Democratic Republic of the Congo

In the west, the Kingdom of Kongo ruled around the mouth of the Congo River from the 14th to 19th centuries.

The Kingdom of Kongo (Kongo: Kongo dya Ntotila or Wene wa Kongo; Portuguese: Reino do Congo) was a kingdom located in west central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo as well as the southernmost part of Gabon.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo ( République démocratique du Congo ), also known as DR Congo, the DRC, DROC, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo, is a country located in Central Africa.

Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and São Tomé and Príncipe are members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

During the Free State, his colonial military unit, the Force Publique, forced the local population to produce rubber.

The Force Publique (, "Public Force"; Openbare Weermacht) was a gendarmerie and military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885 (when the territory was known as the Congo Free State), through the period of Belgian colonial rule (Belgian Congo – 1908 to 1960).

In the centre and east, the kingdoms of Luba and Lunda ruled from the 16th and 17th centuries to the 19th century.

1665 – c. 1887) was a confederation of states in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, north-eastern Angola, and north-western Zambia, its central state was in Katanga.

From 1885 to 1908, millions of the Kongo people died as a consequence of disease and exploitation.

In the period from 1885 to 1908, many well-documented atrocities were perpetrated in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which, at the time, was a colony under the personal rule of King Leopold II of the Belgians.

In 1908, Belgium, despite initial reluctance, formally annexed the Free State, which became known as the Belgian Congo.

The former colony adopted its present-day name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.

Congolese nationalist Patrice Lumumba was elected the first Prime Minister, while Joseph Kasa-Vubu became the first President.

Patrice Émery Lumumba (alternatively styled Patrice Hemery Lumumba; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first Prime Minister of the independent Democratic Republic of the Congo (then Republic of the Congo) from June until September 1960.

It is, by area, the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa, the second-largest in all of Africa (after Algeria), and the 11th-largest in the world.

Popular styles are Mbalax in Senegal and Gambia, Highlife in Ghana, Zoblazo in Ivory Coast, Makossa in Cameroon, Soukous in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kizomba in Angola, and Mbaqanga in South Africa.

Leopold formally acquired rights to the Congo territory at the Berlin Conference in 1885 and made the land his private property, naming it the Congo Free State.

The state included the entire area of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo and existed from 1885 to 1908, when the government of Belgium reluctantly annexed the area.

Conflict arose over the administration of the territory, which became known as the Congo Crisis.

The Congo Crisis (Crise congolaise) was a period of political upheaval and conflict in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) between 1960 and 1965.

Congolese nationalist Patrice Lumumba was elected the first Prime Minister, while Joseph Kasa-Vubu became the first President.

The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Président de la République démocratique du Congo, Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo, Mokonzi wa Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki), is the head of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

In the centre and east, the kingdoms of Luba and Lunda ruled from the 16th and 17th centuries to the 19th century.

The Kingdom of Luba or Luba Empire (1585–1889) was a pre-colonial Central African state that arose in the marshy grasslands of the Upemba Depression in what is now southern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The provinces of Katanga, under Moïse Tshombe, and South Kasai attempted to secede.

There are currently twenty-five provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Congolese nationalist Patrice Lumumba was elected the first Prime Minister, while Joseph Kasa-Vubu became the first President.

The prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Premier-ministre de la République démocratique du Congo, Waziri Mkuu wa Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo, Minisele ya Yambo wa Republiki ya Kɔ́ngɔ Demokratiki) is the head of government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The provinces of Katanga, under Moïse Tshombe, and South Kasai attempted to secede.

South Kasai (Sud-Kasaï) was an unrecognised secessionist state within the Republic of the Congo (the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) which was semi-independent between 1960 and 1962.

The provinces of Katanga, under Moïse Tshombe, and South Kasai attempted to secede.

He served as the president of the secessionist State of Katanga from 1960 to 1963 and as prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1964 to 1965.

Tensions between President Kabila and the Rwandan and Tutsi presence in the country led to the Second Congo War from 1998 to 2003.

The Second Congo War (also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War, and sometimes referred to as the African World War) began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year after the First Congo War, and involved some of the same issues.

Destabilisation in the east resulting from the 1994 Rwandan genocide and disenfranchisement among the eastern Banyamulenge (Congolese Tutsi) population led to a 1996 invasion led by Tutsi FPR-ruled Rwanda, which began the First Congo War.

The First Congo War (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict which took place mostly in Zaire (present-day DR Congo), with major spillovers into Sudan and Uganda.

On 17 May 1997, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, a leader of Tutsi forces from the province of South Kivu, became President after Mobutu fled to Morocco, reverting the country's name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Laurent-Désiré Kabila (French pronunciation: lo.ʁɑ̃ de.zi.ʁe ka.bi.la) (November 27, 1939 – January 16, 2001), or simply Laurent Kabila ( US: ), was a Congolese revolutionary and politician who served as the third President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 17, 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, until his assassination by one of his bodyguards on January 16, 2001.

Mobutu's government received considerable support from the United States, due to its anti-communist stance during the Cold War.

Some major Cold War frontlines such as Indochina, Indonesia, and the Congo were still Western colonies in 1947.

On 17 May 1997, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, a leader of Tutsi forces from the province of South Kivu, became President after Mobutu fled to Morocco, reverting the country's name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

South Kivu (Sud-Kivu) is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Belgian Congo achieved independence on 30 June 1960 under the name Republic of the Congo.

The period between 1960 and 1965 is referred to as the First Congolese Republic, while the current Democratic Republic of the Congo is referred to as the Third Republic.

Besides the capital Kinshasa, the two next largest cities Lubumbashi and Mbuji-Mayi are both mining communities.

Lubumbashi (former names: Élisabethville (French) and (Dutch)) is a city in the southeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is the second-largest in the country, the largest being the capital, Kinshasa.

Destabilisation in the east resulting from the 1994 Rwandan genocide and disenfranchisement among the eastern Banyamulenge (Congolese Tutsi) population led to a 1996 invasion led by Tutsi FPR-ruled Rwanda, which began the First Congo War.

Banyamulenge is a term historically referring to the ethnic Tutsi concentrated on the High Plateau of South Kivu, in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, close to the Burundi-Congo-and Tanzania border.

It was formerly called Zaire (1971–1997).

Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire (République du Zaïre; ), was the name of a sovereign state between 1971 and 1997 in Central Africa that is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.