Democratic Republic of the Congo Timeline: Differently | ||||||
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Location of Congo (green)
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Capital (and largest city) | Kinshasa | |||||
Official languages | English • French • Swahili • Lingala | |||||
Government | Unitary presidential republic | |||||
- | President | Félix Tshisekedi | ||||
- | Upper house | Senate | ||||
- | Lower house | Assembly of Electors | ||||
Establishment | ||||||
- | Colonized by Belgium | 17 November 1892 | ||||
- | Independence from Belgium | 28 June 1919 | ||||
Area | ||||||
- | Total | 2,345,409 km2 905,567 sq mi |
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Population | ||||||
- | Estimate | 108,407,721 (14th) | ||||
Currency | Kongo | |||||
Drives on the | right |
Congo, officially the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a large country located in Central Africa. It borders Bornu to the north, French Equator to the west, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania to the east, Angola to the southwest, and Zambia to the southeast. The country also shares a small 23-mile (37 kilometers) boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Kinshasa.
Its surface area of 2.3 million square kilometers makes the Congo the third-largest country in Africa and the 13th-largest in the world. With a population of over 90 million inhabitants, it is the third-most populous country in Africa and the 14th in the world.
Inside the country are bountiful natural resources and natural wealth. The Congo was able to become a powerful and wealthy country through successful modernization reforms during the early and mid-20th century.
History[]
Empire of Kongo (1390-1890)[]
One of the most notable states in modern-day Congo was a vast empire known as the Empire of Kongo who had ruled over the area of what is now western Congo and Angola. They acted as a independent state starting in 1390. It had a trading relationship especially with the Portuguese, trading ivory and slaves for firearms. The Kongo eventually adopted Christianity, having its own native clergy by the 1600s consisting of mainly priests and a few bishops. Meanwhile, Portugal sought to expand its mandate over the Kongo, which brought it into increasing conflict with the weakening and divided empire. The formation of the Iberian Union in 1580 weakened Portuguese influence in its colonies. European clergymen and Jesuits sought to exploit matters by encouraging Kongolese nationalism through the by then strong native church institutions.
The Kongo Empire took an aggressive stance against the Portuguese in the region 1641 finally. King of the Kongo Garcia II had taken the throne that same year. He crushed his main rival Daniel da Silva who attempted to stage a rebellion out of the region of Soyo. Garcia then waged war against the Portuguese empire in 1641. At the same time, the Dutch Empire invaded all Portuguese possessions in Angola. The Dutch and Kongo collaborated together to expel the Portuguese.
Garcia moved his army to assist the Dutch. Already by then Luanda had fallen mostly bloodlessly. Both armies completely expulsed the Portuguese and warded off later attempts in 1648 for Portugal to retake its possessions. The Empire of Kongo's embrace of Christianity had allowed its final recognition by the Catholic church in 1648.
The Dutch remained as a coastal presence in Angola, though it hardly expanded much into the interior. In the absence of the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars and its integration into France, Portugal decided to re-insert itself in the region forcefully. Portugal captured Dutch possessions in Angola in 1806 as the British had in the Dutch Cape Colony that same year. These remained under Portuguese possession even as Portugal was later invaded itself. In 1814, Britain transferred the Cape Colony back to the Netherlands. Portugal did not do the same with Dutch Angola.
The period between 1641 and 1806 had allowed the Empire of Kongo to modernize slowly though significantly. It encouraged European learning, especially the fields of science and craftsmanship. The first university in the nation was established in 1755 and multiple schools before that point. Technologies like iron, gunpowder, some simple machinery, and ships similar to Europe's were becoming commonplace by the early and mid 1800s. As a burgeoning state with the recognition of the Catholic Church, the Kongo Empire was in a good position relative to other African states. It received treatment far different compared to Pagan and Muslim Africans by European colonial states. Its position at the mouth of the Congo river did place it in a strange position. The empire was poised for issues in the future.
Belgian Colonization (1890-1919)[]

Congolese rebels during the Congolese War of Independence (1914-1919)
The Berlin Conference had been ambiguous on the Empire of Kongo. It had marked the empire and lands further inland blank. It officially deemed them as "not yet concluded". King Frederick I of Belgium exploited the ambiguity of the situation and decided to invade in 1890. After 2 years of conflict the Kongo and the region surrounding became subject to Belgian rule. Parts of the Kongo had also been further awarded to Portugal. Under his rule, terrible atrocities occurred for the extraction and profiting of resources such as rubber as well as the use of slave soldiers used in military expeditions across the globe. Belgium's rule in the Congo was condemned by Britain and France and international pressure mounted. Belgium loosened the amount of brutality, but resentment continued to fester. When the Great War broke out, priorities changed for the great powers. A native rebellion broke out against Belgian forces inside the Congo in 1914. Lasting until the end of the Great War, the rebellion forced the war torn Belgium to come to terms. A Congolese delegation attended peace talks following the war's conclusion lobbying for the Belgian Congo to be granted independence, Belgium agreed.
Early Independence and Troubles (1919-1955)[]

Portuguese battleship on the Congo River
The independent now Democratic Republic of the Congo had just as many if not more growing pains that came naturally with independence when compared with other recently freed African states of Rwanda and Namibia. Not long after its independence came a dispute over the Cabinda region, occupied by Portugal during the Congolese revolution . The League of Nations attempted to arbitrate the dispute initially but diplomatic solutions soon fell through. The Congo gathered its army and invaded Cabinda when talks had halted. The initial offensive did manage to expulse the Portuguese military from the region temporarily. The Congo then decided to capture areas of the former Empire of Kongo awarded to Portugal in the 1890s. Its revolutionary leadership had envisioned an irredentist ideal of the Congo. Portugal responded with an offensive of its own, regaining Cabinda and then severing the Congo's sea access. With Portuguese forces converging upon Kinshasa, the Congolese government conceded any claims to the region. Portugal sought to completely overthrow the Congolese government, but under international pressure, it settled for what it had gained. The loss of Cabinda continued to be viewed as one of shame and defeat by the Congolese people.

First president of the Congo, Elijah Baart (1920-1930), often referred to as "the father of the Congo"
The first president to lead the recently independent nation was Elijah Baart. A major figure in the Congolese independence movement, he faced numerous issues. Beyond its short-lived conflict with the Portuguese, there was a significant issue plaguing the nation, the divide between the relatively developed area which formerly belonged to the former Empire of Kongo and the largely undeveloped interior which had never belonged to the Kongo and experienced the same level of development over centuries. This divide largely remained throughout the coming decades. The Congo's leadership was conversely largely dominated by those from the west from Kinshasa and surrounding areas. The delegation sent to lobby for Congolese independence was largely dominated by Congolese revolutionaries from this area. Almost all who were educated and politically active came from the west.
Baart's main efforts were then to attempt to establish a Congolese identity despite the many ethnic divisions present. He established what he termed a "national ideology". In 1924, the country's first actual democratic election saw Baart's party the Congolese National Party win the most votes but fall short of a majority. Opposition groups had also failed to form a coalition in response. Baart saw democracy as fickle. He relied on the backing of the military for his rule to remain afloat, even with the backing of most of the population. Even then he struggled to keep a lid on the nations many factions, especially ethnic ones. Uprisings and rebellions came and went in the Kivu, Ituri, and Kwilu provinces.

Kinshasa government cavalry during the Congolese Civil War (1936-1938)
After he stepped down from power in 1930, Congo's history quickly became troubled. The leadership which pioneered Congolese independence became divided and prone to infighting bordering on open political violence. As these divisions were left to fester, they created the conditions for civil war.

Siadabida Bilel Kiambukuta, leader of the Army of the Interior from 1936 to 1938 before his exile from the Congo
The Rwandan Genocide in 1936 coincided with these political divisions reaching their zenith. The Congolese regime began to threaten and in some cases perpetrated massacres against to prevent border crossings. Rebels from the interior allied with the Rwandan Tutsi rebels. Together, they formed the Army of the Interior.
From 1936 to 1938 the Congolese Civil War was waged. The collapse of Tutsi resistance in Rwanda itself eventually led to the collapse of the overall movement against the Congolese government. The government emerged victorious, a victory that came at the cost of its credibility and standing within the nation. The period after the civil war became marked by politically weak leaders, sometimes no more than a few years before being deposed.
Cold War and Economic Prosperity (1955-Present Day)[]
The Congo began to see a trend towards political stability during a political revolution led by Joseph Kasa-Vubu in 1955. Kasa-Vubu initially sought neutrality in the Cold War, but came to realize that the Congo's position in the continent as a neutral nation was untenable.
During the Cold War, the Congo became a close ally with the United States. Conflict was brewing with their neighbor to the west, French Equator, which had recently adopted a communist government hostile to the Congo and the west. A border clash along the border led to a full-scale war between both nations in 1965. Fighting would remain stagnant along the Congo river, however the conflict would end in 1975 in a status quo ante bellum with neither side making any serious political or territorial gains throughout the conflict.

The pragmatic leadership of Joseph Kasa-Vubu (c. 1915 – 24 March 1990) is credited for the development of the Congo
During the course of the war, the United States had donated large sums of money and weaponry to the Congo. Kasa-Vubu had begun putting that money towards education reform and foreign investment in its diamond and uranium industries. The blocking of the Boer Republic and Warrenia from international trade would also greatly benefit the Congo as the nation would have a near-monopoly on the international diamond trade. This would result in an economic miracle for the nation in which the Congo emerged as the financial capital of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The economic miracle had allowed the entirety of the Congo to develop equally finally and bridge decades long socioeconomic gaps within the nation. The different people groups of the Congo which had been hostile or indifferent to the mainly Kinshasa-led government began to integrate into a larger Congolese identity over the coming decades, aiding greatly in the establishment of federalism within the nation above ethnic divisions.
Kasa-Vubu, upon leaving office in 1970, was succeeded by his protégé Patrice Lumumba, who continued the Congolese economic efforts and sustained stable leadership throughout. Patrice Lumumba also sought to lead Africa towards a third way free of the influence of outside powers, Pan Africanism. During his time in office, the DRC emerged not only as a financial power but a military power in its own right capable of projecting influence across Africa. During the Caprivi War between Namibia and Warrenia, the DRC played a role in Namibia preventing a complete takeover of its nation by supplying it with crucial military equipment and advisors.
Today, the DRC remains with one of highest HDIs in Africa as well as one of the lowest on the Fragile States Index. In spite of the many people groups within its nation, the DRC has managed over its existence to create one national identity even as one of the most intensely ethnically diverse nations in the world.
Cabinda Dispute and the Great African War (2018–2022)[]
A recent insurgency had sprouted up in late 2018 in the Cabinda seeking to join the Congo. A culmination of events from Avizian oil pollution, economic inequality, and Avizia's general weakness, the insurgency gained large amounts of traction. This was a particularly sensitive situation for the Congo, was shown to be funding and supplying the rebels. The Cabinda issue never truly left the consciousness of the Congolese people and had been a sustained source of antagonism between Avizia and the Congo. When Avizia had discovered large oil reserves to overlap from Cabinda and into the ocean in the late 2000s, it pushed its maritime borders to the point of completely cutting the Congo off of its immediate coast. This, combined with the Congo's support of Cabinda's insurgency, had only fueled animosity between the Congo and Avizia, not to mention the existing historical grudge held between the nations over the Cabinda.
In 2020, the Congo announced plans of establishing offshore drilling and a subsequent oil piping system to nations across the Gulf of Guinea. Avizia threatened retaliation if the Congo ever completes these plans, however the Congolese president repeatedly restated his resolve in the matter and at multiple points tried and failed to have Avizia adjust its maritime borders.
By late 2022, these plans were nearing completion and the Congo's navy had increased exercises to ensure readiness in the case of an Avizian assault. Avizia's own navy had been increasing its presence. The situation which was palpable before, escalated into a full-on war starting in September of 2022 and ending in January 2023.
Boer Civil War (2023–present)[]
Since March 2, 2023, the Congo has been fighting in the democratic side in the Boer Civil War, alongside Namibia and Mutapa.
Government[]
The Congo is a unitary presidential republic. Its parliament has a bicameral legislature, with a Senate and Assembly of Electors. The president of the Congo acts as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The office of the president has existed since the first constitution in 1920. The current 1958 constitution has the presidency as the highest position in the nation.
Demographics[]
There are over 200 ethnic groups inside the Congo, with up to 250 having been identified. The Bantu people, comprising of several of these ethnic groups, are the majority in the nation, making up 80% in total. The nation has a substantial indigenous or Pygmy population of about 600,000. Christians constitute 95.7% of the country's population, 49.7% of which is Catholic, 6.8% Protestant, and 40.2% other Christians. Followers of Islam range from 0.5 to 1% of the population.
Economy[]

Plantains in a local market in the Kivu region of the Congo
The Congo greatly benefited from its large deposits of resources such as natural rubber, copper, diamonds, timber, and uranium, especially its uranium, which it has supplied for other nations for their nuclear programs throughout the 1900s. Due to its possession of minerals such as coltan, the Congo is a leader in electronics in Africa, ranging from electrical machinery, electronic devices, and telecommunications equipment.
The DRC also has an immense agriculture industry, containing the land and capabilities to feed over 2 billion people, being one of the globe's highest producers in plantains, rice, yams, cassava, maize, cacao and palm oil. It is the second largest producer of palm oil, 6th in maize, and the largest producer of plantains.
Through these highly valuable exports the DRC remains one of Africa's highest growing economies. It is the continent's 3rd largest economies in general.

The Grand Inga Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam on the African continent
Besides raw resources, the Congo contains some of the most extensive waterways in the world, which it uses for transport but also for extensive hydropower. It's hydropower capabilities are enough to power the entire country, and it is well enough to export energy to numerous surrounding countries. Nuclear power is also a significant energy source in the nation. These factors have made the country independent from fossil fuels for the most part.
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