Congo Culture, and Congo History
Travel tips for your trip to Congo Hotel Maps Famous Places in Congo helps you to make your trip to Congo in the holiday a Splendid One
The Belgian Congo was created in 1885; this huge region of southern-central Africa was the personal property of the Belgian monarch, King Leopold II.
The Belgians provided only the minimum infrastructure necessary to support the extraction of the country's vast mineral wealth, setting a pattern which has dominated this benighted country ever since.
In 1925, under a mandate from the League of Nations, the territories of Rwanda and Urundi (now Burundi) were incorporated into the Belgian Congo.
After the end of WWII, the Belgian Congo was another African colony whose occupiers were concerned simply to dispose of it with minimum fuss and maximum commercial advantage.
The Belgian Congo was duly granted independence, with minimal preparation, in 1960.
With the support of the Americans and Belgians, and exploiting the country's myriad factional, tribal and regional disputes, the government was deposed after six months in an army coup led by Colonel Joseph Mobutu.
In 1961, a civilian administration backed by Mobutu was installed under Cyrille Adoula.
Four years later, Mobutu, now army Chief of Staff, took control for himself and established the regime which ruled Zaire - as the country had been renamed - for the next three decades.
In the 30 years before his demise, Mobutu Sese Seko (his adopted title) had reduced the country to the point where it barely functioned as a nation state.
The military campaign which finally brought down the Mobutu regime was triggered by the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda, where militias from the majority ethnic group, the Hutu, were engaged in a campaign of genocide against the minority Tutsi.
The genocide had been brought to an end by the intervention of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi-led force based in Uganda.
The Hutu militia had mostly fled into northeastern Zaire. The RPF pursued them, but their incursion took on a different aspect and a momentum of its own as other groups, including many long-term exiled opponents of Mobutu, coalesced around the RPF.
Laurent Kabila was adopted as leader of this newly-formed anti-Mobutu coalition. By the autumn of 1996, the Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Liberation du Congo-Zaire (AFDL) had completed their takeover.
Once in power, however, Kabila proved incapable of ruling the country, which was renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Laurent Kabila was assassinated in 2001 by one of his bodyguards; his son Joseph took over the presidency.
Religion:
Roman Catholic 50%, Islam 10%, Protestant 20%, indigenous beliefs 10% and Kimbanguist 10%.
Social conventions:
Casual clothes are widely suitable, although scanty beachwear should be confined to the beach or poolside.
Photography: A permit is required. Even then, local authorities are likely to be sensitive. Avoid official areas, airports and riverbanks.
The Belgians provided only the minimum infrastructure necessary to support the extraction of the country's vast mineral wealth, setting a pattern which has dominated this benighted country ever since.
In 1925, under a mandate from the League of Nations, the territories of Rwanda and Urundi (now Burundi) were incorporated into the Belgian Congo.
After the end of WWII, the Belgian Congo was another African colony whose occupiers were concerned simply to dispose of it with minimum fuss and maximum commercial advantage.
The Belgian Congo was duly granted independence, with minimal preparation, in 1960.
With the support of the Americans and Belgians, and exploiting the country's myriad factional, tribal and regional disputes, the government was deposed after six months in an army coup led by Colonel Joseph Mobutu.
In 1961, a civilian administration backed by Mobutu was installed under Cyrille Adoula.
Four years later, Mobutu, now army Chief of Staff, took control for himself and established the regime which ruled Zaire - as the country had been renamed - for the next three decades.
In the 30 years before his demise, Mobutu Sese Seko (his adopted title) had reduced the country to the point where it barely functioned as a nation state.
The military campaign which finally brought down the Mobutu regime was triggered by the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda, where militias from the majority ethnic group, the Hutu, were engaged in a campaign of genocide against the minority Tutsi.
The genocide had been brought to an end by the intervention of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi-led force based in Uganda.
The Hutu militia had mostly fled into northeastern Zaire. The RPF pursued them, but their incursion took on a different aspect and a momentum of its own as other groups, including many long-term exiled opponents of Mobutu, coalesced around the RPF.
Laurent Kabila was adopted as leader of this newly-formed anti-Mobutu coalition. By the autumn of 1996, the Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Liberation du Congo-Zaire (AFDL) had completed their takeover.
Once in power, however, Kabila proved incapable of ruling the country, which was renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Laurent Kabila was assassinated in 2001 by one of his bodyguards; his son Joseph took over the presidency.
Religion:
Roman Catholic 50%, Islam 10%, Protestant 20%, indigenous beliefs 10% and Kimbanguist 10%.
Social conventions:
Casual clothes are widely suitable, although scanty beachwear should be confined to the beach or poolside.
Photography: A permit is required. Even then, local authorities are likely to be sensitive. Avoid official areas, airports and riverbanks.