French Congo

French Congo
French Congo
Congo français
French colony

1882–1903 as French Congo
1903–1910 as Middle Congo

Flag

Capital Libreville
Language(s) French, others
Political structure Colony
History
 - Established 1882[1]
 - Renamed Middle Congo 1903
 - Reestablished as French Equatorial Africa 1910

The French Congo (French: La colonie du Congo or Congo français) was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and the Central African Republic. It began at Brazzaville on 10 September 1880 as a protectorate over the Bateke people along the north bank of the Congo River,[1] was formally established as the French Congo on 30 November 1882,[1] and was confirmed at the Congress of Berlin. Its borders with Cabinda, Cameroons, and the Congo Free State were established by treaties over the next decade. The plan to develop the colony was to grant massive concessions to some thirty French companies. These were granted huge swaths of land on the promise they would be developed. This development was limited and amounted mostly to the extraction of ivory, rubber, and timber. These operations often involved great brutality and the near enslavement of the locals.

Even with these measures most of the companies lost money. Only about ten earned profits. Many of the companies' vast holdings existed only on paper with virtually no presence on the ground in Africa.

The French Congo was sometimes known as Gabon-Congo.[2] It formally added Gabon on 30 April 1901,[1] was officially renamed Middle Congo (French: Moyen-Congo) in 1903, was temporarily divorced from Gabon in 1906, and was then reunited as French Equatorial Africa in 1910 in an attempt to emulate the relative success of French West Africa.

Contents

List of Commissioners-General

The colony was administered under four commissioners-general (commissionaires généraux) prior to its reorganization into Middle Congo.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Histoire militaire des colonies, pays de protectorat et pays sous mandat. 7. "Histoire militaire de l'Afrique Équatoriale française". 1931. Accessed 9 October 2011. (French)
  2. ^ Payeur-Didelot. "Gabon. - Colonie française du Gabon-Congo, 1/3,700,000". 1894. (French)

Further reading

  • Petringa, Maria. Brazza, A Life for Africa. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2006. ISBN 9781-4259-11980. Describes Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza's extensive explorations of what became French Congo, and later, French Equatorial Africa.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • French Congo — former name of the People s Republic of the Congo. * * * ▪ historical region, Africa French  Congo Français,         French possessions in Equatorial Africa from 1897 until 1910, when the colonies of Gabon, Middle Congo (Moyen Congo), and Ubangi… …   Universalium

  • French Congo — French′ Con′go n. geg former name of the People s Republic of the Congo 1) …   From formal English to slang

  • French Congo — noun The original French colony established in the present day area of the Republic of the Congo, Gabon and the Central African Republic (1880 1910), which later became French Equatorial Africa …   Wiktionary

  • French Congo — noun a republic in west central Africa; achieved independence from France in 1960 • Syn: ↑Congo, ↑Republic of the Congo • Instance Hypernyms: ↑African country, ↑African nation • Part Holonyms: ↑Africa …   Useful english dictionary

  • French Congo — geographical name see French Equatorial Africa …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • List of concessionnaires of the French Congo — In an attempt to develop the French Congo the government of France divided the territory in concessions for companies to develop. These several dozen companies controlled huge swaths of land, but had only limited success in trying to develop them …   Wikipedia

  • Congo — • An account written before the annexation of the state by the Belgian government Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Congo     Congo     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Congo Free State — État indépendant du Congo Personal union with the Kingdom of Belgium ← …   Wikipedia

  • Congo — Congo, Kongo, or Kongō may refer to: (Primarily from Kingdom of Kongo and related African names, also Japanese 金剛 Kongō, indestructible.) Contents 1 Places 1.1 Africa 1.2 Other 2 …   Wikipedia

  • French Equatorial Africa —    French Equatorial Africa (Afrique équatoriale française) was a federation of French colonies, stretching northward from the Congo River into the Sahara Desert. From 1880 to 1910, the French expanded their colonial empire into West and Central… …   Encyclopedia of the Age of Imperialism, 1800–1914

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