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Democratic republic of the congo

Democratic republic of the congo. BASIC FACTS. Geography. Area: ¼ size of USA Capital: Kinshasa Climate: tropical equatorial. People *. * All estimates are from 2008. People. Ethnic makeup: Bantu majority 200+ African groups Major languages: French Lingala, Kingwana, others.

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Democratic republic of the congo

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  1. Democratic republic of the congo

  2. BASIC FACTS

  3. Geography • Area: ¼ size of USA • Capital: Kinshasa • Climate: tropical equatorial

  4. People* * All estimates are from 2008.

  5. People • Ethnic makeup: • Bantu majority • 200+ African groups • Major languages: • French • Lingala, Kingwana, others • Religions: • 70% Christian • 20% indigenous beliefs • 10% Muslim

  6. People* • Religions: • 70% Christian • 20% indigenous * The HIV/AIDS est. are from 2003. The literacy rates est. are from 2001. All other est. are from 2008.

  7. Economy* * All estimates are from the 21st century, albeit different dates. The range is 2000-2008.

  8. Economy • Natural resources: cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, zinc, diamonds, manganese, tin, gold, silver, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber • Agriculture: coffee, palm oil, rubber, tea, manioc, root crops, corn, fruits, sugarcane, wood products • Industry: mineral mining and processing, consumer products, cement, diamonds

  9. Government • Type: republic (in name…) • Head of State: Pres. Joseph Kabila

  10. HISTORY

  11. Earliest Peoples (40,000 BCE-1400s CE) • Pygmies (Mbuti) • 40,000 BCE • hunter-gatherers • Bantu • 500 BCE – 1500 CE: migration from W. Africa • iron, sophisticated tools • Nilotes • migration from Sudan • farming, fishing, herding A Pygmy boy fishes for his lunch in the Ituri Forest in the DRC. Photo appeared in a 2005 National Geographic article about the Mbuti Pygmies today.

  12. Many Ethnic Groups (600 CE) • Early peoples interacted and spread • 600 CE: 200+ ethnic groups

  13. Kingdoms & Empires (1400s-1500s) • Kongo • Luba • Lunda

  14. European Arrival & Slave Trade (1480s – early 1800s) European Arrival • 1480s: Portugal 1st • Kingdom of the Kongo: happy to trade Slave Trade – Why? • most lucrative • staff Portuguese sugar plantations on nearby islands • French, British, Dutch join (New World) • already existed in Africa (POWs)

  15. Slave Trade continued… Frightening Stats The Impact •  conflicts among African groups • guns introduced • abandonment of traditional econ. activities • unfortunate slaves vs. prosperous middlemen • Late 18th c: 15,000 slaves/year • In sum: 1.5m slaves from Congo 12m from Africa

  16. Henry Stanley (1860s-1870s) • 1869-1871: expedition to find Livingstone • 1874-1877: transcontinental expedition

  17. Leopold II’s Congo (1879-1908) • 1879: Leopold II establishes the “Congo Independent State” as his private kingdom

  18. Belgian Congo (1908-1960) • 1906: Congo becomes a Belgian colony

  19. Independent Congo (1960-present) • 1960: Congo gains independence • 1960-1965: Pres. Joseph Kasavubu • P.M. Patrice Lumumba (d. 1961) • 1965-1997: Mobutu Sese Seko • 1997-2001: Laurent Kabila • 2001-present: Joseph Kabila Mobutu

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