History of the Republic of the Congo

The mouth of the Congo was first explored in the 15th century from Portugal by Europeans. At that time existed here the native kingdom of Congo. This drove with Europeans trade.

Part of French Equatorial Africa

In the 1880s, the region came under French rule. ( Named after the Brazzaville) Pierre de Brazza Savorgnan vied with the envoys of the Belgian King Leopold II for control of the Congo Basin. 1885 took over the Congo conference in Berlin of the existing agreement with all conference participants of the Association Internationale du Congo, whose sole shareholder was the Belgian king, knowledge. The Company entered into force on August 1 as a neutral Congo Free State Leopold II as sovereign in the commitments adopted by the Conference Congo Act a. With France, the Congo society had agreed on 5 February 1885 border demarcation. Between 1882 and 1891 France concluded agreements with the protection of native rulers west of the Congo and Ubangi, so these rivers eventually became the border.

1910 France organized its colonies in present-day Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic and Chad as new French Equatorial Africa. Brazzaville was the capital of this colony. The Agreement of 4 November 1911, a part against German concessions in Morocco and the assignment of the intermediate current region between the Chari and Logone to the French Chad territory to the German Empire was ceded so that the German colony of Cameroon have access to the Congo received ( Neukamerun ). The Treaty of Versailles, this area was re-credited to French Equatorial Africa.

Since the lower Congo is not navigable, in 1924 a railway from Brazzaville was built to the port Pointe -Noire to 1934. After the French defeat in 1940, the colonial administration the free France joined under Charles de Gaulle, Brazzaville to 1943 nominal capital of Free France. In the National Assembly in Paris, the area for 1945 was always represented until the independence of Jean Félix- Tchicaya.

In 1958, the colony was divided into the four modern states ( as colonies ). On November 28 Middle Congo was renamed the Congo Republic, independent on August 15, 1960.

1960-1992

The first president was Fulbert Youlou, a former Catholic priest. His tenure was marked by ethnic and political unrest. In August 1963, he was overthrown. After a brief military government Alphonse Massemba - Débat 1963 President, Pascal Lissouba was in December became Prime Minister.

In February and March 1964, the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union took place.

On 10 January 1966, the new single party Mouvement National de la Révolution (MNR ) was established under the provisions of their statutes as the supreme organ of the state. On June 23, 1966, the army was transformed into a National People's Army. Massamba -Debat was overthrown by a coup in August 1968, the Alfred Raoul first brought to the presidency. Was then Major Marien Ngouabi new president December 31, 1968. He made the Congo to a People's Republic and leaned politically to the Soviet Union. He was assassinated on March 18, 1977.

His successor, Colonel Joachim Yhombi - Opango was deposed because of corruption and deviation from the party line on February 5, 1979, replaced by the Vice President and Defense Minister Col. Denis Sassou Nguesso as interim President.

Since 1992

After the collapse of the Soviet Union Unity Party changed its policy and finally let multiparty elections to. Sassou Nguesso was defeated in free elections in 1992, his successor was on 31 August 1992 Professor Pascal Lissouba.

In November 1992, the President dissolved the National Assembly, the elections in May 1993 were controversial. This led to violent unrest that lasted until February 1994.

1997, there was in advance of the planned for July presidential elections, tensions between Lissouba and Sassou's followers. As government forces surrounded Sassou's Lissouba house in Brazzaville on June 5, this ordered his militia to resist. In four months of fighting large parts of the capital were destroyed. Early October, Angolan troops intervened on the side of the former president, in mid-October, the government was overthrown. Since then, Denis Sassou Nguesso 's re-elected president.

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