Lac Léopold II District (, ) was a district 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. It went through various changes in extent, but roughly corresponded to the modern

Mai-Ndombe Province Mai-Ndombe is one of the 21 newest provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning when the former Bandundu province was split-up into the new provinces of Mai-Ndombe, Kwango, and Kwilu. Mai-Ndombe was for ...

Location

The district takes its name from Lac Léopold II, today called

Lake Mai-Ndombe Lake Mai-Ndombe (, ) is a large freshwater lake in Mai-Ndombe province in western Democratic Republic of the Congo. The lake is within the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe area, the largest Wetland of International Importance recognized by the Ramsar Con ...

, which drains to the west along the

Fimi River The Fimi River (French language, French: ''Rivière Fimi'') is a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It flows from Lake Mai-Ndombe to the Kasai River, which in turn empties into the Congo River, Congo. One of the Fimi's tributaries is t ...

to the

Kasai River The Kasai River (, ; called Cassai in Angola) is a left bank tributary 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 Republ ...

, a major left tributary of 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 ...

. The district seat was the town of Inongo, on the northeast shore of the lake. At its greatest extent between 1914 and 1933 the district extended west from the lake to the Congo River. To the east it extended along the whole length of the Lokoro River in the north, and along most of the

Lukenie River The Lukenie River ( French: ''Rivière Lukenie'') is a river in the central Congo Basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). River barges from Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Cap ...

in the south up to the border of the present

Sankuru Sankuru is one of the 21 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. Sankuru ...

province.

History

In 1895 the number of the districts in the Congo Free State was increased to fifteen, including Lac Léopold II District. The district had been carved out of the north of

Kasai District Kasai District (, ) 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 changes in extent in the years that followed. ...

. A map of the Congo Free State in 1897 shows the Lac Léopold II district to the east of the Stanley Pool District, south of 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 ...

and north of the Lualaba Kassai District. The district surrounds Lac Léopold II, and extends in a rectangular area along the whole length of the Lukenie River to the east. The Lokoro River is not shown. The western portion, previously part of the Moyen-Congo District, was added to Lac Léopold II District in 1914. The period between 1927 and 1933 was unsettled, particularly in the Dengese Territory in the east of the district on the border with

Sankuru District Sankuru District (, ) was a district of the Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent, but roughly corresponded to the modern Sankuru Province. Location A 1914 map shows Sankuru roughly in the c ...

. There were police actions and occupations in 1927, and the authorities ordered complete disarmament of the population. Police actions continued in 1928, and at the start of 1929 the territory was subject to general occupation. In August 1931 an administrator was ambushed by Dengese helped by some Bapende and Bankutshu. 15 of the attackers were killed before they withdrew after killing one soldier and wounding another. A massive military operation was ordered in response, but incidents continued. Resistance combined passive disobedience such as refusal to pay taxes and active attacks such as arson in Dija. The situation was gradually brought under control, and by mid-March the district was generally calm. The whole Dengese territory was occupied until December 1932, and occupations of Gandeole, Ikongolo, Tshiki and Gele in the Dengese area continued until December 1934. Factors that had contributed to the revolt included the arrival of newcomers from the

to the east, the use of force to compel labor on the cotton plantations, and the economic downturn of 1931. During the reorganization of 1933 a portion in the east was removed from Lac Léopold II District and added to

Kasaï District Kasai District (, ) 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 changes in extent in the years that followed. ...

, while a portion in the west along the Congo River was added to the

Bas-Congo District Bas-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 province of Kongo Central. Location A map of the Congo Free ...

. The smaller Lac Léopold II District was part of the new Léopoldville Province. The district in 1955–1957 was essentially the same as the current Mai-Ndombe Province. It bordered the French possessions to the east, Kwango and Kwilu districts to the south, Kasai District to the west, and Tshuapa and Equateur districts to the north. The area was out of a total of for Leopoldville province as a whole. In the 1960s the province was renamed to

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 (former province), Équateur to the north, and Kasai-Occidental to the east. The provi ...

and the district was renamed to Mai-Ndombe 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) - Mai-Ndombe.svg, Mai-Ndombe province location today

References

Sources

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Location

History

Maps

See also

References

Sources

Further reading