Republic of the Congo
The
Republic of the Congo, also known as
Congo-Brazzaville (locally as Congo-Brazza), and
Congo (but not to be confused with the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly
Zaire, which was also at one time known as the
Republic of the Congo), is a former
French colony of west-central
Africa. Its borders are
Gabon,
Cameroon,
Central African Republic,
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Angola and the
Gulf of Guinea. Upon independence in
1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of
Marxism was abandoned in
1990 and a democratically elected government installed in
1992. A brief civil war in
1997 restored former Marxist President
Denis Sassou-Nguesso.
The earliest inhabitants of the area were
Pygmy peoples. They were largely replaced and absorbed by Bantu tribes during
Bantu migrations. The Bakongo are comprised of
Bantu groups that also occupied parts of present-day
Angola,
Gabon, and
Democratic Republic of the Congo, forming the basis for ethnic affinities and rivalries among those states. Several Bantu kingdomsâ€"notably those of the
Kongo, the
Loango, and the
Tekeâ€"built trade links leading into the
Congo River basin. The first European contacts came in the late 15th century, and commercial relationships were quickly established with the kingdomsâ€"trading for slaves captured in the interior. The coastal area was a major source for the transatlantic slave trade, and when that commerce ended in the early 19th century, the power of the Bantu kingdoms eroded.
The area came under
French sovereignty in the
1880s (declared colony with the name of French Congo in
1891) as part of AEF, the
French Equatorial Africa (modern-day
Gabon,
Chad,
Central African Republic, and
Republic of Congo). Economic development during the first fifty years of colonial rule in Congo centered on natural resource extraction by private companies. In 1924â€"34, the Congo-Ocean Railway (CFCO) was built at a considerable human and financial cost, opening the way for growth of the ocean port of
Pointe-Noire and towns along its route.
During
World War II,
Brazzaville became the symbolic capital of
Free France during 1940â€"43. The
Brazzaville Conference of 1944 heralded a period of major reform in French colonial policy, including the abolition of forced labor, granting of French citizenship to colonial subjects, decentralization of certain powers, and election of local advisory assemblies. Congo benefited from the postwar expansion of colonial administrative and infrastructural spending as a result of its central geographic location within AEF and the federal capital at Brazzaville.
Following independence as the
Congo Republic on
August 15 1960,
Fulbert Youlou ruled as the country's first president until labor elements and rival political parties instigated a three-day uprising that ousted him. The Congolese military took charge of the country briefly and installed a civilian provisional government headed by
Alphonse Massamba-DĂ©bat. Under the 1963 constitution, Massamba-DĂ©bat was elected President for a five-year term but it was ended abruptly with an August
1968 coup d'Ă©tat. Capt.
Marien Ngouabi, who had participated in the coup, assumed the presidency on
December 31,
1968. One year later, President Ngouabi proclaimed Congo to be Africa's first "people's republic" and announced the decision of the National Revolutionary Movement to change its name to the Congolese Labor Party (PCT). On
March 16,
1977, President Ngouabi was assassinated. An 11-member Military Committee of the Party (CMP) was named to head an interim government with Col. (later Gen.)
Joachim Yhombi-Opango to serve as President of the Republic.
After decades of turbulent politics bolstered by
Marxist-Leninist rhetoric, and with the collapse of the
Soviet Union, Congo completed a transition to
multi-party democracy with elections in August
1992.
Denis Sassou-Nguesso conceded defeat and Congo's new president, Prof.
Pascal Lissouba, was inaugurated on
August 31,
1992.
However, Congo's democratic progress was derailed in
1997. As presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, tensions between the Lissouba and Sassou camps mounted. On
June 5, President Lissouba's government forces surrounded Sassou's compound in Brazzaville and Sassou ordered his militia to resist. Thus began a four-month conflict that destroyed or damaged much of Brazzaville. In early October,
Angolan troops invaded Congo on the side of Sassou and, in mid-October, the Lissouba government fell. Soon thereafter, Sassou declared himself President.
Elections in
2002 saw Sassou win with almost 90% of the vote. His two main rivals Lissouba and
Bernard Kolelas were prevented from competing and the only remaining credible rival,
Andre Milongo, advised his supporters to boycott the elections and then withdrew from the race. A new
constitution was agreed upon in January 2002 which granted the president new powers and also extended his term to seven years as well as introducing a new bicameral assembly.
The most important of the many parties are the Democratic and Patriotic Forces or FDP [Denis Sassou-Nguesso, president], an alliance consisting of:
* Convention for Alternative Democracy
*
Congolese Labor Party or PCT
* Liberal Republican Party
* National Union for Democracy and Progress
* Patriotic Union for the National Reconstruction
* Union for the National Renewal
Other important parties include:
* Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Michel Mampouya]
*
Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Martin Mberi]
* Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Jean-Pierre Thystere Tchicaya, president]
* Rally for Democracy and the Republic or RDR [Raymond Damasge Ngollo]
* Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR [leader NA]
* Union of Democratic Forces or UFD,
Sebastian Ebao]
The Republic of the Congo is divided into 10
regions and 1
commune*, and subdivided into 46
districts.
The
regions (
régions, singular
région) include:
Bouenza,
Brazzaville*,
Cuvette,
Cuvette-Ouest,
Kouilou,
LĂ©koumou,
Likouala,
Niari,
Plateaux,
Pool,
Sangha.
Districts: see
Districts of the Republic of the Congo |
Map of the Republic of the Congo |
Congo is located in the central-western part of
sub-Saharan Africa, straddling the
Equator. To the south and east it is bounded by the
Congo River and its tributary the
Ubangi River, across which is the larger
Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also bounded by
Gabon to the west,
Cameroon and the
Central African Republic to the north, and
Cabinda (
Angola) to the southwest. It has a short
Atlantic coast.
Its capital,
Brazzaville, is located on the Congo River,in the south of the country, immediately across from
Kinshasa, the capital of the DR Congo.
The southwest of the country is a coastal plain for which the primary drainage is the
Kouilou-Niari River; the interior of the country consists of a central plateau between two basins to the south and north. Below is a map of the Republic of the Congo.
The economy is a mixture of village agriculture and handicrafts, an industrial sector based largely on
petroleum, support services, and a government characterized by budget problems and overstaffing. Petroleum extraction has supplanted
forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. In the early
1980s, rapidly rising oil revenues enabled the government to finance large-scale development projects with GDP growth averaging 5% annually, one of the highest rates in Africa. The government has mortgaged a substantial portion of its petroleum earnings, contributing to a shortage of revenues. The
January 12,
1994 devaluation of
Franc Zone currencies by 50% resulted in inflation of 61% in
1994, but inflation has subsided since. Economic reform efforts continued with the support of international organizations, notably the
World Bank and the
IMF. The reform program came to a halt in June
1997 when civil war erupted. When Sassou-Nguesso returned to power at the war ended in October
1997, he publicly expressed interest in moving forward on economic reforms and privatization and in renewing cooperation with international financial institutions. However, economic progress was badly hurt by slumping oil prices and the resumption of armed conflict in December
1998, which worsened the republic's budget deficit. The current administration presides over an uneasy internal peace and faces difficult economic problems of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty.
See also:
*
List of writers from the Republic of the Congo*
Music of the Republic of the Congo*
Public holidays in the Republic of the Congo*
Communications in the Republic of the Congo*
Foreign relations of the Republic of the Congo*
List of cities in the Republic of the Congo*
Military of the Republic of the Congo*
Transport in the Republic of the Congo*
Scouting in Congo-BrazzavilleNews*
AllAfrica.com - Congo-Brazzaville news headline links
*
IRIN News for Congo, from the United NationsOverviews*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cf.html CIA World Factbook -
Congo, Republic of the]
Directories*
Open Directory Project - Republic of the Congo directory category
*
Stanford University - Africa South of the Sahara: Congo-Brazzaville directory category
*
The Index on Africa - Congo-Brazzaville directory category
*
University of Pennsylvania - African Studies Center: Congo directory category
*
Yahoo! - Congo (Brazzaville) directory category
Ethnic Groups*
Baka Pygmies of Cameroon and Congo Culture and music of the first inhabitants of Congo
Tourism
