Congo, Democratic Republic of the Histor Trivia

1. A long time ago, on a continent far, far away (unless you live there), an indigenous population lived in the countries now known as the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. By what name are these diminutive people known?

From Quiz A Tale of Two Congos

Answer: Pygmies

By definition, pygmies are a native population where the males average less than five feet in height. There is some debate as to whether pygmies were the original inhabitants in the area, but they constituted the main population until somewhere between 3000 B.C.E. and 1000 C.E. (Sources vary on the dates). Pygmies still live in the forests and jungles of the two countries, but as with most short people, they are a repressed minority. Disturbingly, they have been the victims of cannibalism by some Congolese who believe pygmy flesh and organs have magical powers.

From Quiz 'The Horror, The Horror:' Congo/Zaire

Answer: King Leopold II of THE BelgIANS

It is almost impossible to conceive of a nation of the Congo's size (and mineral wealth) as having been owned by one man, but owned by one man it was. The definitive account is Adam Hochschild's "King Leopold's Ghost--A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa", published in 1998. According to Hochschild, Leopold never even so much as set foot in the the vast tropical domain which was his personal property.

From Quiz 'The Horror, The Horror:' Congo/Zaire

Answer: "Exterminate all the brutes."

Conrad, no literary piker, wrote that Kurtz' scrawled words were "luminous and terrifying like a flash of lightning in a serene sky." Conrad thus reduced the great bulk of the European colonial experience in Africa into a phrase which has become part of the modern moral vernacular. Swedish author Sven Lindqvist recently used it as a title for his book about the history of European genocide.

From Quiz A Tale of Two Congos

Answer: Henry Morton Stanley

Welsh by birth, Stanley traveled to the United States in his teens and fought first for the Confederacy and then the Union in the American Civil War. (He had been captured by the Union troops and apparently decided if you can't beat them, join them). After returning to Britain, he took a job as a journalist and was sent to Africa to locate David Livingstone, a Scottish explorer who hadn't been heard from for a number of years while on an expedition to locate the source of the Nile. Together, Stanley and Livingstone explored much of eastern Africa, and after Livingstone's death, Stanley continued his exploration, moving to western Africa where he is credited with mapping the course of the Congo River. Incidentally, his famous quote may have been concocted; Livingstone never mentioned it.

From Quiz 'The Horror, The Horror:' Congo/Zaire

Answer: Yes, Léon Rom, head of the 'Force Publique'.

"Apocalypse Now" fans, take note: according to Hochschild, Rom had a fence around his office with a human skull on each post, as well as a number of rotting heads about the property. Conrad's descriptions of depravity, interpreted for many years as metaphorical, actually turn out to have been clinically reportorial.

From Quiz A Tale of Two Congos

Answer: To divide Africa up amongst the European powers

The division of the continent continued into the 20th century as borders were re-drawn and the colonial nations exchanged parcels of land. The conference had long term effects on the African continent. Besides subjecting the indigenous populations to colonialism, the countries were established without regard for ethnicity, culture or language divisions, resulting in internal conflicts within the new nations. These conflicts created turmoil for not only the colonial overlords but also for the independent nations that emerged during the next century. The repercussions were felt in the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as inter-tribal violence continued to plague the nations into the 21st century.

From Quiz A Tale of Two Congos

Answer: France and Belgium

The area surrounding the Congo River was battled over for a number of years, with the Portuguese, French, Belgians and English all trying to take control of it. The French were successful in gaining the land north of the Congo River to include present-day Gabon and named the area French Congo. By 1910, they had expanded their holdings to include the area of present-day Chad and the Central African Republic, and they renamed the entire colony as French Equatorial Africa. King Leopold II of Belgium gained control of the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo and called it the Congo Free State. He ran the country so oppressively that, according to a Belgian government commission, half the population of the country perished during his rule. The Belgian parliament took control of the country in 1908 and changed the name to the Belgian Congo. French has remained the official language in both countries although many other indigenous languages exist, and the two countries have remained separate despite overlapping ethnic groups.

From Quiz 'The Horror, The Horror:' Congo/Zaire

Answer: Joseph Mobutu

Mobutu, whose name has become virtually synonymous with kleptocracy, snuggled up to the West, and the US in particular (the extent, if any, of CIA involvement in the '65 coup is still debated) and stole his own country blind. He fled the country in 1997 and died shortly thereafter in Morocco. At his death and for some time prior thereto, he was one of the world's richest men.

From Quiz A Tale of Two Congos

Answer: Nationalist leaders who died under mysterious circumstances

Andre Matsoua had originally trained as a priest in the early 20th century but instead decided to pursue political activities. He founded an organization called Amicale with the goal of self-improvement and unionization for citizens in the Republic of the Congo; this didn't go over very well with the colonial government, and he was repeatedly imprisoned. He died in prison, reportedly from natural causes, but due to the fact that he was buried secretly, his followers were never satisfied with that explanation. He has become legendary since his death, with Matsouanism emerging as a mixture of political activism and religion. Like Matsoua, Patrice Lumumba was also a promoter of unionization and spent time in prison. He was directly involved in the attainment of independence for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the first elected Prime Minister, but he was forced out of office within a few months and imprisoned. He was secretly executed thereafter, although the official report stated that he was killed during an escape attempt.

From Quiz 'The Horror, The Horror:' Congo/Zaire

Answer: "It's a lie. It's a lie. I am only the fourth richest."

You can't make this stuff up. Mobutu, who was by then calling himself Mobutu Sese Seko Wa Zabanga, Marshal of Zaire, amassed an astonishing financial empire. Though evil in sub-Saharan Africa has often had a white face, Mobutu ransacked his huge and underdeveloped country no less rapaciously than King Leopold II had.

From Quiz A Tale of Two Congos

Answer: 1960s

Both countries celebrated their independence in 1960. Unfortunately, they both decided to take the name Republic of Congo, which resulted in some confusion; hence the Republic of the Congo was known as Congo-Brazzaville or simply Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo was known as Congo-Kinshasa or The Congo. In 1966, the latter country adopted Democratic Republic of the Congo as its name only to be renamed Zaire in 1971. Both countries were affected by much internal turmoil following independence as the different factions within tried to grab control of the countries, not only along tribal lines but also on ideological grounds, with Communism being pursued by some leaders.

From Quiz 'The Horror, The Horror:' Congo/Zaire

Answer: Dikembe Mutombo

A good guy who also happens to be one of the greatest defensive centers in the history of basketball. Mutombo came to Georgetown U. and John Thompson from Kinshasa, Zaire. He has not forgotten his people's moving plight.

From Quiz A Tale of Two Congos

Answer: Adoption of democracy

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Communist factions within the countries found themselves without funding, reducing their activities. Meanwhile the conversion of many of the former Communist dictatorships to democracy was also mimicked in the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, although it was largely symbolic, particularly in the latter. The dictator, Joseph-Desire Mobutu, who had been in control of that country since the 1960s, retained his position until 1997 when he was forced out. The country name was then changed from Zaire back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to remove any connection with him. The Republic of the Congo started off on the right path, with elections and a change of leadership in 1992, but suppression of political opposition and disputed elections in future years led to the establishment of several rebel groups. A peace agreement with most of the rebel groups was signed in 1999, but elections continued to be disputed into the 21st century.

From Quiz 'The Horror, The Horror:' Congo/Zaire

Answer: Laurent Kabila

It is not entirely clear whether Kabila, a onetime protege of Che Guevara, enlisted Rwandan and Ugandan support for the coup, or whether the tail was in fact wagging the dog. He held the presidency for less than four years, and was assassinated by a bodyguard on 1/16/01.

From Quiz A Tale of Two Congos

Answer: Angola, Namibia, Uganda and Rwanda

The nations surrounding the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo took sides in the internal strife in these countries. Some provided military assistance at the behest of the ruling parties; others supported rebel factions in the hope of gaining access to the abundant natural resources in the countries. The mid-1990s conflict in Rwanda spilled over into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with Hutu refugees fleeing into the latter, and Hutu militia conducting raids in Rwanda from the refugee camps. Oppression of Congolese Tutsis followed. According to an International Rescue Committee survey, over five million people were estimated to have died during these conflicts.

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