Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1960–1971. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Republic of the Congo, or First Congolese Republic, gained independence in 1960 and continued until a 1965 coup d'état by General Joseph Mobutu. Almost immediately after independence the country was plunged into the Congo Crisis, a series of civil wars and secessionist conflicts, notably with the break-away State of Katanga. A UN peace-keeping mission operated in the country from 1960 to 1964, deploying a multi-national force of 20,000 troops. Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was taken captive and subsequently executed in 1961.
Seat of power: Kinshasa
Rulers
Joseph Kasa-Vubu
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1960–1965
He was elected president of the Republic in 1960 with Lumumba as prime minister. He accused Lumumba of communist sympathies and ordered the dissolution of the government of Lumumba. Kasa-Vubu was deposed by a coup d'état led by Joseph-Désiré Mobutu in November 1965.
Portrait of Joseph Kasa-Vubu: unknown photographer / Anefo, CC0, file
Culture
- In the first week of July 1960 a mutiny broke out in the army and violence erupted between black and white civilians.
- The Congo Crisis was also a proxy conflict in the Cold War, in which the Soviet Union and the United States supported opposing factions.
- Around 100,000 people are believed to have been killed during the crisis.
- In 1964 the official name became the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Léopoldville was renamed Kinshasa in 1966.
Picture
Supported by UN troops, Léopoldville defeated secessionist movements in Katanga and South Kasai by the start of 1963.
Image: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Sources
- First Congolese Republic (Wikipedia)
- Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) (Wikidata)
- About the picture (Wikipedia)
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.