Cataractes District was a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
located in the
Kongo Central
Kongo Central ( kg, Kongo dia Kati ), formerly Bas-Congo is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Its capital is Matadi.
History
At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the g ...
province, in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
. It dated back to the days 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 ...
.
History
Article 3 of the decree of 16 April 1887 provided for the Congo Free State to be divided into administrative districts headed by district commissioners, assisted by one or more deputies.
The decree of 1 August 1888 divided the Congo Free State into eleven districts, of which the first five were in the lower Congo region, including Cataractes District with its headquarters at
Lukunga
Lukunga is an area of the capital city of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, comprising seven of the city-province's twenty-four administrative divisions—the communes of Barumbu, Gombe, Kinshasa, Kintambo, Lingwala, Mont Ngafula and N ...
.
Cataractes District is shown on a map of the colony in 1897 as bordered by French possessions to the north and Portuguese possessions to the south.
It lay between
Matadi District to the west and
Stanley Pool District
Stanley Pool District (french: District du Stanley Pool, nl, District Stanley Pool), later named Moyen-Congo District was a district of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo.
It disappeared in a reorganization of 1914.
Congo Free State
Articl ...
to the east.
Other maps show an extension of
Kwango-Oriental District reaching the southeast of Cataractes District.
In 1910 the districts of
Banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
,
Boma, Matadi and Cataracts were consolidated into the
Bas-Congo District
Bas-Congo (french: District du Bas-Congo, nl, District Beneden-Congo) was a district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various significant changes in extent. It roughly corresponds to the present provin ...
.
In 1933 the original four provinces of the Belgian Congo were reorganized into six provinces, named after their capitals, and the central government assumed more control.
Congo-Kasaï
Congo-Kasaï was one of the four large provinces of the Belgian Congo defined in 1914. It was formally established in 1919, and in 1933 was divided into the new provinces of Léopoldville and Lusambo.
Location
Congo-Kasaï was named after the Ka ...
province was split, with the western part renamed
Léopoldville Province
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
.
The number of districts was reduced to 15.
Léopoldville Province contained the urban district of
Léopoldville
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
and the districts of Bas-Congo,
Kwango
Kwango is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It's one of the 21 provinces created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kwango, Kwilu, and Mai-Ndombe provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Bandundu province. Kwa ...
and
Lac Léopold II.
Some of the districts were later divided up.
A 1955-1957 map shows Cataractes District extending east from a greatly reduced
Bas-Congo District
Bas-Congo (french: District du Bas-Congo, nl, District Beneden-Congo) was a district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various significant changes in extent. It roughly corresponds to the present provin ...
and northeast along the Congo River past the urban district of Léopoldville up to
Lac Léopold II District
Lac Léopold II District (french: District du Lac Léopold II, nl, District Leopold II Meer) was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent, but roughly corres ...
. It bordered
Kwango District
Kwango District (french: District du Kwango, nl, District Kwango) was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent. It roughly corresponded to the present pro ...
and
Kwilu District
Kwilu District (french: District du Kwilu, nl, District KwangoKwilu) was a district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It roughly corresponded to the present province of Kwilu.
Location
The Free State was annexed by ...
to the east.
The area was out of a total of for Léopoldville province as a whole.
Maps
File:1888 districts Congo Free State cropped from 1950 administration map Atlas General du Congo 611.jpg, Districts of the Congo Free State in 1888. The small western districts were Banana, Boma, Matadi and Cataractes
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:1910 provinces Belgian Congo cropped from 1950 administration map Atlas General du Congo 611.jpg, 1910 districts
File:1933 provinces Belgian Congo cropped from 1950 administration map Atlas General du Congo 611.jpg, 1933 districts. The greater part of Bas Congo district later became Cataracts District.
See also
*
Districts of the Congo Free State
The Districts of the Congo Free State were the primary administrative divisions of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908.
There were various boundary changes in the period before the Congo Free State was annexed by Belgium to become the Belgian Co ...
*
Districts of the Belgian Congo
The Districts of the Belgian Congo were the primary administrative divisions when Belgium annexed the Congo Free State in 1908, each administered by a district commissioner.
In 1914 they were distributed among four large provinces, with some bound ...
*
Districts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
Districts of the Congo Free State
Districts of the Belgian Congo
Districts of Kongo Central
{{DRCongo-geo-stub