Bangala District (french: District des Bangala, nl, Bangala-district) was a district of the Congo Free State and the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

. It went through various significant changes in extent. The eastern part very roughly corresponded to the present province of

Mongala Mongala is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Mongala, Équateur, Nord-Ubangi, Sud-Ubangi, and Tshuapa provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Équateur ...

Location

A decree of 3 September 1886 by the Congo Free State administrator general

Camille Janssen Camille Janssen (5 December 1837–18 April 1926) was a Belgium, Belgian colonial civil servant and lawyer who held the position of Governor-General of the Congo Free State, Governor-General of the Congo Free State from 1886 to 1892. His son, Geor ...

defined nine districts in the colony, each headed by a district commissioner. Bangala District was one of the districts named. The name comes from the

Bangala language Bangala or Mɔnɔkɔ na bangála is a Bantu language spoken in the northeast corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is also spoken in parts of South Sudan and some speakers are still found in the extreme western part of Uganda (e.g. ...

, the ''

lingua-franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

'' of the northeast Congo region. A decree of 1 August 1888 divided the Congo Free State into eleven districts, of which the first five were in the lower Congo region. Bangala District had been replaced by Ubangi-Uélé District. In 1895 the number of the districts was increased to fifteen, including Bangala District and

Ubangi District Ubangi District (french: District de l'Ubangi, nl, District Ubangi) was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various significant changes in extent. Congo Free State A decree of ...

. A map of the Congo Free State in 1897 shows the Bangalas district extending along both sides of the northwest section

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

from Lake Tumba upstream to where the

Itimbiri River The Itimbiri River is a right tributary of the Congo River, which it joins above Bumba. At one time it was important as a navigable waterway for transporting good from the northeast of the country down to the Congo. Course The Itimbiri River or ...

enters from the north. It is bounded to the northwest by the

, to the east by the Uellé District and

Aruwimi District Aruwimi District (french: District de l'Aruwimi, nl, District Aruwimi) was a district of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo. It went through various changes in extent before being absorbed into other districts. Congo Free State Article 3 of ...

, and to the south by the

Équateur District Équateur District was a former district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1914 it became part of former Équateur Province. The district went through various changes of extent and name over the year ...

. Bangala District is shown on maps of 1910, 1912 and 1926 with somewhat different boundaries on each map.

Équateur Province Équateur, French for equator, may refer to: Places * Province of Équateur, a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2015 * Équateur (former province), a former province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1966–2015 * Équ ...

was created in 1917. As of 1926 the province included the districts of Ubangi, Bangala, Lulonga, Équateur and Lac Léopold II. With the reorganization of 1933, Ubangi District and Bangala District were combined to form

Congo-Ubangi District Congo-Ubangi District (french: District du Congo-Ubangi, nl, District Congo-Ubangi), was a district of the Belgian Congo created in 1933 in the Coquilhatville Province. It had been dissolved by 1954. Location The original four provinces of the ...

, the northern part of

Coquilhatville Province Mbandaka (, formerly known as Coquilhatville in French, or Coquilhatstad in Dutch) is a city on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo located near the confluence of the Congo and Ruki rivers. It is the capital of Équateur Provinc ...

. Coquilhatville Province was renamed Équateur Province in 1947.

Post-independence

On 14 August 1962 Cuvette Centrale Province and

Ubangi Province Ubangi Province (1962−1966) was a former province in the north of Zaire, formed from a division of the first Équateur Province. It was then reincorporated into Équateur Province in 1966. After the 2015 reorganisation of its provinces, what us ...

were separated from Équateur Province, and on 5 February 1963 the remainder became

Moyen-Congo Province Moyen-Congo may refer to: * A former French colony in Africa, known as : ** French Congo (''Congo français'', 1882-1903) ** ''Moyen-Congo'' or ''Middle Congo'' (1903-1960), as part of French Equatorial Africa between 1910 and 1958 ** The independe ...

. These three provinces were combined into a new Équateur Province on 25 April 1966. On 11 July 2015 Équateur was split into the present provinces of Équateur,

Nord-Ubangi Nord-Ubangi (French for "North Ubangi") is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Nord-Ubangi, Équateur, Mongala, Sud-Ubangi, and Tshuapa provinces are the result of the dismemb ...

Sud-Ubangi Sud-Ubangi (French for "South Ubangi") is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. It lies in the northwest of the country on the Ubangi River. Sud-Ubangi, Équateur, Mongala, No ...

and

Tshuapa Tshuapa is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Tshuapa, Équateur, Mongala, Nord-Ubangi, and Sud-Ubangi provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Équate ...

. Mongala very roughly corresponds to the eastern part of the former Bangala District.

Maps

File:1895 districts Congo Free State cropped from 1950 administration map Atlas General du Congo 611.jpg, Districts of the Congo Free State in 1895 File:1926 provinces Belgian Congo cropped from 1950 administration map Atlas General du Congo 611.jpg, 1926 provinces and districts File:1933 provinces Belgian Congo cropped from 1950 administration map Atlas General du Congo 611.jpg, 1933 provinces and districts File:Democratic Republic of the Congo (26 provinces) - Mongala.svg, The present Mongala Province

Notes

References

Sources