Belgium didn't just get out of the Congo quickly without leaving behind a constitution and elected government like France did in the RoC. Belgium with the help of the CIA took part in the overthrow of the DRC's government and aided in the murder of its leader Patrice Lumumba. I feel like that is an important point to bring up when discussing why we see a legacy of corruption and instability left by Mobutu Sese Seko's Zaire.
As much as you would like it to be the CIAs fault or Germans from the 1900s fault or the French, it's African corruption and it's driven by Africans. Leave your white guilt driven racism out of it.
Agreed! I don’t think corruption is the only issue.there are other factors like the mines being controlled by western companies who coup/assassinate anyone who interferes with the exploitation.
Sounds like we need another video to deep dive on those topics. I love YT because no history class I’ve ever been in throughout k12 has ever discussed Africa’s history the way Geoff and others have. Even the current events in Niger is being kept away from msm….hmm. Something is going on here.
We have 4 Kongo's : DRC, Congo, Angola and Gabon and the capital of Kongo is based in Angola. Please rivized your knowlege of africa. Not be focus after Berlin conference leaded by imperialist people from Europe.
One thing he forgot to mention is that the Congo free state was not owned by Belgium originally. It was a privately owned colony of King Leopold ii of Belgium, and all the wealth went to his personal possessions rather than the Belgium government. It was only in 1908 after worldwide protests over the abuse the native Congolese suffered under the rule of King Leopold and the employees of his private company that ran the colony that he finally sold the Congo free state to Belgium and allowed the government to run it. A great book on this topic is “King Leopold’s Ghost” by Adam Hochschild.
When Leopold sold his colony to Belgium, a lot of incriminating files got burnt! When his funeral cortege wound through Brussels streets, some working-class people booed! (I would have...)
You forgot the word "horrific" or "barbaric" before "abuse". Leopold's lackeys in the Congo Free State, as it was called, tortured anyone who would not behave like a slave, murdering thousands of Congolese people and cutting the hands off even children who would not work for them or work fast enough. It was horrific barbarism by supposedly civilized Europeans. I always gag when someone says Africa is less civilized than Europe. Europeans have proven to be some of the least civilized people on earth from the Crusades to the Spanish Inquisition to the Holocaust and including the two world wars, all brought to you by European "civilization".
My grand dad was a writer and he was in Congo for long time Pre and after it independence and if I remember correctly I don’t think those countries got their name from the Congo river , rather it’s from the Congo kingdom that existed there in the territory that include morden day part of DRC , Congo republic and part of Angola Pre western colonialism/ slavery . The whole Congo river thing according to him is the west rewriting history of Africa . May he RIP
In the early 60s they were referred to as Republic of Congo and Republic of the Congo; Then Congo Brazzaville and Congo Leopoldville soon changed to Kinshasha (beacuse who would want anything named for that guy. Then it was Congo Brazzaville and Zairre and now (finally?) Republic of Congo And Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Before the colonization, Congo Brazzaville ,western region of DRC ,angola and some regions of gabon was part of the " Kongo empire" ,kongo empire had a long history of dealing with the kingdom of Portugal and was for decades a vassal kingdom of Portugal. And also DRC changed it name to zaire not in 1965 but in 1971.
yup. write your own name with right spelling! it's KONGO. not "C". the hell europeans cant spell. smh... C is pronounced like C in "Cherry" word. it's "Ce". in European languages, C can be S, K.. if it's like that, then whats the purpose of C letter, European languages !?? this also applies for YOU, all the people that some of words in your language got butchered or wrongly spelled. NOW YOU NEED TO FIX IT. one big example of this dumb spelling fixing is the "Muslim" word. back then, like.. recently before 2010s, those europeans still writes it as "Moslem". bruh.. dumb spell. but now, it's fixed to be "MUSLIM". that's one big example that WE CAN FIX THIS DUMB EUROPEAN SPELLINGS Cingis Han/Khan not Genghis Khan; Muhammad not Mohamed; Nur not Noor; Karim not Kareem; Cin/Chin not Qin; Krakatau not Krakatoa; Kampung not Kampong; Bajau not Badjau or Badjo; Yun not Yoon; San not Sun; Asolot not Axolotl; etc.
It's great you bring this up because the relationship between the kingdom of the Kongo and Portugal, the original European colonizer, is so old that the African people purchased by Portugal during this match made in hell, are considered, genetically, the forefathers of all African Americans...
DRC breaks my heart. I travelled through it from Rwanda to CAR over 40 years ago. It is the ultimate example of how megalomaniacs rule the world without love for others. I always hoped it would change but….
Dw about the capitals, what helped me with Africa was memorizing the regions. Go in this order, north, east, central, south, and then west. In my opinion west is the hardest. So do that last
I like more the name Zaire for the country not because of that stupid dictator who care about that jerk is that the name makes for sense for the country
1 Republic of Congo and Democratic republic of Congo 2 South Sudan 3 North Korea and South Korea 4 China Please I need for information about China because everyday we keep learning
I'd imagine that most of the DRC's population is involved in subsistence farming so it boggles the mind that they'd have to import 80% of their food as this video implies 🤔
It's very sad to say this but my people are so used to being spoon fed instead of getting food on their own. Everyone wants a blue collar job while we have been blessed with rich soil to exploit. On top of that our leaders DON'T care about the well being of the country. Its pretty much "how much money can it get while I'm in this position " type of mentality
Europe & US are still pillaging Africa to this day! African people toil in deadly conditions to provide material wealth to the global powers, meanwhile having very little political power to seize their material wealth for themselves. This is starting to change, but has been the status quo.
Most people in Demo Congo have an average of 12 children in a nuclear family. But if a guy has two wives, he can have 20 or more children. So even subsistence farming really doesn't help coz agriculture takes times to give yeilds. So most congelese are traders. I live in Zambia, DRC's neighbouring country. It's true they import most of their food from us and South Africa. And guess what? Am a farmer. Lol
@@chalimutangama5840 The civilization of the African continent has been exceeded too far away by other continents, as if it has just entered the Stone Age/Bronze Age to Iron Age, with no trace of industrial civilization visible
@@chalimutangama5840 Agriculture in modern society requires ultra-high levels of industry and technology, which is much more difficult than producing cars, airplanes, rockets, and satellites. Congo is backward in agriculture is understandable,
@@pranawdhital but huge parts of modern congo's and gabon used to be parts of Congo empire where the names is derived from and both share same language, people and culture
Also, just a note: From 1969 to 1992, the Republic of the Congo was a fully Marxist state officially known as the "People's Republic of the Congo." (The real oddity is that "Democratic Republic of . . ." is also a common name used by Marxist or Communist nations as is "People's Republic of . . ." East Germany was officially the "German Democratic Republic" and North Vietnam was officially the "Democratic Republic of Vietnam." The Marxist/Communist government of Afghanistan which came to power in 1978--and eventually propped up by the Soviet Union in 1979--was officially the "Democratic Republic of Afghanistan." Yet, the Democratic Republic of the Congo--while continually unstable politically--was never a Marxist, much less Communist, state.)
Mabuto was installed by the colonizers! Zaire was never a Marxist state. He was a brutal authoritarian and in the 70s, perhaps the richest man on earth.
You are spot on. Although I am from DRC I have always find the name of my country quite strange. One can disagree with Mobutu but at least he had the good idea of giving the country a more straightforward name clearly distinguishing it from the Congo Brazzaville.
@@bopax4317 When Laurent Kabila took power there was a huge anger against how Mobutu mismanaged the country. Mobutu pocketed huge amounts of money for himself, destroying the economy. The population was struggling particularly in the last years of his régime and the political scene was chaotic as Mobutu was manipulating it behind the scene. His good work in keeping the country united and giving us a sense of national pride was thus forgotten. Doing away with everything linked to Mobutu was however a useless exaggeration.
There was elections in Belgian Congo in 1960. The coalition of Lumumba won and he became prime minister. Belgium also provided DRC with " loi fondemental" ( fundamental law) that served as provisional constitution. The early date for DRC independence was the result of the insistence of Congolese delegates at the table ronde( January 20- February 20, 1960) . They opted for immediate independence which was scheduled for June 30,1960; leaving about four months only for the transition from a colony to an independent state. Some Congolese leaders were associated to the management of the country during that time at both national and provincial levels. But frankly, the time was a bit short. Agents of administration and Belgian officers in the army were supposer to stay in the country until we can have qualified people to replace them. But they left some time after the independence due to troubles and the relations between Congo and Belgium worsening.
DRC has Ubangian, Bantu, Pygmy, Central Sudanic and Nilotic groups. I don't like that the Ubangian, Central Sudanic and Nilotic groups are ALWAYS ignored in favour of the Bantus and Pygmys. Especially when you consider the fact that some of the most prolific Congolese people such as Mobutu or Koffi Olomidé came from these groups but they're always ignored in these videos.
Interesting video. Small but big thing - you incorrectly used ‘England’ at 2:23 for your map of colonising states. England is but one part of the UK and your error would be like saying California or Texas when referring to the whole of the US. Seeing as this is supposed to be a geography channel it’s a surprising error.
The DRC's Mineral (and therefore, Human) Exploitation industry exemplifies why the tremendous cost to human lives, pollution (which also devastates local people's health), and environmental damage do NOT make battery-powered cars and business model of big tech (i.e. disposable nature of constantly upgrading, therefore, quickly trashing computers, cell phones, and other products way too frequently) "sustainable" or environmentally-friendly.
It is honestly terrifying to think about. Not to mention-how much power these countries could hold. These conquered nations were being ruled by a small populace that almost certainly saw them as lesser beings for being conquered and having a different culture from the colonizers doing a hostile takeover. Conquest is an evil and terrifying thing.
@@MrDifficille Yeah, in 1960 the population of Belgium was 9 million, which wasn't much smaller than Congo's 15 million. And the technological disparity was immense.
These countries had significant populations compared to Africa not to mention their tiny size and large population meant they had a large ability so subjugate others. The DRC is massive with the second largest rainforest on The planet meaning people were not connected.
Belgium didn't control Congo Free state which was in theory an independent state and private property of Leopold II, King of Belgium. Belgium took over the Congo Free state in 1908 which became the belgian Congo
Thereis a third Congo, it was annexed by Angola in the 1970s civil war. Portugal administered it as a separate colony, but the Communist soldiers from Cuba overran the place in about 1975.
I get that you’re American and that you don’t use the metric system. That’s another discussion why that’s bad. But can you please at least use both systems as 1 square mile means nothing to me. And I‘m probably not the only one as most of the earth’s population uses the metric system.
The Chinese way to d disambiguate these two countries is to call them Congo-Bra 刚果布 and Congo-Kin 刚果金, suffixing with the first syllable of their capital name.
If anyone is looking for more, I very highly recommend ‘The Poisonwood Bible’ by Kingsolver. Incredible piece of historical fiction that goes deep into Belgian occupation and the results
There was originally 3 Congo territory's Belgium Congo , French Congo & Portuguese Congo .Portuguese Congo was invaded by Angolan & Cuban troops and is still fighting to get there rights = Cabinda war
The internet estimate of mineral wealth in the country (DRC) is 24 trillion dollars. That divided by 110 million people would be $218,000 per person. Of course I realize it would not be distributed fairly or equally. Much of what makes our modern life possible (coltan and cobalt) comes from this country. Yet of course the people are some of the poorest in the world. I am visiting this country next month and I'm sure I'll get more insight.
The DRC was Zaire until Mobutu fell and Kabila took the power which happened in the 90’s. Also, Kongo-Brazzaville like Kongo-Kinshasa are both colonial names.
Cameroon wasn't French from the start. It was German until WWI. I recommend you double-check when you do your research cause there seems be many of them in your video.
People are never referred to as an "amount" but a "number". It's a "number of people". Why? "Amount" is for aggregates of things like stones, sand, and water. "Number" is for all living things and for things you can count. To use "amount" for people is actually pretty insulting. These videos always begin with a junior high school history review which is kind of insulting. The actual explanation to the question is tucked away at the very end, the last few minutes.
Not a by an European power. But practically, it was colonized and ruled by freed slaves and their descendants who didn't ask what the opinion of the locals that found there on the matter
I hope both Congo's have a future. However... the movie Congo is laughable and a terrible movie. And my ADHD mind was thinking of this movie throughout the video. Like wow what a terrible movie based on a decent book.
Interesting how with Africa they always make sure to drive home the point about colonization a least a million times, arguably to justify the current state of the continent. Do you even know who often Europe was colonized? the Middle East? Korea etc etc slavery, it‘s all of human history. The example of Ethiopia proves my point, they‘re not better off despite never having been colonized, the most successful country is South Africa which was under Apartheid until '94.
You're right and wrong at the same time; I think you're oversimplifying the issues with Africa. Also, the case of South Africa being "the most successful" depends on what your perspective is.
My friend my advice to you is to do more research on the history of Africa. Ignorance is the only thing that can make you think colonisation in Africa was like anything in world history
@@Bryan-eq6nt It‘s different because that is virtually the only 'history in (subsaharan) Africa‘, there was virtually nothing there before the Arabs and the Europeans
Enjoy learning about other countries in the world. Much of Africa have suffered horrendously under Western European exploitation and colonization. With independence there was great hope the standard of living would improve for Africa countries. Sad to say it seems like DR of Congo is in poor condition due to corruption. I wish African countries after independence from their European overlords could have made their own lives better. As for DR of Congo it seems they have natural resources that can be exploited to give their people a better life. But the video claims that the average people of DR of Congo are still living in poor condition. Strangely this video did not say much about the R of Congo other than it is a little or a lot better off than DR of Congo. Why would that be the case? I am not sure what that means in reality. I hope what is being presented is accurate. I am concerned there is a lot false information being presented about countries outside of the United States. Countries in Africa, Middle East, and Far East Asia are always presented in a very negative light that feeds into the negative stereotypes many white Europeans have about non-Europeans. Non-Europeans are always presented as savages who need to be more civilized. On the other hand, super white Europeans like the Scandinavians (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland) are always presented as achieving some super capitalist-socialist hybrid state where everyone can live a life of luxury. Which runs contrary to real life. Every country I have visited have a few wealthy people and a lot more poor people. Finland is suppose to have a super incredible educational system. Well ahead of non-European countries and even superior to the United States. Yet it is America who leads the world in developing new technology that have enabled everyone (all over the world) to live better. I am very suspicious of such claims since reality contradicts them. With that said I am willing to be open minded and try to understand other countries. But I am skeptical about the extreme claims in regards to the superiority of Scandinavians or the inferiority of Africans.
Extremely disappointed that you ended the video by chalking up these issues to “corruption”. Not one mention of neo-colonialism. Not one mention of how western owned international commerce institutions incentivize weak and malleable leaders to betray and exploit their people in exchange for wealth- a wealth which is still marginal compared to that which these institutions and oligarchs make from exploiting the people and their leaders. Stick to geography, but if you’re going to be a cultural-political analyst, do so critically.
I am a geography enthusiast and I am embarrassed to admit that I have very little knowledge of central African states. The fact that I am unaware of the two Congos is proof. 😅
Wow, talk glossing over companies/countries that are involved in the resource extraction. Makes it look like it's all an internal mismanagement and exploitation and not one that that the wider global market enforce. Awful video.
There is no way the DRC could survive if it imported 80% of its food. It just doesn’t have the financial wherewithal to do that. I’d like you to cite your sources on this please.
They both speak French they are probably split because of colonial borders, and the people the colonizers gave power to wanting to stay in power by not unifying
Regarding the river, when was it named the Zaire River and when was it changed back to Congo River? Was there any opposition when it was renamed as the Zaire River?
The author makes a point about generalizing a continent and proceeds to generalize the colonization of Africa. Africa wasnt conquered by direct colonization policies ( with the exception of Algeria and South Africa). Most of the continent was conquered via individual entrepreneurs, explorers and Christian missinaries and geopolitical concerns. Not to mention every African colony( except South Africa) was a net loss
