Congo History

Rich resources

Cobalt ore, copper and diamonds.

• Copper: electric wiring and electronics, and hot water pipes.

Gold, tantalum (coltan): Cell phones and video games

Uranium (80%): Atomic bombs of WW2

Henry Stanley

First explored Congo in (1877).

Hired by King Leopold 2nd to explore more and set up roads. Inadvertently helping slave trade

King Leopold 2nd

Owned private colony of “The Congo Free State (1885-1908)

Obtained under public relations campaign to bring religion, but really just wanted money.

Force publique

Ivory: Best way to make money. Cheap, or stolen

Dunlop invented pneumatic tire: RUBBER was high in demand.

Used force to maximize rubber exports through torture of natives.

The Belgian Congo (1908)

USA and Britain condemned Leopold.

Rwanda and Burundi after WW1.

Improved infrastructure. Less human rights atrocities, but continued to profit from exploitation of Congolese.

Mobutu

Stole from USA, didn’t help country.

Renamed country Zaire. (1965)

Prostate cancer (1997)

Rwandan Genocide 1994

Conflict: Tutsi and Hutu

Hutu campaign of genocide against Tutsi: Killed between half- a million people over 100 days.

Hutu fled to Congo with refugees

Africa’s World War

Hutu allied with Congolese armed groups to attack Congolese Tutsi and Rwanda; up to date.

Uganda and Rwanda fought Hutu. Allied with Laurent Kabila.

Neighboring countries invaded to control resources. Over 5 million dead between 1998-2003.

Laurent Kabila

Marched to capital and became president

Restore Congo name

1960

1950s: African countries declaring independence from European colonizers

Patrice Lumumba (1960): Prime minister position in 1960, pressed for independence ASAP

Country wide rebellion

Patrice Lumumba

Elected to prime minister position in 1960. Pressed for Congo’s independence

Made political enemies quickly.

Sought an alliance with Soviet Union, USA’s CIA assassinated in 1961.

Congo Exploration

Once of 17 megadiverse countries

One of 3 megadiverse countries in Africa

Human Population Growth

Projections for 2050: 9 billion

1850: 1.3 b

1900: 1.65 b

1950: 2.5 b

2008: 6.6 b

Africa/Asia: 20th century was large bc medical advances and agricultural productivity.

“Have lots of children bc not all of them will survive”

Global Deforestation

95% of forest in Madagascar/Philippines is gone.

By 2030: 80% of worldwide forests.

Congo Deforestation

Logging roads lead to:

• Deforestation

• Hunting

• Allow new human expansion

12% of forest: protected

30% under logging concessions

Global Amphibian Assessment

2008: 1/3 of world’s amphibians threatened or extinct.

159 species probably extinct

2019: half of “data deficient” species threatened, increased threatened to 50%

Chytrid Fungus

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: Many amphibian extinctions and pop. declines worldwide.

Infects skin/keratin of amphibians: Mostly frogs, but also salamanders

Weldon (2004): Fungus originated in Africa, infected Xenopus frogs, shipped worldwide for research in 20th century

100 species of Atelopus: Extinct

Susceptible in stream habitats.

Which of the following is a valuable resource that comes from Congo, and is used in pipes for heated water?

Copper