the Congo

1
the Congo
2
The discovery of Congo

• Formerly the Belgian Congo, this territory was
  inhabited by ancient Negrito peoples (Pygmies),
  who were pushed into the mountains by Bantu and
  Nilotic invaders. The American correspondent
  Henry M. Stanley navigated the Congo River in
  1877 and opened the interior to exploration.
  Commissioned by King Leopold II of the Belgians,
  Stanley made treaties with native chiefs that
  enabled the king to obtain personal title to the
  territory at the Berlin Conference of 1885.

3
Discovery Cont.

• After the Congo was taken over by King Leopold 2,
  not in the name of the Belgians, but rather his
  own, many Africans fled to the jungle because of
  the torture. In the jungle they often died of
  exposure, starvation as well as attacks from wild
  animals.
• A few missionaries that heard about the kings
  brutal treatment, wrote to him complaining. When
  he did nothing about it, these missionaries told
  the terrible tales to the European press. A
  British consul traveled up the Congo in 1904 and
  returned to Europe with photographs and
  eyewitness accounts of the brutality. After a
  long investigation the abuses were confirmed and
  in 1908 the Belgian parliament took over the
  Congo Free State from their king and renamed it
  the Belgian Congo.
• The Colonial Conquest of Africa by Robin McKown

4
The trades In Congo

• Mining is centered in Katanga province products
  include copper, cobalt, zinc, manganese, uranium,
  cassiterite (tin ore), coal, gold, and silver.
  Diamonds are mined in Kasai. There are major
  deposits of petroleum offshore near the mouth of
  the Congo River. About 75 of the Congo is
  covered with forest containing ebony and teak as
  well as less valuable woods.
• Kinshasa and Lubumbashi are the country's most
  important industrial centers. Manufacturing
  includes processed copper, zinc, and cassiterite
  refined petroleum basic consumer goods such as
  processed food, beverages, clothing, and
  footwear and cement. The chief hydroelectric
  facilities are situated in Katanga and produce
  power for the mining industry another major
  project is located at Inga, on the Congo River
  near Kinshasa.
• The country's export earnings come almost
  entirely from sales of primary products, which
  are vulnerable to sudden changes in world prices.
  Since 1994 diamonds have become the country's
  leading export following a decline in the
  production of copper (once the leading mineral
  product in terms of value). The country produces
  much of the world's small industrial diamonds.
  Petroleum also accounts for a substantial portion
  of export earnings. Other important exports are
  cobalt, coffee, palm products, and rubber. The
  leading imports are consumer goods, machinery,
  transport equipment, and foodstuffs. The
  country's principal trade partners are Belgium,
  the United States, France, Germany, and South
  Africa. The Congo is a member of the Southern
  African Development Community

• The Congo's mineral wealth is the mainstay of the
  economy, but the development of the mining
  industry has occurred at the expense of
  commercial agriculture. The economy's growth
  spurted under Belgian control in the 1950s,
  slowed considerably during the country's post
  independence troubles in the early 1960s,
  accelerated again in the late 1960s when
  political stability returned, and has generally
  declined since the 1970s, when the
  nationalization of major industries resulted in a
  reduction of private investment. Since the early
  1990s much of the economy has been in a state of
  collapse.
• Although only 3 of the nation's land area is
  arable, a substantial part of the labor force is
  engaged as subsistence farmers. The principal
  food crops are cassava, yams, corn, rice,
  peanuts, plantains, and pulses. Rubber, coffee,
  cotton, tea, sugarcane, and palm products are
  produced commercially, primarily for export.
  Although agricultural production satisfied
  domestic demands before independence, the Congo
  has become dependent on food imports. Goats,
  sheep, and cattle are raised

http//www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A087521.html
5
Congo before the Europeans

• The Congo was a very isolated country. There was
  very little to no access to other people onto
  this land because of the furious river that ran
  though the country. The native people of Congo
  lead a decent life, taking advantage of their
  natural resources alone in their country until
  their discovery and colonization.

6
Slavery

• In 1884-1885 a conference was held in Berlin to
  decide the colonial status of Central Africa.
  The United States and Germany decided to grant
  King Leopold possession of the Congo River basin.
  The people of Congo were not aware of this
  conference and were unaware of how their lives
  were about to change. During his reign, King
  Leopold issued decrees from Belgium that required
  the native people to trade only with his state
  agents. The native hunted elephants for ivory
  and gathered sap from wild rubber vines which
  grew in the rain forest. This involved the hard
  labor of many men and, at times, required these
  men to be away from their families for long
  periods of time. When the Congo people finally
  refused to continue working under these
  conditions, Leopold purchased or forcibly took
  slaves from Muslim slave traders to work as
  laborers or soldiers. Then, in the early 1890s,
  Leopold's private African army, the Force
  Publique (Public Force), drove the powerful
  Muslim slave traders out of the Congo. While
  Leopold portrayed this as a great humanitarian
  act, his real purpose was to gain control of the
  upper Congo River and to acquire more workers.
  Up to this point, Leopold's Congo enterprises had
  not made a profit. But his fortunes changed in
  the mid-1890s. A world rubber boom suddenly
  started, following the invention of the
  inflatable tire. Leopold then needed even more
  workers to go deeper into the forest in search of
  wild rubber. Leopold decided to "tax" his Congo
  subjects by requiring local chiefs to supply men
  to collect rubber. Leopold's agents held the
  wives and children of these men as hostages until
  they returned with their quota of rubber. Force
  Publique officers sent their soldiers into the
  forest to find and kill rebels hiding there. To
  prove they had succeeded, soldiers were ordered
  to cut off and bring back the right hand of every
  rebel they killed. Often, however, soldiers cut
  off the hands of living persons, even children,
  to satisfy the quota set by their officers. This
  terror campaign succeeded in getting workers back
  to collecting rubber. As a result, Leopold's
  profits soared.
• http//www.crf-usa.org/bria/bria16_2.html

7
Religion

• ETYHNICITI/RACE Kongo 48, Sangha 20, MBochi
  12, Teke 17, Europeans and other 3
• RELIGIONS Christian 50, Animist 48, Islam 2
• There was a variety of races living in the
  country as well as different cultures and beliefs
  that they all learned to appreciate and consider.
• http//www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107427.html

8
Natural Resources

• The Congo benefits from great natural resources
  such as petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc,
  uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas,
  hydropower. This richness is what drove the
  Belgians closer and closer to the Congo land.

9
Government

• Type Republic.
• Independence August 15, 1960
• Branches Executive--President (chief of state),
  Council of Ministers (cabinet).
• Legislative--Transitional Advisory Council.
• Judicial--Supreme Court, Constitutional Council,
  High Court of Justice.
• Administrative subdivisions 10 regions, divided
  into districts, plus the capital district.

10
Governments Cont.

• The constitution of Democratic Republic of the
  Congo was adopted in 2005 and came into force in
  the following year. It established a mixed
  presidential-parliamentary form of government.
  The president is popularly elected and serves two
  five-year terms. The National Legislature
  consists of two houses. The National Assembly has
  500 members with the minority (440) being
  elected, who work five year terms. The prime
  minister is usually chosen from the party. The
  Senate has 120 elected members and also works for
  five years. Also each province has an elected
  assembly.
• http//www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0857522.html

11
Current Events

• The Republic of Congo is now fighting to keep its
  rainforests intact. The taking down of the
  forests would not only impact them economically
  but it would also impact the world as far as
  oxygen production and wild life habitats.