Jacques opangault

First settled by Mbuti[?], Congo was later settled by Bantu groups that also occupied parts of present-day Angola, Gabon, and Zaire,[?] forming the basis for ethnic affinities and rivalries among those states.

Several Bantu kingdoms -- notably those of the Kongo, the Loango[?], and the Teke[?] -- built trade links leading into the Congo River basin.

Junior nguesso

Junior nguesso

Union démocratique pour la défense des intérêts africains

Massamba-débat

Ninjas vs cobras congo

Jean pierre thystère tchicaya

The first European contacts came in the late 15th century, and commercial relationships were quickly established with the kingdoms--trading for slaves captured in the interior. The coastal area was a major source for the transatlantic slave trade, and when that commerce ended in the early 19th century, the power of the Bantu kingdoms eroded.

The area came under French sovereignty in the 1880s. Pierre Sauvignon de Brazza[?], a French empire builder, competed with agents of Belgian King Leopold's International Congo Association[?] (later Zaire) for control of the Congo River basin.

King Leopold, on