The French Congo (french: Congo français) or Middle Congo (french: Moyen-Congo) was a French

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

which at one time comprised the present-day area of the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

and parts of

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

, and the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

. In 1910, it was made part of the larger

French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (french: link=no, Afrique-Équatoriale française), or the AEF, was the federation of French colonial possessions in Equatorial Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River into the Sahel, and comprising what are ...

. The modern

is considered French Congo's

successor state Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...

, having virtually identical borders, and having inherited rights to sovereignty and independence from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

through the dissolution of French Equatorial Africa in the late 1950s.

History

The French Congo began at

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CLI ...

on 10 September 1880 as a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...

over the

Bateke The Teke people or Bateke, also known as the Tyo or Tio, are a Bantu Central African ethnic group that speak the Teke languages and that mainly inhabit the south, north, and center of the Republic of the Congo, the west of the Democratic Republi ...

people along the north bank of the

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 ...

. The treaty was signed between King Iloo I and

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà, later known as Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza; 26 January 1852 – 14 September 1905), was an Italian-born, naturalized French explorer. With his family's financial help, he explored the Ogoou� ...

; Iloo I died the same year it was signed, but the terms of the treaty were upheld by his queen

Ngalifourou Ngalifourou (1864 – 8 June 1956) was a queen of the Mbé region in what is today the Republic of Congo(Congo-Brazzaville). As a ruler she was close to French colonial authorities and was the first ruler in her region to sign a treaty with them. ...

. It was formally established as the French Congo on 30 November 1882, and was confirmed at the

Berlin Conference The Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, also known as the Congo Conference (, ) or West Africa Conference (, ), regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence ...

of 1884–85. Its borders with Cabinda,

Cameroons British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British Empire, British League of Nations mandate, mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of th ...

, and the

Congo Free State ''(Work and Progress) , national_anthem = Vers l'avenir , capital = Vivi Boma , currency = Congo Free State franc , religion = Catholicism (''de facto'') , leader1 = Leopo ...

were established by treaties over the next decade. The plan to develop the colony was to grant massive concessions to some thirty French companies. These were granted huge swaths of land on the promise they would be developed. This development was limited and amounted mostly to the extraction of

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...

, rubber, and timber. These operations often involved great brutality and the near-enslavement of the locals. Even with these measures most of the companies lost money. Only about ten earned profits. Many of the companies' vast holdings existed only on paper with virtually no presence on the ground in Africa. The French Congo was sometimes known as Gabon-Congo. It formally added

on in 1891, was officially renamed Middle Congo (french: link=no, Moyen-Congo) in 1903, was temporarily divorced from Gabon in 1906, and was then reunited as

in 1910 in an attempt to emulate the relative success of

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now Burki ...

. In 1911 the Morocco-Congo Treaty gave part of the territory to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for an outlet on the Congo River. This land, known as

Neukamerun Neukamerun was the name of Central African territories ceded by the Third French Republic to the German Empire in 1911. Upon taking office in 1907, Theodor Seitz, governor of Kamerun, advocated the acquisition of territories from the French Co ...

, was officially regained by France after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. A 1906 study french: label=none, L'Expansion coloniale au Congo français, translation=The colonial expansion of French Congo, was published in conjunction with the French Colonial Exposition in Marseille. In 1925

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

historian, sociologist, and

Pan-Africanist Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous and diaspora peoples of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement exte ...

W. E. B. Du Bois wrote " 'Batouala' voices it. In the depths of the French Congo one finds the same exploitation of black folk as in 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 ...

British West Africa British West Africa was the collective name for British colonies in West Africa during the colonial period, either in the general geographical sense or the formal colonial administrative entity. British West Africa as a colonial entity was orig ...

List of governors

*Chief administrators **12 Mar 1889 - 27 Apr 1895 Fortuné Charles de Chavannes (s.a.) ** 27 Apr 1895 - 22 Jan 1899 Louis Henri Albert Dolisie (b. 1856 - d. 1899) ** 1 May 1899 - 11 Jul 1902 Jean-Baptiste Philema Lemaire (b. 1856 - d. 1932) **11 Jul 1902 - 5 Apr 1906 Émile Gentil (b. 1866 - d. 1914) ** 5 Apr 1906 - 12 Mar 1909 Adolphe Louis Cureau (b. 1864 - d. 1913) **17 Jan 1908 - 17 Nov 1908 Édouard Marie Bertrand Eugène Dubosc-Taret (acting for Cureau) (b. 1857 - d. 19..) *Lieutenant governors **12 Mar 1909 - 27 Jun 1910 Adolphe Louis Cureau (s.a.) **27 Jun 1910 - 28 Jul 1911 Édouard Dubosc-Taret (acting) (s.a.) **28 Jul 1911 - 16 Apr 1916 Lucien Louis Fourneau (b. 1867 - d. 1930), acting to 17 Oct 1912) **16 Apr 1916 - 17 Jul 1917 Jules Gaston Henri Carde (b. 1874 - d. 1949), (acting to 12 Oct 1916) **17 Jul 1917 - 2 Apr 1919 Jules Guy Le Prince (acting) (b. 1868 - d. 19..) **2 Apr 1919 - 16 May 1919 Édmond Émilien Cadier (b. 1868 - d. 1951) **16 May 1919 - 21 Aug 1919 Jean Henri Marchand (1st time, acting)) (b. 1864 - d. 19..) **21 Aug 1919 - 16 Aug 1922 Mattéo Mathieu Maurice Alfassa (b. 1876 - d. 1942) **16 Aug 1922 - 20 Apr 1923 Georges Thomann (acting) (b. 1872 - d. 1943) **24 Apr 1923 - 21 Jul 1925 Jean Henri Marchand (acting, 2nd time) (s.a.) ** 21 Jul 1925 - 1 Dec 1929 Administration by AEF Governor-general **1 Dec 1929 - 4 Dec 1930 Marcel Alix Jean Marchessou (acting) (b. 1879 - d. 1964) ** 4 Dec 1930 - May 1931 Pierre Simon Antonin Bonnefont (acting) (b. 1877 - d. 1950) **May 1931 - 1932 Max de Masson de Saint-Félix (b. 1882 - d. 1958) **1932 - 21 Nov 1932 Émile Buhot-Launay (acting) (b. 1881 - d. 1970) **21 Nov 1932 - 10 Feb 1941 Administration by AEF Governor-general **10 Feb 1941 - 20 Aug 1945 Gabriel Émile Fortune (b. 1897 - d. 1971) **21 Feb 1942 - 19 Jul 1942 Jean Charles André Capagorry (acting for Fortune) (b. 1894 - d. 1981) **20 Aug 1945 - 30 Apr 1946 Administration by AEF Governor-general **30 Apr 1946 - 16 May 1946 Christian Robert Roger Laigret (acting) (b. 1903 - d. 1977) ** 16 May 1946 - 6 Nov 1946 Administration by AEF Governor-general ** 6 Nov 1946 - 31 Dec 1947 Numa François Henri Sadoul (b. 1906 - d. 1990) **31 Dec 1947 - 1 Mar 1950 Jacques Georges Fourneau (b. 1901 - d. 1956) **1 Mar 1950 - 25 Apr 1952 Paul Jules Marie Le Layec (b. 1901 - d. 1965) **25 Apr 1952 - 15 Jul 1953 Jean Georges Chambon (b. 1896 - d. 1965) **15 Jul 1953 - 2 Nov 1956 Ernest Eugène Rouys (acting to 19 Feb 1954) (b. 1901 - d. ....) **2 Nov 1956 - 29 Jan 1958 Jean-Michel Marie René Soupault (b. 1918 - d. 1993) **29 Jan 1958 - 7 Jan 1959 Charles Paul Dériaud (acting) (b. 1911 - d. 1964) *High Commissioner ** 7 Jan 1959 - 15 Aug 1960 Guy Noël Georgy (b. 1918 - d. 2003)

References

External links

* {{Authority control French Equatorial Africa Former colonies in Africa Congo Congo History of Central Africa History of Gabon Ubangi-Shari History of the Republic of the Congo States and territories established in 1882 States and territories disestablished in 1910 1882 establishments in French Congo 1882 establishments in Africa 1960 disestablishments in Africa 1882 establishments in the French colonial empire 1960 disestablishments in the French colonial empire France–Republic of the Congo relations

History

List of governors

See also

References

Further reading

External links