|
Congo Republic
Find a premier Hotel & Resort at
Hilton Hotels.
or book
Sheraton Hotels and Resorts
| |
| |
|
|
|
The Republic of the Congo, also known as
Congo-Brazzaville, 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
experimentation with 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.
History
Main article: History of the Republic of the Congo 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 kingdoms -- notably those of the Kongo, the Loango,
and the Teke -- 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 kingdoms--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 as part
of AEF, the French Equatorial Africa (modern-day Gabon,
Chad, Central African Republic, and Republic of Congo).
Economic underdevelopment during the first 50 years of
colonial rule in Congo centered on natural resource
extraction by private companies. In 1924-34, 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 1940-43. 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 3-day uprising that ousted him. The Congolese military
took charge of the country briefly and installed a civilian
provisional government headed by Alphonse Massamba-Débat.
Under the 1963 constitution, Massamba-Débat was elected
President for a 5-year term but it was ended abruptly with
an August 1968 coup d'état. 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 4-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 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.
|
|
Background:
|
Upon
independence in 1960, the former French region of
Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A
quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was
abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected
government installed in 1992. A brief civil war in
1997 restored former Marxist President
SASSOU-NGUESSO. |
|
Location:
|
Western Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean,
between Angola and Gabon |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
1 00
S, 15 00 E
|
|
Map references:
|
Africa |
|
Area:
|
total: 342,000 sq km
water: 500 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly smaller than Montana |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total: 5,504 km
border countries: Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523
km, Central African Republic 467 km, Democratic
Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Gabon 1,903 km
|
|
Coastline:
|
169
km |
|
Maritime claims:
|
territorial sea: 200 NM |
|
Climate:
|
tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season
(June to October); constantly high temperatures and
humidity; particularly enervating climate astride
the Equator
|
|
Terrain:
|
coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau,
northern basin |
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Berongou 903 m |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo
|
|
Ethnic groups:
|
Kongo
48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans
and other 3%
note: Europeans estimated at 8,500, mostly
French, before the 1997 civil war; may be half that
in 1998, following the widespread destruction of
foreign businesses in 1997
|
|
Religions:
|
Christian 50%, animist 48%, Muslim 2% |
|
Languages:
|
French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua
franca trade languages), many local languages and
dialects (of which Kikongo has the most users) |
|
Currency:
|
Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note -
responsible authority is the Bank of the Central
African States |
|
Currency code:
|
XAF
|
|
Exchange rates:
|
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US
dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001),
711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67
(1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is
pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro
|
|
Destination Guides > Africa
& Middle East >
|
●
