Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
1. Research:
a. When was your country founded?
1400-1500 as The Kongo Empire. (6 provinces ruled by a monarch)
b. Which European country colonized it during the late 19th century? Or was it independent? If it was independent, how did it remain that way during the era of colonization?
Belgium colonized The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the late 19th century.
c. How many ethnic groups make up most of the population of your country? What are those ethnic groups?
There are over 250 ethnic groups in the DRC. The majority (80%) are Bantu peoples. There are many different ethnic groups within this group of people, however. The largest being Luba (18%), Mongo (17%), and Kongo (12%). Other small groups of people include the Central Sudanic/Ubangian, the Nilotic peoples, and the Pygmy Peoples. The Pygmies are believed to live in the forests of the DRC where they hunt wild animals, and eat fruit that they gather.
i. What language(s) are spoken in your country?
There are 4 major languages in the DRC. French (official language), Lingala, Kingwana, Kikongo, and Tshiluba. However, there are over 200 languages in the different ethnic groups. In schools, French is usually spoken, and in high school, English is a mandatory foreign language.
d. When did your country gain its independence?
June 30th, 1960
i.
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Most of the DRC is composed of the Congo basin, a “natural depression on the earth’s surface, typically containing water (Merriam Webster Dictionary). Mountain ranges include the Mitumba Mountains, the Ruwenzori Range, and the volcanic Virunga Mountains. The main rivers in the DRC are the Ubangi River, Bomu, and Congo River. Most of the DRC is tropical rainforest. The DRC Rainforest is home to a vast arrangement of plant and animal species. It is the world’s second largest tropical rainforest. It covers 60% of DRC’s
98.8% of the population is made up of ethnic Somalis (Kraus). Other minority groups include Arabs, Indians, Italians, and Pakistanis. Most Somalis are nomadic or semi nomadic herders of livestock. The rest are either crop farmers or inhabitants of the few urban centers. The official languages of the country are Somali and Arabic and the state religion is Islam (“Somalian People”).
Interestingly enough, many different ethnic groups can be found in Afghanistan. Some are from other countries and others have only Afghan routes. Discoveries show that Hazaras are one of the lowest and Pashtuns one of the highest powers in Afghan society. People would automatically assume that there were only one or two different ethnic groups, which live in Afghanistan. However, there appears to be a great variety of different peoples living in Afghan society. All together, fourteen different ethnicities can be discovered in Afghanistan. I have found the following: Arab, Hindu-Sikh, Farsiwans, Wakhis, Sunni Brahui, Qizilbash, Aimaqs, Baluchs, Nuristanis, Turkmens, Uzbeks, Hazaras, Tajik, and Pashtun people.
Identify the population and provide a description and background of the population including potential cultural identifiers, stereotypes, and traditions.
Congo was an astounding bestseller novel. It was a great fictional novel that took place in the depths of the Congo rainforest. The novel was later made into a movie. Both the novel and the movie were good, however, I prefer the novel. It just seemed like a more entertaining piece than the movie. This movie was based much upon the novel, but had many alternatives and a completely different ending than the novel.
Over the course of human history, many believe that the “Congo Free State”, which lasted from the 1880s to the early 1900s, was one of the worst colonial states in the age of Imperialism and was one of the worst humanitarian disasters over time. Brutal methods of collecting rubber, which led to the deaths of countless Africans along with Europeans, as well as a lack of concern from the Belgian government aside from the King, combined to create the most potent example of the evils of colonialism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s. The Congo colonial experience, first as the Congo Free State then later as Belgian Congo, was harmful to that region of Africa both then and now because of the lack of Belgian and International attention on the colony except for short times, the widespread economic exploitation of the rubber resources of the region, and the brutal mistreatment and near-genocide of the Congolese by those in charge of rubber collecting.
Dag Hammarskjold was the secretary general of the United Nations. Hammarskjold had strong anticolonial beliefs and had a reputation for peacekeeping. Lumumba and Hammarskjold had very similar interests for the Congo. Hammarskjold needed full trust from the Congo and Lumumba; however, Lumumba was unable to confront what the Congo was incapable of and did not have faith in the UN. Lumumba’s stubbornness was causing tension with Hammarskjold. Hammarskjold supported Lumumba’s belief but also wanted him
Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly called Zaire) is a country that is located in Central Africa. This is a country that has a deep root in violence and bloodshed, yet at the same time it is rich in natural resources and minerals. It shares a common border with the following countries: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Democratic Republic of Congo was established as a Belgian colony in 1908 during the scramble for Africa by the European powers. This country was under the influence and dictatorship of the Belgian’s for fifty-two years, as it was not until 1960 did the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo achieve independence. This country is the fourth largest country in Africa in terms of population, there are seventy-five million people residing in the Democratic Republic of Congo according to a census that was gathered in July 2013. It is not only the fourth largest country in Africa, but it is also the twelfth largest country in the world by square kilometers, encompassing 2,344,858 square kilometers. Kinshasa is the capital city and the largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo; 8.798 million people inhabit this city. The official languages spoken are French and Kingwana (a blend of Kiswahili or Swahili).
Ever since i mae a poster about the Congo rainforest everyone has been obsessed with it. People from my school keep on asking me "how did you make it so perfectly?" or " What website did you get the information and ideas from?". Since my school clearly loved it so much, our school decided to contact the Regina board office to set up a trip for me to visit the Congo Rainforest. When i visited the Congo Rainforest i got to stay there for 3 days to explore and learn more information about
The tragic events that happened in Rwanda are vastly unknown to western civilization. Its tragic beginnings and suffering are often overlooked in world history. The casual chain of events led to the genocide’s outcomes are still being mourned today. From the vast killings by machete to the governmental ramifications after the genocide, Rwanda’s events ought to be remembered and should never be permitted from reoccurring. It should serve as a learning experience to the rest of the world in how an action could bring unforeseen effects.
Uganda has a diverse culture with extreme health and conflict obstacles that must be overcome in order for the country to be successful in future endeavors. The capital of Uganda is Kampala, and the country is located in East Africa along the equator. Uganda is bordered on the west by the Congo, on the north by Sudan, on the south by Rwanda and Tanzania, and on the east by Kenya. The national flag is made up of six stripes and a circle in the center with a bird inside of it. The stripes are yellow, red, and black; each color represents a different aspect of Uganda. The yellow embodies the sunshine, black signifies the people, and the red characterizes the brotherhood, symbolizing the blood that connects the people. The bird in the white circle is a grey crowned crane, which is the national bird of Uganda. (Maps of the World)
5 million. 5 million dead. for what? Some due to political instability, some due to the continued ethnic conflict between the Hutu and the Tutsi, and a multitude of others due to disease or starvation. This, The Second Congo War, is the deadliest conflict in the world since World War II. While I was only three months old at its outbreak and unable to retain a single memory of the events that took place while I was there, I do believe that the Second Congo War and the massive, seemingly insurmountable obstacle which it posed for me and my family, almost single-handedly changed the direction of my family's life as well as the attitude we have in everything we do. I was born on May 12, 1998, alongside my twin sister and following my older sister,
Congo’s population is estimated at 4.04 million, over half of which live in the two major cities of Brazzaville and Pointe- Noire. In this area since the 20th century three fourth of the population lives in urban areas, making the Congo one of Africa’s most urbanized countries. Almost all Congolese are Bantu, a name that refers to the people living in Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. The Bantu originated from Nigeria and Cameroon and migrated to Southern Africa 2,000 years ago. In present day Congo, non-Bantu tribes account for only 3% of the population. The Bantu include 74 peoples belonging to different ethnic groups such as the Kongo, the Teke, the Mbochi and the Sangha.
The recent Civil War in Congo has been a bloody flight, causing more then 3.3 million deaths in just 4 short years.1 Various rebel and ethnic groups have have been involved in the violence, fighting over Congo's rich natural resources or engaged in a bitter ethnic war. With so many opposing factions, it has made reaching a solution difficult. While a rough peace treaty has been established, sporadic fighting pops up in the country everyday. The people of Congo are being pushed farther into poverty and starvation can't handle the fighting for very much longer. I propose that the solution to the post-Civil War violence in Congo is to rid the country of all foreign nations and their problems, namely the Rwandans, and to get combatants inside of the country to hold a summit and find a peaceful and fair resolution to the problem, with a superpower like the United States acting as host and mediator. Once all quarrels are amended, the Congolese can start to focus on a economic strategy for rebuilding the country.
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic, or Laos, is a politically stable and peaceful landlocked country in Southeast Asia, centrally located in the Mekong sub-region. The country occupies about 236,800 square kilometers and almost half the length of the Mekong River that flows through it. It is bordered by China to the north, Myanmar and Thailand to the west, Cambodia to the south and Vietnam to the east. The country has a tropical monsoon climate with a rainy season from May to October. Temperatures range from highs of 40°C along the Mekong River in March and April to lows of 5°C in the high mountains in January. (The World Fact Book) Most of Laos is covered by mountains and dense forests and its population density is among the lowest in Asia. Laos has a population of about 5.6 million, comprising 47 ethnic groups.
There are a number of distinct ethnic groups in Amazon River basin, as each have their own distinctive language and culture. Many of such groups have now disappeared, for example, the Caribs, from Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. However, the remaining ones live scattered in the Amazon rainforests.