Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo République démocratique du Congo Repubilika ya Kôngo ya Dimokalasi Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo Ditunga dia Kongu wa Mungalaata
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Justice – Paix – Travail
Capital	Kinshasa
Official languages	French Kituba Lingala Swahili Luba-Kasai
Dominant mode of production	Semi-feudalism
Government	Unitary semi-presidential republic under a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie
• President	Félix Tshisekedi
• Prime Minister	Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde
History
• Kingdom of Kongo	~1390 CE
• Belgian colonization begins	17 November 1879
• Congo Free State forms	1 July 1885
• Independence from Belgium	30 June 1960
• Republic of Zaire forms	27 October 1971
• Bourgeois democracy established	30 July 2006
Area
• Total	2,345,409 km²
Population
• 2022 estimate	108,407,721
Currency	Congolese franc

Not to be confused with the Republic of the Congo, a neighbouring country

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, colloquially known as Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, is a nation in Africa. It is the largest country in Central Africa, and the second largest in Africa in general. The DRC shares a border with the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, and South Sudan.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has historically been the victim of Western imperialism and colonialism. From 1885 to 1908, the area which would be the modern DRC was under the brutal and genocidal rule of the so-called "Congo Free State", which was under the despotic absentee-control of the Belgian Leopold II. In modern times, the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to suffer from economic exploitation and unequal exchange, with at least twenty-five mining corporations, often of Anglo-American or European origin.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is presently a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Union, the East African Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Southern African Development Community, and the Economic Community of Central African States. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is also projected to be a part of the East African Federation, should it form.

Nomenclature

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, like its neighbor, the Republic of the Congo, is named after the Congo River. Occasionally, the nation, along with the river itself, are archaically and informally called "Zaire".

History

Precolonization

Semliki River and Ishango Village

Human occupation in the Congo Basin stretches back 90,000 years, with the basin inhabited by the ancestors of Congolese people before the Neolithic Revolution. The discovery of harpoons near the Semliki River, which were used for hunting giant river catfish, suggests the existence of a stable riverine-adapted community. The environment of the Congo Basin allowed for stable surpluses and the use of the basin's rivers as nodes for trade before the establishment of any state institutions.

The discovery of the Ishango bone, a 20,000-year-old tool, represents a prime number sequence or a lunar calendrical system. It features groupings of notches indicating multiplication, prime numbers, and a base-10 or base-12 system, marking it as the first mathematical tool in history. Their environment demanded numeracy, record-keeping, calendrical reckoning, and cooperative labour; specifically, the river networks relied on communication and record-keeping.

These people had a fundamentally egalitarian political structure. In order to prevent a centralized authority from emerging, they divided themselves into bands which were more like clans and lineages rather than nuclear families; these bands operated through mobile camp rotations in the basin. Leadership was non-hereditary and was primarily based on experience.

They only had an egalitarian political structure as their productive forces had not yet begun to appropriate surplus, nor a separate ruling class had not emerged yet. Leadership was primarily based on experience and competence.

Bantu Migration

Bantu-speaking farmers started arriving in the Congo Basin approximately 5,000 years ago. The Bantu migration stemmed from demographic pressure and their development of agro-technology, and was primarily dictated by climate shifts. Specifically, the rainforest contracted around 2,500 years ago as drier conditions provided a familiar open woodland. This enabled the spread of a food-producing base which transformed the Congo Basin. They brought over their cereal and yam agricultural knowledge and started cultivating yam specifically in the Congo Basin, which had soil fertile enough for it to flourish in the rainforest.

They were able to succeed in the rainforest of the basin because of their knowledge of cultivating oil palms, which were an important source of oil and soap; yams, which provided a continuous staple that sustained the population; and bananas, which they acquired through trade from the Indian Ocean. By 1000 BCE, they developed iron metallurgy, increasing their labor productivity, which created the conditions for social stratification, and they began to construct canoes, which allowed them to travel across the entirety of sub-Saharan Africa.

Metallurgy raised their agricultural yields and created artisans whose skills became a status difference. Using these canoes, they were able to trade with Chinese merchants from ports established on the coasts, receiving goods such as glass beads, silk, and Chinese porcelain.

Justinian Plague

As the climate became wetter, it promoted vector-borne diseases, and some scholars suggest a link to the Justinian Plague, as the Yersinia pestis bacteria has ancient roots in Central Africa. This plague led to the near extinction of communities in the Congo Basin for approximately four hundred years. In affected Mediterranean regions, the plague killed 60% of the population; researchers believe a similar mortality rate may have occurred in Central Africa. Within the basin, the sudden death of up to 60% of the population reversed levels of social complexity and destroyed the specialized divisions of labour. Knowledge of metallurgy, weaving, and architecture vanished.

It was only resettled around 1,000 CE and these new incoming populations encountered the remaining population and the synthesis of their practices produced new property forms and relations, alongside language which follows the material transformation and these newer populations are the ancestors of the modern Bantu language spoken in the DRC today, as almost all of the original population were erased by the Justinian plague in 500 BCE.

Upemba Civilization

The Upemba Civilization was located in the southeastern Katanga region and is the most comprehensive archeological laboratory for its social stratification and state formation in pre-colonial Congo. It was different from the decentralized riverine trading societies of the Congo basin, as their copper and control over the trade networks generated economic centralisation and political institutions, their elites consolidating political power through divine kingship and mystifying and sacralizing metallurgy. The Upemba societies established a "long-range commercial net" extending over 1,500 km to the Indian Ocean, trading ivory and copper for cowrie shells and glass beads and receiving glass and glazed pottery from Persia, glass beads from India, cowrie shells from the maldives and chinese porcelain.

The progression of Upemba society is marked by four distinct archaeological periods:

• Kamilambian 550 - 800 CE: Small village settlements; iron hoes and axes; no copper found; alongside transition from foraging to sedentary ironworking communities.

• Early Kisalian 800 - 950 CE: Appearance of copper bracelets; ceremonial iron axes; anvils as status symbols; emergence of specialised metalworkers and local leadership castes.

• Classic Kisalian 950 - 1300 CE: Wealthy child burials; human sacrifice; long-distance trade with the Indian Ocean; highly stratified society; hereditary wealth and ritual centralisation.

• Kabambian 1300 CE: Standardised copper cross currency (handa); transition to Luba Empire; economic integration and the formalisation of divine kingship.

Mangbetu and Zande Kingdoms

The northern and north-eastern borders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo were shaped by population pressures and trade routes from expanding states in the north and east. These dynamics created openings that facilitated the spread of Central Sudanic- and Ubangian-speaking populations. Their artistic traditions and politics reflected the interplay of long-distance trade in firearms, salt, ivory, and kola alongside their emergent class relations. Through their mercantile practices, these newer populations created an emergent elite within the basin. The Mangbetu and the Zande people established two kingdoms within this region.

The Mangbetu kingdoms were one of these Central Sudanic-speaking populations that formed the new aristocracy mentioned above. They originated in southern Sudan and migrated further south around 1000 CE, entering the basin and establishing control over key trade routes. They taxed the movement of goods and brought with them artisanal specializations, notably pottery and hornworking, alongside their unique Mangbetu art. This enabled them to create a centralized aristocratic kingdom, and their authority was cemented and stabilized to continue appropriating surplus value from these key trade routes within the basin.

The Zande (or Azande) kingdoms were military chiefdoms that followed an expansionist model. These chiefdoms secured access to war captives, collected tribute, and protected trade corridors within the basin. Over time, this accumulation formed the basis of aristocratic power. By institutionalizing the poison oracle and centralizing associated beliefs, they regulated class conflict and legitimized ruling-class decisions through faith in the oracle and mangu (witchcraft). Through witchcraft accusations and the oracle, they channeled interpersonal conflict, concealed class antagonisms, and ensured the extraction of wealth.

Mangbetu: The Mangbetu were a centralized union of aristocratic kingdoms with sacred status symbols, such as leopard skins, and secret societies. These institutions functioned as tools for class reproduction. The leopard skins and the secret Nebeli societies created ritual barriers that separated the ruling class from the workers in order to reinforce the hierarchy.

Zande: The Zande kingdoms were a coalition of military chiefdoms, with each chiefdom controlling a province. This structure delegated authority to each chief to extract the surplus of each territory, representing a form of bureaucratic differentiation. Their reverence for the poison oracle served as a way to legitimize ruling-class decisions through a spiritual veil. Furthermore, their concepts of witchcraft functioned to naturalize inequality and discipline subordinate populations within the kingdoms.

Seven Kingdoms

By the 13th century, the western Congo Basin had coalesced into primary political formations that would serve as the structural predecessors to the Kingdom of Kongo.

• Kongo dia Nlaza: The "Seven Kingdoms," including Nsundi, Mbata, and Mpangu, were considered the oldest and most powerful of these entities. They were economically founded on the production of fine cloth and were eventually integrated into the central Kongo state in the 16th century.

• Mpemba: This kingdom stretched from the Congo River into northern Angola, centered on the Mpemba Kasi region. It was from this kingdom that the legendary founder of Kongo, Lukeni lua Nimi, would launch his unification campaign.

By the 13th century, the Seven Kingdoms in the Congo were the oldest and most powerful entities, eventually being absorbed by the Kingdom of Kongo. These kingdoms and other states within the basin began shifting in response to higher agricultural yields, increased production of raffia cloth, and intensified long-distance trade with the Atlantic Ocean. These developments created increased pressure for the Seven Kingdoms to stabilize their surplus extraction.

Specifically, Mbata within the Seven Kingdoms was a textile superpower, and its economy was founded on the production of fine cloth. With reports indicating approximately 100,000 meters of cloth exported annually, textile production became the backbone of regional power. Control of this industry generated wealth for both the artisans and the ruling class within these networks of exchange.

The smaller states of Vungu, Kakongo, and Ngoyo, which controlled the river bays and Atlantic trade routes, were part of a broader network of trade and diplomatic marriage alliances. This network initiated the transition from lineage-based chiefdoms into consolidated kingdoms as a response to population pressure and commodity flows. Increased population density fostered specialized artisans and intensified territorial competition between the kingdoms. Long-distance trade in commodities such as iron, copper, firearms, and salt required coordinated production, transport, and dispute settlement. Marriage alliances served as tools for reproducing class relations and ensuring that property was passed down through familial lines.

In the 1300s, the Seven Kingdoms were disturbed by Lukeni lua Nimi, Prince of the Mpemba Kasi Kingdom as he recognized the wealth being generated by these coastal and inland trade networks, he gathered soldiers and political allies attempting to consolidate control over these trade routes so as to appropriate the surplus, competition over resources and tribute was rife during this period.

Prince Lukeni lua Nimi launched a military campaign across the Congo River into the Ambundu Kingdom. He captured King Mwene Kabunga, known as the kitomi (spiritual earth priest), and through this capture, he claimed Kabunga's spiritual authority. He legitimized his occupation by allowing Kabunga’s descendants to retain their spiritual role. By integrating himself into Ambundu culture and religion, he stabilized his rule.

Following this military and spiritual campaign, Lukeni established a new central capital on a highly defensible limestone plateau called Mbanza Kongo (later renamed São Salvador by colonialists and reclaimed as Mbanza Kongo after Angolan independence). The plateau was strategically brilliant: it was well-watered, protected from disease-carrying tsetse flies, and, most importantly, sat directly at the intersection of major trade routes connecting the coast, the Malebo Pool, and the copper-rich interior. The location enabled strict control over tribute and administration, which was essential for the reproduction of the state. Lukeni knew that military conquest alone could not hold a massive territory together. He utilized diplomacy to absorb the remaining powerful federations, a strategy necessary to reduce militarization costs and stabilize surplus extraction.

Prince Lukeni struck an alliance with the King of Mbata through a diplomatic marriage, ensuring that the Mbata king held a permanent privileged position as a ceremonial grandfather to Lukeni. Through a combination of submission, strategic marriages, and intimidation, Lukeni absorbed the kingdoms of Nsundi, Mpangu, and other coastal polities into the sphere of the new capital.

With the capital established and the major federations united under a single political banner, Lukeni lua Nimi took the title of Mwene Kongo (or Manikongo), roughly translating to "Lord of Kongo." The former independent federations and chiefdoms were officially reorganized into the six core provinces of the new empire: Mpemba, Mbata, Nsundi, Mpangu, Mbamba, and Soyo. This structure ensured that these provinces no longer fought over trade routes; instead, they sent a portion of their regional wealth (nzimbu shells, raffia cloth, copper, and ivory) as tribute to Lord Lukeni lua Nimi in Mbanza Kongo, officially establishing the Kingdom of Kongo.

Kingdom of Kongo (1390–1885)

Before European imperialism, from around the year 1390 CE, the region that would become the modern-Democratic Republic of the Congo was under the rule of a centralised monarchical state, known by modern historians as the Kingdom of Kongo. Based from the city of Mbanza (in what is now Angola), the Kingdom of Kongo likely formed from a single, smaller realm, that later would form into a commonwealth of city-states, headed by a single centralized authority. The Kingdom of Kongo would reach its economic and political height during the 16th century CE, gaining a large amount of economic wealth via its part in the, at the time, growing Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The Kingdom of Kongo would later decline, likely due to internal instability among its ruling class, and would ultimately become victim to European expansionism.

Colonization

Congo Free State (1885–1908)

During the late 19th to early 20th century, the area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was under the rule of the Congo Free State. A product of the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 (in which Africans were given little-to-no representation), the Congo Free State was effectively the personal fiefdom of Leopold II of Belgium (who never even set foot in the territory, ruling from Europe).

The Congo Free State was infamous for its genocidal acts against the native populations, and brutal exploitation of the local resources, particularly ivory, rubber, and minerals. During this period, it is estimated that many millions of men, women, and children were killed.

The Congo Free State would later be directly annexed by the Kingdom of Belgium in 1908, after a large amount of international pressure following the discovery of King Leopold's crimes.

Belgian colonialism (1908–1960)

During the direct colonial governance of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1908 to 1960, many of the Leopold-era policies of repression and brutal exploitation were slowly eased, and some small developmental projects, mostly in the form of infrastructure, took place in the Belgian Congo. However, imperialism still continued in full-force during the Belgian rule, and oppressive systems of racial segregation remained in place for the remainder of the colonial administration.

The long-term economic development of the modern-day DRC was further stunted as a result of the Belgian education policy. The colonial government made use of Christian clergy (which has historically been used as an instrument to uphold the existing societal order) to maintain the white-supremacist rule. The Christian clergy failed to provide meaningful education to the people of the Belgian Congo, restricting any form of higher-education to those who were already members of the church exclusively, and greatly discouraging all other natives of the Belgian-ruled Congo to find any other form of education.

Ultimately, by the end of the Belgian administration in 1960, the extreme colonial exploitation, usage of reactionary religion, and general mismanagement resulted in there being no engineers nor physicians, and only sixteen native African university graduates out of a population of more than thirteen million.

Neocolonialism

Immediate post-colonial period and the Congo Crisis (1960–1971)

Following a large increase in the activity of native separatist movements and militant organisations in the Belgian Congo, as well as massive pro-independence demonstrations in the capital city of the colony, Léopoldville (modern-day Kinshasa), the colonial government finally capitulated, holding talks with native figures and agreeing to allow the colony to be made independent and for a new state, known as the Republic of the Congo, to be formed, which would hold bourgeois-democratic elections. In June 1960, Patrice Lumumba became the country's first prime minister and called for political and economic liberation against imperialism.

Almost immediately after the post-colonial bourgeois democracy was created, and after the first president of the Republic of the Congo, Joseph Kasa-Vubu was elected into his office, the newly-created republic faced a political crisis, commonly known as the Congo Crisis. During this crisis, the power of local separatist movements increased, a rival government formed, and support for revolutionary socialists grew. The mineral-rich region of Katanga, whose resources were still owned by Belgium, seceded. In September 1960, the United States overthrew Lumumba, and he was assassinated in January 1961.

During 1965, Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, then a Lieutenant General in the national military, as well as a fascist and hardline anti-communist, overthrew the liberal government, creating a fascist dictatorship. This coup d'etat was greatly supported by the United States of America, whose ruling class had an interest in creating a servile government which would repress communists and give the imperial core access to the country's vast natural resources. In 1971, the country was renamed to the Republic of Zaire.

Republic of Zaire (1971–1997)

The Republic of Zaire under Mobutu's regime, existing until 1997, was characterised by a highly dictatorial government, extreme anti-communism, and a rampant kleptocracy, with rates of bribery and embezzlement of government funds being particularly high. The fascist government was also greatly supported by the Western bloc, including by United States of America, the French Republic, and the Kingdom of Belgium. While most of the country lived in poverty, Mobutu became a multibillionaire.

In 1977, Jimmy Carter airlifted Moroccan troops to Zaire to put down a rebellion.

The fascist regime ended in the late 1990s, during the First Congo War, when after a large withdrawal of NATO support, major ethnic tensions, and foreign intervention, Mobutu's dictatorship was overthrown, and the country was renamed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a bourgeois-democratic government being created.

Congo Wars (1997–present)

Rwanda and Uganda invaded the Congo in 1996 with US support and pillaged its natural resources, including gold, diamonds, tantalum, and niobium. They installed Joseph Kabila as the puppet ruler of the Congo and displaced half a million people from the Ituri region. Rwanda began a second invasion in 2022 and has also supported the M23 rebel group.