by
JOHN DAVID M.

NATIONAL FLAG OF DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

LOCATION:

A BRIEF HISTORY OF DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

            Belgium colonized the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Belgians treaded the people like slaves. They forced them to do very hard work. Ten million people died because they were working them too hard.

            The colonization hurt the people because Belgium killed people and made them work non-stop. The people of Congo were slaves and had no help from Belgium with building roads, education or medical care.

            Congo won independence on June 1960 from Brussels. Belgium had had control of Congo because of the poor treatment of the people by King Leopold II. The Congo continued pushing for their independence until Brussels was forced to give it to Congo.

            After Congo became independent, two provinces Katanga and South Kasal, seceded from the new Republic. This caused a civil war to break out. Belgium sent in paratroopers to help stop the civil war. The United Nations sent in a peacekeeping force to help settle the civil war. There were many problems and fighting in this country at the time. There has been an agreement signed for a cease fire but the Congo still has people dying from starvation and disease each month.

Works Cited

Flag and map courtesy of http://www.theodora.com 

LonelyPlanet. www.lonleyplanet.com

Infoplease. www.infoplease.com

Heale,Jay. Democratic Republic of Congo