Zaire

Zaire ( Zaïre French ) was from 27 October 1971 until 17 May 1997, the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa.

Zaire was the third name the former Belgian colony of Congo since independence from Belgium in 1960 was awarded. Became independent under the name Republic of the Congo, which was called because of the name similarity with the neighboring country of Congo - Leopoldville, it received in 1964 the name Democratic Republic of the Congo to distinguish it from the neighboring country of Congo Republic of (Congo - Brazzaville).

Reasons for the re-appointment

Had the first renaming the distinction from the neighboring country yet practical reasons, the claim behind the name Zaire was an alleged " Africanization " of the state name.

The renaming of the state name happened on the instructions of the dictatorial ruling President Joseph -Désiré Mobutu, of his own name in Mobutu Sese Seko (more precisely: Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku wa Ngbendu Zabanga ) " zairisierte ". Mobutu had 1965 coup in the wake of the so-called Congo turmoil to power and really did exist at his inauguration some place names in the Congo, which referred to the colonial past of the country. So the capital was still called Leopoldville, after the Belgian King Leopold II, under whose rule the most brutal phase of colonial exploitation of the Congo had taken place that had triggered worldwide outrage among the names of the Congo atrocities. The renaming in Kinshasa was therefore only logical for the sovereign state.

However, the renaming policy was under Mobutu part of a state ideology, which has been referred to as Authenticité or Mobutismus. Under the heading of Authenticité the renaming of places and people were ( Christian name should be Africanized ) basically ideologically inflated as a liberation from colonial and neo-colonialism degradation, even in cases where this argument was weak. The state name " Congo " as could hardly be traced back to colonial roots, as it was already the name of the Kingdom of Congo, and the new name " Zaire " had no tradition in the country.

Origin of the term

The term " Zaire " is self- European origin: At the time of the first contacts with the Portuguese in the 15th century were nxere or nzadi ( " the river that swallows all rivers " ) is used by the local population designation for the lower reaches of the Congo. The Portuguese eventually botched this to " Zaire ". To date, there is on the lower reaches of the Congo in Angola, the province of Zaire.

History of Zaire

The history of Zaire is a phase of the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, therefore, see the appropriate section in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Historic designations

Historical naming the territories of the Congo