Sep 19, 2017 · The uranium used to make the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki came from mines in the Congo. In 1960 Belgium gave the Congo independence, but, with other western countries, continued to maintain economic power. One excuse was the Cold War.

The Belgian Congo (French: Congo belge, pronounced [kɔ̃ɡo bɛlʒ]; Dutch: Belgisch-Congo) [a] was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville).

5 days ago · The country that began as a king’s private domain (the Congo Free State), evolved into a colony (the Belgian Congo), became independent in 1960 (as the Republic of the Congo), and later underwent several name changes (to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then to Zaire, and back again to the Democratic Republic of the Congo) is the product ...

Colonization of the Congo Basin refers to the European colonization of the Congo Basin of tropical Africa. It was the last part of the continent to be colonized.

Jan 11, 2025 · Belgian Congo (Congo Belge) was a colony in Africa that was ruled by Belgium from 1908 until June 30, 1960, when it became an independent republic; it is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Jan 11, 2025 · The formal proclamation of the colony of French Congo came in 1891. Early French efforts to exploit their possession led to ruthless treatment of the local people and the subjection of the territory to extreme exploitation by concessionary companies.

The troubled history of the Congo dates back to the scramble of Africa in the late 1800s. The following timeline from Human Rights Watch represent key events in Congo history. The History of DR Congo Timeline Early History. 1300s

In 1885, when European colonial powers divided most of the continent between them, Leopold II gained recognition as the sole owner of this territory in the heart of Africa, which he named the ‘Congo Free State’.

The history of the Republic of the Congo has been marked by diverse civilisations: Indigenous, French and post-independence. The earliest inhabitants of the region comprising present-day Congo were the Forest peoples whose Stone Age culture was slowly replaced by Bantu tribes.

Nov 22, 2011 · Under Belgian colonialism, Congolese people remained repressed (unable to own land, vote, or travel freely), but the country’s government and infrastructure improved. By the Second World War, production and profits had risen to …