Boma is a port town on the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

, some upstream from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, in the Kongo Central Province of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(DRC), adjacent to the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

with

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. It had an estimated population of 162,521 in 2012. Boma was the capital city of the

Congo Free State The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), was a large Sovereign state, state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by Leopold II of Belgium, King Leopold II, the const ...

and

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

(the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1 May 1886 to 1923, when the capital was moved to Léopoldville (since renamed

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

). The port handles exports of tropical

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

s, cocoa, and

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae ** List of Arecaceae genera **Palm oil * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music ...

products.

History

Boma was founded by European merchants in the 16th century as an

entrepôt An entrepôt ( ; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into comm ...

, including for the

slave trade Slave trade may refer to: * History of slavery - overview of slavery It may also refer to slave trades in specific countries, areas: * Al-Andalus slave trade * Atlantic slave trade ** Brazilian slave trade ** Bristol slave trade ** Danish sl ...

. Trade was chiefly in the hands of Dutch merchants, but British, French and Portuguese firms also had factories there. No European power exercised

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

, though claims were from time to time put forward by Portugal. British explorer

Henry Morton Stanley Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author, and politician famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missi ...

arrived here on 9 August 1877, after crossing Africa from east to west.Stanley, H.M., 1899, ''Through the Dark Continent,'' London: G. Newnes, Vol. One , Vol. Two, p. 359 In 1884 the people of Boma were forced to grant a protectorate of their country to the

International Association of the Congo The International Association of the Congo (), also known as the International Congo Society, was an association founded on 17 November 1879 by Leopold II of Belgium to further his interests in the Congo. It replaced the Belgian Committee for S ...

, made up of European powers. This references H. M. Stanley, ''The Congo and the Founding of its Free State'' (London, 1885). In 1886 King Leopold of Belgium established the

, designating Boma as its capital. He ran the state as his personal fiefdom for several years, nearly enslaving many Congolese with a private military, and abusing them to force rubber production. International outrage and action by the Belgian legislature resulted in the government taking over supervision of what was established as the colony of the

in 1908. Boma continued as the capital of the Belgian Congo until 1923.

Léopoldville Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, with an estimated population of 17 million ...

, since renamed as

, was designated as the new capital.

Transport

Boma lies on the north bank of the

, some 100 km upstream from Muanda, where the river flows into the

. The great width and depth of the river allow seagoing ships to reach Boma, which is the second-largest port of DR Congo, after

Matadi Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, ...

. Between 1889 and 1984, the port was served by the Mayumbe line from Tshela. The line was initially built as 610 mm (24 inch) gauge in 1889 before being converted to 600 mm in 1932.

Notable people

* Antoine-Roger Bolamba (1913–2002), politician and poet Albert S. Gerard
European-language writing in sub-Saharan Africa, Volume 1
p. 164, accessed March 2010 * Claude Kiambe (born 2003), singer-songwriter

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (''Aw''). The highest record temperature was on February 25, 1976, while the lowest record temperature was on October 21, 1976.

Gallery

File:102 Le pier de Boma.jpg, Boma pier, 1899 File:103 Les autorités au bout du pier à Boma.jpg, Authorities at the end of the pier, Boma, 1899 File:Hezekiah Andrew Shanu-Anciens rois de Boma.jpg, ''The nine old kings of Boma'' (phot. H. A. Shanu, 1898),

Royal Museum for Central Africa The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) (; ; ), communicating under the name AfricaMuseum since 2018, is an ethnography and natural history museum situated in Tervuren in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, just outside Brussels. It was originally b ...

File:Shinkakasa01.jpg, Fort de Shinkakasa – fortification on the Congo River near Boma File:Boma church.jpg, Church of Boma, which still exists; oldest in the country File:Residentie van de gouverneur-generaal.jpg, Residence of the Governor-General in Boma File:Congo Map by Stanley.jpg,

's map of the area during his expedition down the Congo River File:L'église de Boma , RDC.jpg, Church of Boma, January 2007

References

External links

* (Images, etc.)
Boma Panorama
{{Authority control Cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Communities on the Congo River Populated places established in the 16th century Populated places in Kongo Central