention of Belgian paratroopers, ostensibly to protect the lives of Belgian citizens. Adding to the confusion created by the collapse of the Force Publique, the constitutional impasse arising from the opposition between the president and the prime minister brought the machinery of government to a halt. President Kasavubu revoked Prime Minister Lumumba from his functions; Lumumba responded by dismissing Kasavubu. Meanwhile, on July 11, the country's richest province, Katanga, declared itself independent under the leadership of Moise Tshombe. The support given by Belgium to the Katanga secession gave a measure of credibility to Lumumba's claims that Brussels was trying to reimpose its authority on its former colony, and on July 12 he and Kasavubu appealed to United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold for UN security assistance.

While intended to pave the way for the restoration of peace and order, the arrival of the UN peacekeeping force added yet another source of tension between President Kasavubu and Prime Minister Lumumba. The latter's insistence that the United Nations use force if necessary to bring Katanga back into the fold of the central government met with categorical opposition from Kasavubu. Lumumba then turned to the Soviet Union for logistic assistance to send troops to the Katanga, at which point the Congo crisis became inextricably bound up with East-West issues.

Memorial in Kisangani to Patrice Lumumba, first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the &elipsis; [Credit: Tomas D.W. Friedmann/Photo Researchers]

Even more than his inability to deal effectively with the Katanga secession, Adoula's decision to dissolve parliament in September 1963 brought his popularity to its lowest ebb. His move contributed directly to the outbreak of rural insurgencies, which, from January to August 1964, engulfed 5 provinces out of 21 and suddenly raised the ominous prospect of a total collapse of the central government. Because of its poor leadership and fragmented bases of support, the rebellion failed to translate its early military successes into an effective power apparatus; even more important in turning the tide against the insurgents was the decisive contribution made by European mercenaries in helping the central government regain control over rebel-held areas. For this, much of the credit goes to Tshombe, who by July 10 had replaced Adoula as prime minister. Ironically, a year and a half after his defeat at the hands of the UN forces, the most vocal advocate of secessionism had suddenly emerged as the providential leader of a besieged central government.

Mobutu's regime

Mobutu's second coup, on November 24, 1965, occurred in circumstances strikingly similar to those that led to the first—a struggle for power between the incumbent president, Kasavubu, and his prime minister, Tshombe. Unlike Lumumba, however, Tshombe managed to leave the country unharmed—and determined to regain power. Rumours that the ousted prime minister was plotting a comeback from his Spanish retreat hardened into certainty when in July 1966 some 2,000 of Tshombe's former Katanga gendarmes, led by mercenaries, mutinied in Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville). Exactly a year after the crushing of the first mutiny, another broke out, again in Kisangani, apparently triggered by the news that Tshombe's airplane had been hijacked over the Mediterranean and forced to land in Algiers, where he was held prisoner. Led by a Belgian settler named Jean Schramme and involving approximately 100 former Katanga gendarmes and about 1,000 Katangese, the mutineers held their ground against the 32,000-man Congolese National Army (Armée Nationale Congolaise; ANC) until November 1967, when Schramme and his mercenaries crossed the border into Rwanda and surrendered to the local authorities. The country settled into a semblance of political stability for the next several years, allowing Mobutu to focus on his unsuccessful strategies for economic progress. In 1971 Mobutu renamed the country Zaire as part of his “authenticity” campaign—his effort to emphasize the country's cultural identity.

The fragility of Mobutu's power base was again demonstrated in 1977 and 1978, when the country's main opposition movement, the Congolese National Liberation Front (Front de la Libération Nationale Congolaise; FLNC), operating from Angola, instigated two major invasions into Shaba (which Katanga was called from 1972 to 1997). On both occasions external intervention from friendly governments—mostly from Morocco in 1977 and from France in 1978—saved the day, but at the price of untold casualties among Africans and Europeans. After the capture of Kolwezi in May 1978, an estimated 100 Europeans lost their lives, partly at the hands of the rebels and partly at the hands of the ANC. At any rate, and quite aside from the part played by the FLNC in spearheading the invasions, the sharp deterioration of the Zairian economy after 1975, coupled with the rapid growth of anti-Mobutu sentiment among the poor and the unemployed, were crucial elements in the background of the Shaba invasions.

The timing of the first Shaba invasion, 11 years after the creation of the Popular Movement of the Revolution (Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution; MPR), made plain the shortcomings of the single-party state as an agent of national integration and of Mobutism as a legitimizing formula. Officially described as “the nation politically organized,” the MPR may be better seen as a weakly articulated patronage system. Mobutu's effort to extol the virtues of Zairian “authenticity” did little to lend respectability either to the concept or to the brand of leadership for which it stood. As befit his chiefly image, Mobutu's rule was based on bonds of personal loyalty between himself and his entourage. His hegemony was absolute, however, and extended to every level of the government. Mobutu's decision in April 1990 to lift the ban on opposition parties was followed in May by the brutal repression of student protests at the University of Lubumbashi—resulting in the deaths of anywhere from 50 to 150 students, according to Amnesty International. Mobutu grudgingly relinquished some power (1991) and agreed to the government reforms set forth in the Transitional Constitutional Act (1994), but real reforms and promised elections never took place.

Finally, after more than 30 years, Mobutu's hold on the country began to crumble. In late 1996, rebels led by Laurent Kabila launched an insurgency to overthrow Mobutu. The rebels quickly advanced from the east, and, as they approached Kinshasa in May 1997, Mobutu relinquished authority and left the country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo

Following Mobutu's departure, Kabila assumed the presidency and restored the country's previous name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kabila initially was able to attract foreign aid and provided some order and relief to the country's decimated economy. He also initiated the drafting of a new constitution for the country. The outward appearance of moving toward democracy and progress conflicted with the reality of the situation: Kabila held the bulk of power and did not tolerate criticism or opposition. Political parties and public demonstrations were banned almost immediately following Kabila's takeover of the government, and his administration was accused of human rights abuse.

In August 1998 the new leader himself was plagued by a rebellion in the country's eastern provinces—supported by some of Kabila's former allies—at the start of what was to become a devastating five-year civil war that would draw in several countries. By the end of the year, the rebels, backed by the Ugandan and Rwandan governments, controlled roughly one-third of the country; Kabila's government received support from the Angolan, Namibian, and Zimbabwean governments in their fight against the rebels. A cease-fire and the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces were among the provisions of the 1999 Lusaka Peace Accord, an agreement intended to end the hostilities. Although it was eventually signed by most parties involved in the conflict, the accord was not fully implemented and fighting continued. Meanwhile, long-standing ethnic tensions between the Hema and the Lendu people erupted into violence in the Ituri district in the eastern part of the country; this was further complicated by rebel involvement and other political and economic factors, spawning an additional conflict in a region already mired in the civil war.

Refugee camp, with UN peacekeepers in the background, in Bunia, Congo (Kinshasa), 2003. [Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

Although the civil war was technically over, the country was devastated. More than three million people were estimated to have been killed; those who survived were left to struggle with homelessness, starvation, and disease. The new government was fragile, the economy was in shambles, and societal infrastructure was destroyed. With international assistance, Kabila was able to make considerable progress toward reforming the economy and began the work of rebuilding the country. However, his government was not able to exercise any real control of much of the country and had to cope with fighting that remained in the east, as well as two failed coup attempts in 2004. Nevertheless, a new, formal constitution was promulgated in 2006, and Kabila was victorious in presidential elections held later that year. In January 2008 a peace agreement aimed at ending the fighting in the eastern part of the country was signed by the government and more than 20 rebel groups.

René Lemarchand

Ed.