History+of+DRC

Early History 7th & 8th century Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago. The Bantus settled in the 7th & 8th century from present day Nigeria. It was also named Kongo. The kingdom of Kongo was powerful kingdom that existed from 14th to the 18th century.

Congo Free State November 15, 1908 King Leopald II of Belgium formally relinquished personal control of Congo Free State and the renamed Belgium Congo came under the administration of the Belgium parliament.

The Democratic Republic of Congo Mid 1950’s Agitation for independence in Congo arose fairly late, only becoming a prominent factor by the mid-1950s. Even this separatist spirit was far more an anti-Belgian movement than one of Congolese nationalism. The Congo Crisis 1960-1650 Belgians realised they could not maintain control of such a vast country with a series of riots and unrest. The Belgium’s said they would relinquished control in six months on January 27, 1966. Congo got inependence on June 30, 1960 and got the name Democratic Republic of Congo. Zaire 1965-1996 Lieutenant General Mobuto seized the country and declared himself president for five years. Mobuto renamed the country to Republic of Zaire. In April 1990 Mobuto declared third republic, agreeing to a limited multi-party system with election and constitution. War and Transition 1996-2006 War had spilled into The Democratic Republic of Congo from tensions from the neighbooring Rwanda war and genocide by 1996, Zaireian government began its massacres in November 1996.