The capital of the Republic of Zaire, renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997, is today one of the largest cities in Africa and is called Kinshasa. However, the modern name of the capital received only after the country gained independence.
Congo on a map of Africa
The country, located in the central part of the African continent, is second only to Algeria in terms of area, and is fourth in number after Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt. The country has a long and mixed history, full of wars and internal conflicts.
It all began two thousand years before our era, when the Bantu farmers began to move from the north into the interior of the continent, crowding the indigenous people of the Pygmies, who eventually became only a small minority, crowded out to the periphery of the country's social and political life.
However, for many centuries the history of the Congo did not know stable state formations, and only in the 15th century in the middle reaches of the great African river Congo did the kingdom of the same name arise, which suffered the main blow from a collision with the Portuguese colonialists in the 15th century. For nearly four centuries, local rulers willingly sold their own subjects to Europeans, who, in turn, transported African slaves to North America.
Colonial period
Despite the fact that the whole of Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have suffered quite a lot from the immoderation of the colonial authorities and the greed of traffickers in living goods, one should not underestimate the positive influence of some individuals on the development of African states.
The position of the territory known today as the Republic of Congo was different from other colonial possessions, because it was never formally a colony of any European state, but for a long time it was privately owned by the Belgian monarch, by whose name the capital Zaire was named. The first settlement on the territory of the modern, populous capital was called Leopoldville - in honor of the Belgian king Leopold.
Foundation of the city
The first stone in the foundation of the new capital of Zaire was laid by the famous British explorer of Africa, journalist and traveler Henry Morton Stanley, who founded a trading post on the banks of the river, from which the consecutive development of the central part of the continent, until then poorly studied, should begin.
Liberation Movement and Africanization
Since its founding in 1881 and until the liberation of the Belgian crown from oppression in June 1960, the capital of Zaire was called Leopoldville, but with the dictator Mobutu’s coming to power, it was renamed. The reason for the renaming was the struggle launched by the tyrant against the colonial heritage, including the linguistic one: the Dutch language, quite widespread in Zaire, was deliberately replaced by the authorities. So Kinshasa - the capital of the newly created state - acquired its current name, which passed to it from one of the villages that fell into the city limits.
The first years of independence did not bring prosperity and peace to the country. The short reign of democratically elected President Kasavubu ended in his overthrow. With US financial support, General Mabutu removed the head of state. Kinshasa - the capital of the Congo - has become a kind of bone of contention between the US and the USSR, which sought to gain control over the rich deposits of minerals, including uranium. And I must admit that in this competition the Americans won an obvious victory.
Rapid growth and poverty
Until 1966, the capital of Zaire was called Leopoldville, but was renamed Kinshasa after the proclamation of an Africanization policy. Although the city’s location on the river gives certain advantages in the form of access to the river transport route, strong elevations and rapids allow navigation to be practiced only on a limited section of the river.
To overcome this restriction, a railroad began to be pulled from the coast to the capital, which ultimately contributed to tremendous industrial growth. Following the railway, the construction of the oil pipeline, which was completed in 1914, began.
Congo occupies one of the important places on the map of Africa, therefore, when a political crisis erupted in the country in the early 1990s, most African states took part to one degree or another in resolving it.
One river - two capitals
The capital of Zaire is not the only city on the banks of the Congo. On the opposite bank to Kinshasa is the capital of a neighboring state. The Democratic Republic of the Congo borders on a state whose official name is the Republic of the Congo. Residents of the two capitals can look at their neighbors through a rather wide river, over which, unfortunately, there is no bridge connecting two large settlements.
Modern Kinshasa, the capital of one of the poorest nations in the world, is a pretty impressive sight. The contrast between rich business districts and slum areas, whose residents are denied access to basic urban amenities, is striking. Many citizens do not even have the opportunity to regularly use clean water.
Capital slums are the main source of many urban problems, such as crime and epidemics. The capital of Zaire regularly occupies the top ranks of the ratings of the most dangerous cities in Africa. Street crime makes the city practically unsuitable for independent travelers and significantly raises housing prices. Unfortunately, robbery and robbery, rape and kidnapping have become quite common in Kinshasa. Accommodation in safe areas is sometimes more expensive than in Europe, and hotels are fenced with high fences and turn into a kind of ghetto for white foreigners.
Social sphere of the city
Despite the huge reserves of expensive and demanded in the mineral market, there is no need to talk about the country's wealth. Corruption, postcolonial problems and terrible administration give citizens a lot of trouble.
As in any major city, there are universities and foreign higher schools in Kinshasa. There is an art academy , there is a medical institute, a national pedagogical and even a Catholic university.
The healthcare sector is represented by several dozen hospitals and medical centers. As in many other African states, international charitable organizations are extremely active in the Congo, which finance the provision of medical care to local residents.
Kinshasa - the capital of the new state
The political crisis was resolved in the country in 2005, with the adoption of a new constitution. According to the new basic law, the country's territory is divided into eleven provinces. The capital has a special place in the administrative division - it is both a city and an independent region.
About eight million people live in the Kinshasa metropolitan area, but in reality no one knows for sure how many people live in dimensionless slums surrounding the city and serving as a kind of belt separating the capital from the rural areas bordering it.
And yet, despite poverty and huge problems in the social sphere, many natives of Kinshasa have achieved great success in international sports and show business.