This uprising is known as Les Trois Glorieuses (the Three Glorious Days), named after the French July Revolution against King Charles X in 1830.
On November 15, 1908, the Belgian parliament annexed the colony, the reign of Leopold II over Congo being discredited. ===Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza=== On the north bank of the river arrived the French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, born in the Italian city of Rome in 1852.
Traveling from the Atlantic Ocean coast in present-day Gabon via the rivers Ogooué and Lefini he arrived in 1880 in the kingdom of the Téké where on 10 September 1880 he signed the treaty with king Makoko establishing French control over the region and making his capital soon afterwards at the small village named Mfoa later to be called Brazzaville. ===Establishing control=== Establishing French control was difficult.
Born in 1884 in French Guiana this descendant of African slaves was a key figure together with René Pleven in the organization by the De Gaulle government of the Brazzaville Conference of 1944, which took place between the January 30 and February 8, 1944 and which did set out the new direction of French colonial policies after World War II.
German rule in these regions lasted only five years, and ultimately the New Cameroon territories were seized back by France in 1916, after the fall of German forces in Kamerun. ===French administration=== The first name given officially on 1 August 1886 for the new colony was Colony of Gabon and Congo.
The Kingdom of Kongo was reduced to a small enclave in the north of Angola with King Pedro V in 1888 finally accepting to become a vassal of the Portuguese.
A law, which introduced forced labor, made it illegal for the local population to publicly air its grievances and excluded them from all the important jobs. The French government allowed for the establishment of the so-called Concessionary Companies in 1889 so as to circumvent the economic non-discrimination provisions of the Treaty of Berlin and maximize the revenue drawn from underpopulated and undeveloped regions under their control.
On 30 April 1891 this was renamed Colony of French Congo, consisting of Gabon and Middle Congo, the name the French gave to Congo-Brazzaville at that time.
It started in 1892 with the murder of the French administrator Laval and ended with the killing by the French of its leader in 1896.
It started in 1892 with the murder of the French administrator Laval and ended with the killing by the French of its leader in 1896.
Born in 1899 in Mandzakala he joined the French customs administration in Brazzaville in 1919 and soon after left for France where he joined the French army to fight in Morocco.
The absence of the Bakongo from early politics led to a power vacuum into which the Vili and Mbochi moved until independence. The most prominent Congolese politician until 1956 was Jean-Félix Tchicaya, born in Libreville on 9 November 1903 and a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Loango.
On November 15, 1908, the Belgian parliament annexed the colony, the reign of Leopold II over Congo being discredited. ===Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza=== On the north bank of the river arrived the French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, born in the Italian city of Rome in 1852.
On 15 January 1910 the colony again was renamed to French Equatorial Africa (Afrique Equatoriale Française or AEF), this time it also included Chad and Oubangui-Chari, nowadays the Central African Republic.
By 1930 most of the Concessionary companies had gone bankrupt and the practice had largely ceased. In 1911 parts of the colony (the so-called New Cameroon territories) were ceded to the German Empire in exchange for German recognition of France's rights to Morocco.
The Portuguese abolished the kingdom after the revolt of the Kongolese in 1914. ==French rule== ===Scramble for raw materials=== The period leading up to the Berlin Conference on Africa saw a rush by the major European powers to increase their control of the African continent.
German rule in these regions lasted only five years, and ultimately the New Cameroon territories were seized back by France in 1916, after the fall of German forces in Kamerun. ===French administration=== The first name given officially on 1 August 1886 for the new colony was Colony of Gabon and Congo.
Born in 1899 in Mandzakala he joined the French customs administration in Brazzaville in 1919 and soon after left for France where he joined the French army to fight in Morocco.
The construction between 1921 and 1934 of the 511 km long railway, the Chemin de Fer Congo-Océan between Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire is for example said to have cost the lives of around 23,000 locals and a few hundred Europeans.
In 1926 he in Paris formed the Association des Originaires de l'A.E.F.
Although French geologists had already established for certain in 1926 the presence of oil and gas in the country, in 1957 near Pointe Indienne the French Societé des Pétroles de l'Afrique Equatoriale Françaises (SPAEF) found oil and gas reserves offshore in sufficient exploitable quantities.
For this he got support from some sections of French society as the French Communist Party and elements within the Free Masonry movement. When in 1929 his group also became active in Congo itself and demanded an end to the Code de l'Indigénat, things changed.
In 1929 the French dissolved Matsoua's association and he together with some of his friends were jailed and sent in exile to Chad, leading to riots and a campaign of disobedience against the French administration lasting many years.
By 1930 most of the Concessionary companies had gone bankrupt and the practice had largely ceased. In 1911 parts of the colony (the so-called New Cameroon territories) were ceded to the German Empire in exchange for German recognition of France's rights to Morocco.
The construction between 1921 and 1934 of the 511 km long railway, the Chemin de Fer Congo-Océan between Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire is for example said to have cost the lives of around 23,000 locals and a few hundred Europeans.
He however escaped to France in 1935 where under a new identity he continued his political work.
Marshal Philippe Pétain surrendered to Germany on 22 June 1940, and this gave birth to the so-called Vichy France republic.
In three days troops loyal to De Gaulle took control of Chad (26 August 1940), Cameroon (27 August) and of Middle Congo (the 28th of August).
Brazzaville hereby became the capital of the so-called Free French in Africa, ruled in theory by a Conseil de défense de l'Empire set up by De Gaulle on 27 October 1940.
Because of this and his earlier support for De Gaulle he became Governor-General of the Afrique Equatoriale Française (AEF) in 1940, the first non-white to achieve this position in French colonial history.
Showing his loyalty to France, in spite of the harsh repression, he joined the French army to fighting the German invasion in 1940.
Many of these were policies already put forward by Eboué in his 1941 book entitled "La nouvelle politique coloniale de l'A.E.F." This conference led to the abolition of forced labor and the code de l'indigénat, which had made the political and social activities of the indigenous people illegal.
Wounded, he was rearrested, and sent back to Brazzaville where on 8 February 1941 he was sentenced under Felix Eboué to work in labor camps for the rest of his life.
He died under unclear circumstances in prison on 13 January 1942.
Born in 1884 in French Guiana this descendant of African slaves was a key figure together with René Pleven in the organization by the De Gaulle government of the Brazzaville Conference of 1944, which took place between the January 30 and February 8, 1944 and which did set out the new direction of French colonial policies after World War II.
On 21 November 1945, Tchicaya became one of the first African leaders elected to the French parliament, giving him great prestige in his native country. Although Tchicaya was on the left of the French political spectrum, he never strongly questioned French colonial rule.
This in turn led to the new French constitution of the Fourth Republic approved on 27 October 1946 and the election of the first Equatorial African members of Parliament in Paris.
For example, between 1946 and 1956 the Lari, an important community in the country, refused to take part in elections, with many under the belief that their deceased messianic leader André Matsoua would return.
Together with Ivorian leader Félix Houphouët-Boigny and others, he formed the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA) in 1946 and, in 1947, the Parti Progressiste Africain.
Together with Ivorian leader Félix Houphouët-Boigny and others, he formed the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (RDA) in 1946 and, in 1947, the Parti Progressiste Africain.
The total population in 1950 for the whole AEF was 4,143,922, with only around 15,000 non-Africans present. ==1940s and Reforms== ===World War II=== As with the arrival of the Portuguese events in Europe again had a deep impact on the affairs of Congo-Brazzaville, and Africa in general.
For example, between 1946 and 1956 the Lari, an important community in the country, refused to take part in elections, with many under the belief that their deceased messianic leader André Matsoua would return.
The absence of the Bakongo from early politics led to a power vacuum into which the Vili and Mbochi moved until independence. The most prominent Congolese politician until 1956 was Jean-Félix Tchicaya, born in Libreville on 9 November 1903 and a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Loango.
Ultimately the massive expansion of Middle Congo's civil service contributed to a drain of the rural population into the cities, and created an entrenched bureaucracy and trade union network that would prove to be a burden on state stability following independence. The French government continued to rule through a Governor-General until the elections of 1957 when a High Commissioner of the République was established.
Only by aligning himself with his erstwhile enemy, the more radical Jacques Opangault in the parliamentary elections of March 31, 1957 could he continue to play a leading role in Congolese political life. Prior to independence, the French establishment and Catholic Church feared Opangault's radicalism and favored the rise of Fulbert Youlou, a former priest.
Although French geologists had already established for certain in 1926 the presence of oil and gas in the country, in 1957 near Pointe Indienne the French Societé des Pétroles de l'Afrique Equatoriale Françaises (SPAEF) found oil and gas reserves offshore in sufficient exploitable quantities.
Congo-Brazzaville gained autonomy on the November 28, 1958 and independence from France on the August 15, 1960.
The defection of Georges Yambot from the African Socialist Movement (MSA) to Youlou's Union Démocratique pour la Défense d'Intérêts Africains (UDDIA) helped Youlou become prime minister in 1958.
This led to the establishment of the Republic of Congo on 28 November 1958 (with Brazzaville replacing Point Noire as the country's capital). On 16 February 1959, a revolt organized by Opangault and his MSA erupted in clashes along tribal lines between Southerners, supporting Youlou, and people from the North, loyal to the MSA.
This led to the establishment of the Republic of Congo on 28 November 1958 (with Brazzaville replacing Point Noire as the country's capital). On 16 February 1959, a revolt organized by Opangault and his MSA erupted in clashes along tribal lines between Southerners, supporting Youlou, and people from the North, loyal to the MSA.
Congo-Brazzaville gained autonomy on the November 28, 1958 and independence from France on the August 15, 1960.
On 12 July 1960 France agreed to Congo becoming fully independent.
On 15 August 1960, the Republic of Congo became an independent country and Fulbert Youlou became its first President. In November that year, Youlou released Opangault, Ngot and other adversaries, as part of an amnesty.
Original democratic institutions were modeled on those of France, but multiple Africanising constitutions were instituted and then set aside in 1961, 1963, 1968, 1973 and 1992.
Original democratic institutions were modeled on those of France, but multiple Africanising constitutions were instituted and then set aside in 1961, 1963, 1968, 1973 and 1992.
Following Youlou's 6 August 1963 announcement of the formation of a one-party state with only one legal trade union, trade unions started their revolt on 13 August.
Under the 1963 constitution, Massamba-Débat was elected president for a five-year term and named Pascal Lissouba to serve as prime minister. President Massamba-Débat's term in office was characterized by a shift to the political left which included nationalizations and increased political ties to the USSR and communist China.
Original democratic institutions were modeled on those of France, but multiple Africanising constitutions were instituted and then set aside in 1961, 1963, 1968, 1973 and 1992.
Development of the sector has been hampered by the nation's traditionally powerful trade unionist movement, political uncertainties, as well as the costs of exploitation in a country with poor transport infrastructure. ==Les Trois Glorieuses and the 1968 Coup d'état== As Brazzaville had been the capital of the large federation of French Equatorial Africa, it had an important workforce and many trade unions.
Massamba-Débat's government ended in August 1968 when Captain Marien Ngouabi and other army officers toppled the government in a bloodless coup.
After a period of consolidation under the newly formed National Revolutionary Council, Ngouabi assumed the presidency on December 31, 1968.
Morel's History of the Congo Reform Movement, Clarendon Press Oxford, 1968. Middle Congo (colonial) * Republic of the Congo
By the 1970s oil was Congo's largest export, however global market-price vicissitudes together with Congo's tendency to rely on overly optimistic projections of future revenues for the political purposes of sustaining a large civil service and a highly inefficient State sector, have regularly caused serious fiscal imbalances.
Original democratic institutions were modeled on those of France, but multiple Africanising constitutions were instituted and then set aside in 1961, 1963, 1968, 1973 and 1992.
One year later, President Ngouabi proclaimed the People's Republic of the Congo, Africa's first People's Republic and announced the decision of the National Revolutionary Movement to change its name to the Congolese Party of Labour (PCT). ==Assassination of Ngouabi and election of Sassou-Nguesso== On March 18, 1977, President Ngouabi was assassinated.
After two years in power, Yhombi-Opango was accused of corruption and deviation from party directives, and removed from office on February 5, 1979, by the Central Committee of the PCT, which then simultaneously designated Vice President and Defense Minister Col.
He was released from house arrest in late 1984 and ordered back to his native village of Owando. ==Democracy and civil war== After decades of turbulent politics bolstered by Marxist-Leninist rhetoric, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Congolese gradually moderated their economic and political views to the point that, in 1992, Congo completed a transition to multi-party democracy.
Ending a long history of one-party Marxist rule, a specific agenda for this transition was laid out during Congo's national conference of 1991 and culminated in August 1992 with multi-party parliamentary and presidential elections.
Original democratic institutions were modeled on those of France, but multiple Africanising constitutions were instituted and then set aside in 1961, 1963, 1968, 1973 and 1992.
He was released from house arrest in late 1984 and ordered back to his native village of Owando. ==Democracy and civil war== After decades of turbulent politics bolstered by Marxist-Leninist rhetoric, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Congolese gradually moderated their economic and political views to the point that, in 1992, Congo completed a transition to multi-party democracy.
Ending a long history of one-party Marxist rule, a specific agenda for this transition was laid out during Congo's national conference of 1991 and culminated in August 1992 with multi-party parliamentary and presidential elections.
Sassou Nguesso conceded defeat and Congo's new president, Professor Pascal Lissouba, was inaugurated on August 31, 1992. Congolese democracy experienced severe trials in 1993 and early 1994.
The President dissolved the National Assembly in November 1992, calling for new elections in May 1993.
Sassou Nguesso conceded defeat and Congo's new president, Professor Pascal Lissouba, was inaugurated on August 31, 1992. Congolese democracy experienced severe trials in 1993 and early 1994.
The President dissolved the National Assembly in November 1992, calling for new elections in May 1993.
Sassou Nguesso conceded defeat and Congo's new president, Professor Pascal Lissouba, was inaugurated on August 31, 1992. Congolese democracy experienced severe trials in 1993 and early 1994.
In February 1994 the decisions of an international board of arbiters were accepted by all parties, and the risk of large-scale insurrection subsided. Mr.
Lissouba was pressured by the French into canceling all contracts with Occidental Petroleum, but suspicions of Lissouba remained. However, Congo's democratic progress derailed in 1997.
As presidential elections scheduled for July 1997 approached, tensions between the Lissouba and Sassou Nguesso camps mounted.
On June 5, 1997, government forces surrounded Sassou Nguesso's home in the Mpila section of Brazzaville, attempting to arrest two men, Pierre Aboya and Engobo Bonaventure, who had been implicated in the earlier violence.
Soon thereafter, Sassou Nguesso declared himself President and named a 33-member government. In January 1998 the Sassou Nguesso regime held a National Forum for Reconciliation to determine the nature and duration of the transition period.
However, the eruption in late 1998 of fighting between Sassou Nguesso's government forces and an armed opposition disrupted the transitional return to democracy.
This new violence also closed the economically vital Congo-Ocean Railway, caused great destruction and loss of life in southern Brazzaville and in the Pool, Bouenza, and Niari regions, and displaced hundreds of thousands of persons. In November and December 1999, the government signed agreements with representatives of many, though not all, of the rebel groups.
The December accord, mediated by President Omar Bongo of Gabon, called for follow-on, inclusive political negotiations between the government and the opposition. ==Sassou's second presidency== Sassou won elections in 2002 with an implausible 90% or so of the votes.
A new constitution was agreed upon in January 2002, granting the president new powers and extending his term to seven years as well as introducing a new bicameral assembly.
Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse, 2006.
under contracts signed between the officials in Brazzaville and the government in Beijing." Sassou was re-elected for a further seven-year term at the next presidential election in July 2009. In 2015, Sassou changed the constitution to run in the 2016 election.
under contracts signed between the officials in Brazzaville and the government in Beijing." Sassou was re-elected for a further seven-year term at the next presidential election in July 2009. In 2015, Sassou changed the constitution to run in the 2016 election.
under contracts signed between the officials in Brazzaville and the government in Beijing." Sassou was re-elected for a further seven-year term at the next presidential election in July 2009. In 2015, Sassou changed the constitution to run in the 2016 election.
This led to a revival of the Ninja rebels who launched attacks against the army in April 2016, leading 80,000 people to flee their homes.
A ceasefire deal was signed in December 2017. ==See also== History of Africa People's Republic of the Congo Politics of the Republic of the Congo List of heads of government of the Republic of the Congo List of heads of state of the Republic of the Congo Brazzaville history and timeline ==Notes== ==Bibliography== . . . . . . Petringa, Maria: Brazza, A Life for Africa.
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