Kwango District (french: District du Kwango, nl, District Kwango) was a district of 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 ...

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 ...

and 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 went through various changes in extent. It roughly corresponded to the present provinces of Kwilu and

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 ...

Congo Free State

In 1895 the number of the districts in the Congo Free State was increased to fifteen. The districts now included Kwango District. It had been carved out of the west of the

Kasai District Kasai District (french: District du Kasai, nl, District Kasai) was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, named after the Kasai River. It was formed around 1885 and went through several large c ...

. A map of the Congo Free State in 1897 shows the Kwango Oriental district bounded by the

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 west, the

Lualaba Kassai District Kasai District (french: District du Kasai, nl, District Kasai) was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, named after the Kasai River. It was formed around 1885 and went through several large c ...

to the east, and Portuguese possessions (Angola) to the south. The district extended south from the point where the combined

and Kwilu rivers entered the

Kasai River The Kasai River ( ; called Cassai in Angola) is a tributary (left side) of the Congo River, located in Central Africa. The river begins in central Angola and flows to the east until it reaches the border between Angola and the Democratic Republi ...

, and included the watershed of the Wamba River. The Kwango River formed the border with the Portuguese territory to the west, and the eastern boundary was to the east of the Kwilu River.

Belgian Congo

The Congo Free State was annexed by Belgium in 1908 as the

. Kwango is shown with slightly different boundaries in maps of 1910, 1912, 1926 and 1933. In 1910 Kwango bordered

Bas-Congo 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 ...

to the west, Moyen-Congo to the northwest, Lac Léopold II to the northeast and Kasai to the east. Congo-Kasai formally become a vice-government in 1919. It contained the districts of Bas-Congo,

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 ...

, Kwango, Kasai and

Sankuru Sankuru is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Sankuru, Kasaï-Oriental, and Lomami provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Oriental province. San ...

. With the 1933 reorganization Bas-Congo, Léopoldville, Kwango and Lac Léopold II were included in the

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 ...

. A map from 1955-1957 showed a much smaller Kwango District after the northern part had been made into

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 ...

. Kwango was now bordered by the Portuguese territories to the south,

Cataractes District Cataractes District was a district located in the Kongo Central province, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It dated back to the days of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. History Article 3 of the decree of 16 April 1887 provided ...

to the west, Kwilu District to the north and Kasai District to the east. The area was out of a total of for Léopoldville province as a whole.

Post-independence

Léopoldville Province was divided in 1963–1966 into the provinces of

Congo Central Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa: * Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...

, Kwilu,

, and Mai-Ndombe.

Bandundu Province Bandundu is one of eleven former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It bordered the provinces of Kinshasa and Bas-Congo to the west, Équateur to the north, and Kasai-Occidental to the east. The provincial capital is also called ...

was formed in 1966 by merging Kwilu, Kwango and Mai-Ndombe. As of 2008 Kwango District contained the territories of Kenge,

Popokabaka Popokabaka is a city in the Kwango Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the administrative center of Popokabaka Territory. Popokabaka lies on the right bank of the river Kwango River. Francis Dhanis, an agent of the Congo Free State, ...

Feshi Feshi is a territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located in Kwango. Subdivisions The territory contains the following sectors: *Feshi Sector * Ganaketi Sector *Kobo Sector Kobo may refer to: Places * Kobo (woreda), a district ...

, Kasongo-Lunda and

Kahemba Kahemba is a territory of 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 ...

. In 2015 Kwango Province was formed from the Kwango district, whose town of Kenge was elevated to capital city of the new province.

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: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) - Kwango.svg, The present Kwango province File:Democratic Republic of the Congo (26 provinces) - Kwilu.svg, The present Kwilu province

References

Sources