![]() | This page is currently inactive and is retained for
historical reference. Either the page is no longer relevant or consensus on its purpose has become unclear. To revive discussion, seek broader input via a forum such as the village pump. |
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With a population of about 7.5 million (2005 census), it ties with Johannesburg for the status of the second largest city in sub-Saharan Africa, behind Lagos, and third largest in the whole continent, after Lagos and Cairo.
Kinshasa is a city of sharp contrasts, with posh residential and commercial areas, two universities, and sprawling slums coexisting side by side. It is located along the southern bank of the Congo River, directly opposite the city of Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is located at 4°16′S 15°17′E / 4.267°S 15.283°E.
Notable features of the city include the
SOZACOM Building and
Hotel Memling
skyscrapers, the central
market, the
National Museum and the
Kinshasa Fine Arts Academy. The
Boulevard du 30 Juin links the areas of the city together. (
continued...)
view -
talk -
history
The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo ( French: Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC)) is the state military organisation responsible for defending the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FARDC is being rebuilt as part of the peace process which followed the end of the Second Congo War in July 2003.
The majority of FARDC members are land forces, but it also has a small air force and an even smaller navy. Together the three services may number around 130,000 personnel. In addition, there is a presidential force called the Republican Guard, but it and the National Congolese Police (PNC) are not part of the Armed Forces.
The government in the capital city
Kinshasa, the
United Nations, the
European Union, and bilateral partners which include
Angola,
South Africa, and
Belgium are attempting to create a viable force with the ability to provide the DRC with stability and security. However, this process is being hampered by corruption, the near-impotence of the government, and inadequate donor coordination. The various military units now grouped under the FARDC banner are some of the most unstable in Africa after years of war and underfunding.
(
Read more...)
view -
talk -
history
The
Abir Congo Company (founded as the Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company (ABIR) and later known as the Compagnie du Congo Belge) was a company which harvested
natural rubber in the
Congo Free State, the private property of
King Leopold II of
Belgium. The company was founded with
British and Belgian capital and was based in Belgium. By 1898 there was no longer any British shareholders and ABIR changed its name to the Abir Congo Company and changed its residence for tax purposes to the Free State. The company was granted a large
concession in the north of the country and the rights to tax the inhabitants. This tax was taken in the form of rubber obtained from a relatively rare rubber vine. The collection system revolved around a series of trade posts along the two main rivers in the concession. Each post was commanded by a European agent and manned with armed sentries to enforce taxation and punish any rebels.
(
Read more...)
view -
talk -
history
The Bonobo ( /bəˈnoʊboʊ/ or /ˈbɒnoʊboʊ/), Pan paniscus, previously called the Pygmy Chimpanzee and less often, the Dwarf or Gracile Chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the Common Chimpanzee. Although the name "chimpanzee" is sometimes used to refer to both species together, it is usually understood as referring to the Common Chimpanzee, while Pan paniscus is usually referred to as the Bonobo.
The Bonobo is endangered and is found in the wild only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Along with the Common Chimpanzee, the Bonobo is the closest extant relative to humans. Since the two species are not proficient swimmers, it is possible that the formation of the Congo River 1.5–2 million years ago led to the speciation of the Bonobo. They live south of the river, and thereby were separated from the ancestors of the Common Chimpanzee, which live north of the river.
German anatomist
Ernst Schwarz is credited with having discovered the Bonobo in 1928, based on his analysis of a
skull in the
Tervuren museum in
Belgium that previously had been thought to have belonged to a juvenile chimpanzee.
(
Read more...)
view -
talk -
history
The involvement of the Belgian Congo in World War II began with the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940. Despite Belgium's surrender, the Congo remained in the conflict on the Allied side, administered by the Belgian government in exile, and provided much-needed raw materials, most notably gold and uranium, to Britain and the United States.
Congolese troops of the Force Publique fought alongside British forces in the East African Campaign, and a Congolese medical unit served in Madagascar and in the Burma Campaign. Congolese formations also acted as garrisons in Egypt, Nigeria and Palestine.
The increasing demands placed on the Congolese population by the colonial authorities during the war, however, provoked strikes, riots and other forms of resistance, particularly from the indigenous Congolese. These were repressed, often violently, by the Belgian colonial authorities. The Congo's comparative prosperity during the conflict led to a wave of post-war immigration from Belgium, bringing the white population to 100,000 by 1950, as well as a period of industrialisation that continued throughout the 1950s. The role played by Congolese uranium during the hostilities caused the country to be of interest to the
Soviet Union during the
Cold War. (
Read more...)
view -
talk -
history