In recent weeks the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire, and before that the Belgian Congo, has been in the news: A brutal civil war, an horrendous AIDS epidemic, the assassination of its dictator, Laurent Kabila, and now a new President, Kabila's son Joseph, who is in Washington for talks with the Bush Administration. The Kongo was a state located primarily in the southwest portion of the modern Congo, and also occupying portions of northern Angola and Cabinda. [4][5], The Bantu expansion is thought to have reached modern day DRC as well as Northern Angola and Zambia possibly as early as 500 BC, and then gradually started to expand southward.[6]. He made an effort to improve the lives of his subjects in the Congo and to slowly give back control. By the end of Stanley’s expeditions, Leopold now held treaties from almost all of the Congo and had European support, giving him complete control over the Congo. A very short overview of Belgian, and latterly US, imperialism in Congo, written by Marty Jezer in 2001. The king would oversee all judicial, military, and financial issues. After imperialism. Before Europe set its sights on Africa, the Congo was an independent nation relatively untouched by imperialism. Of particular note is that the populations of the Eastern regions of the precolonial Congo were heavily disrupted by constant slaving, mainly from Zanzibari slave dealers such as the infamous Tippu Tip (though he would come after the Europeans' entrance onto the scene). "Pre-colonial history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo", Learn how and when to remove this template message, A very brief history of pure mathematics: The Ishango Bone, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pre-colonial_history_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo&oldid=985788232, History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Articles needing additional references from February 2013, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 27 October 2020, at 23:25. The division was through the scramble for Africa. Henry Morton Stanley was one of the first and most important European explorers in the Congo. Public Affairs, New York. After imperialism. If the leaders refused to sign the treaties, Stanley would use either trickery, threats, or brute strength to force the leaders to sign. These trade goods would also form, in addition to slaves, the backbone of the Kongo's trade with Europeans (primarily the Portuguese), upon their arrival. The pre-colonial history of the modern-day 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. The Luba empires army was small because there weren't any really military threats. Despite the obvious exploitation taking place in the Congo, world leaders still saw Leopold’s rule as a humanitarian effort. The motivations for King Leopold's imperialism of the Congo was the vast amount of natural resources present in the Congo such as ivory and rubber. Belgian imperialism: the colonisation of the Congo. Much of the Congo Free State was located in Central Africa in a large Jungle. This culture, known as the Upemba, would eventually evolve into the more significant Luba Empire, as well as the Kingdom of Lunda. Religion. The Congo had suffered under the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, during which the Portuguese captured residents of the Congo and sold them into slavery. The Luba Kingdom arose out of the Upemba culture and was founded by King Kongolo around 1585. When King Álvaro I, came to the throne in an environment of contestation in 1568, he immediately had to fight invaders from the east (who some authorities believe were actually rebels within the country, either peasants or discontented nobles) called the "Jagas". S. Low, Marston & Company, London, 1893. The Bantu migrations added to and displaced the indigenous Pygmy populations in the southern regions of the modern Congo states. The region in which these cultures appeared is particularly rich in ore and these civilizations began to develop and implement iron and copper technology, in addition to trading in ivory and other goods. Rising population soon made intricate local, regional and foreign commercial nets possible, forming networks that traded mostly in salt, iron and copper. Before imperialism. The Congo was always popular for slave traders to raid, and take people from. The Kuba Kingdom, or more accurately, the Kuba Federation, was a political entity (one comprising a collection of approximately twenty Bantu ethnic groups) that began to develop out of a number of decentralized, ethnically Bantu states (namely the Luba, the Leele, and the Wongo ethnic groups). At the same time, a Lunda chief and warrior called Mwata Kazembe set up an Eastern Lunda kingdom in the valley of the Luapula River. The Congo Before Colonization. The effects of this period are still being felt by many African countries up-to-date as is the case with Congo. One such nation, Belgium, began to explore Africa, which was fabled to contain vast, untapped supplies of gold, ivory, and other important resources. It was later taken over by the Belgian government in 1908. [3] It is now believed to be more than 20,000 years old. The New Imperialism European countries controlled only small part of Africa in 1880; but by 1914 only Ethiopia, Liberia remained independent. European imperialism in Africa was partly due to rivalries between the different European countries involved, with Britain, Germany and France the dominant powers. Their son, Mwaant Yav or Mwata Yamvo formed the central Lunda Kingdom there with a population of about 175,000 and became its ruler from 1660 to 1665. The imperialism of the Congo was mostly economic. European powers rapidly divided Africa Period known as “Scramble for Africa” Most visible example of new imperialism New imperialism not based on settlement of colonies European powers worked to directly govern large areas occupied by What has changed in Congo’s Society? The most important were the Kongo kingdom in the west and the Luba-Lunda states in the east. This transition ran without interruption, with several distinct societies developing out of the Upemba culture prior to the genesis of the Luba. Leopold administered the Congo in a notoriously brutal manner, using it to augment his own personal wealth. Under the Belgian government, conditions in the Congo slightly improved. It was based on the twin principles of sacred kingship and rule by council. Also, much has been made about the large number of primitive hunter-gatherer groups that inhabit the Congo, especially the Pygmy population. Before imperialism came to the Congo, it was a state of slave raids, unused natural resources, and Christianity. The Ivory Industry 6. 7. . At its greatest extent, the kingdom reached from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Kwango River in the east, and from the Point Noire in the north to the Loje River in the south. The Congo Before Colonization - Congo Imperialism. The Belgians began attempting to gain the acceptance of the Kuba in the early 1880s; however, the gifts Belgium attempted to give were always rejected and king aMbweeky aMileng threatened to behead any foreign intruders. Before Imperialism Prior to the Imperialism in Africa, The Congo government was very powerful, especially between the 14th and 17th centuries. Although he no longer had control over the Congo, Leopold had made a fortune by exploiting its people and natural resources. Eventually the Portuguese would gain control over most of the surrounding territory which led to increasing tensions with the Kongo. The current territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo was occupied by humans in the Paleolithic at least 80,000 years ago. He asked Stanley to convince local leaders in Congo to sign their land into Belgian control; Leopold was interested in Congo’s vast supply of ivory, Leopold’s soldiers enslaved Africans and moved them to labor camps, with mandatory quotas; if they didn’t meet the quotas, they were beaten, mutilated, or publicly executed, Social activist and journalist Edmond Dean Morel spoke out against violence in Congo and Leopold’s attempts to control the media; Africans in the Congo shared their stories, The new Belgian King, Albert I, stopped the forced labor camps and harsh punishments. The rivers are and were tremendously important to regional trade and provide a vast natural network for such activities, in addition to providing a source of food and water (which is needless to say, abundant) to the population. However, conditions did not improve overnight; Belgian rule had destroyed the country’s population and social structure. -The Congo was given independence from Belgium in 1960 and gained control over their own government, education and resources Negative: -Belgians destroyed the existing political structure of the country, when the Congo was given independence from Belgium the indigenous people did not have any political structure The kingdom was headed by a king known as the Manikongo, who exercised his authority over the six provinces that constituted the Kongo kingdom and the Bakongo (Kongo peoples). However, when Belgium began imperializing and colonizing the Congo, King Leopold II became dictator of the country. Over the next 300 years, more than 5 million slaves are captured from within several hundred miles on either side of the C… There was a surplus of rubber that could be found in the Congo. 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