A Brief History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Written By John Katsoulis

Congo River satellite image at Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa by Coordenação-Geral de Observação da Terra/INPE

The DRC is a sleeping giant, as large as all of Western Europe, but with less than half the population.

In 1885, King Leopold of Belgium acquired the territory at the Conference of Berlin, making it his private property, the Congo Free State. He began exporting the real discovery, rubber. Exploitation on a grand scale began.

Colonialization turned into industrial machine, forcing thousands of Congolese from their villages, and onto rubber plantations. The Force Publique enforced law and production quotas with modern weapons, even hacking off limbs, or snapping the chicote, a bullwhip made of hippopotamus hide.

In 1908, King Leopold resigned his control to the Belgium government, which renamed it the Belgian Congo. They eventually ceded control to an independent government in 1960, led by nationalist Patrice Lumumba.

In 1971, the commander of the national army, Mobutu Sese Seko, took power, and renamed the nation, the Republic of Zaire. A one-party state existed, a dictatorship propped up by the U.S. In time, Mobutu was reputed to be one of the richest men in the world, with USD$4 billion expropriated in Swiss bank accounts.

The Rwandan Civil War led to Hutu militia forces, Interahamwe, establishing refugee camps in eastern Zaire. Zairian armies, led by Lawrence Kabila, made an alliance with them to  overthrow Mobutu, launching the First Congo War. Kabila’s forces made it to the capital Kinshasa and named Kabila president. Mobutu was forced to flee the country. In 1997, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was born.

The DRC continues to experience military conflicts in Kivu, in the east, and throughout, as new groups vie for power. 

 
John Katsoulis