Bas-Congo (, ) was a district of the

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 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 ...

. It went through various significant changes in extent. It roughly corresponds to the present province of

Kongo Central Kongo Central (), 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 greater province of ...

Location

A map of the Congo Free State in 1897 shows four small districts along the lower reaches 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 ...

. From the sea they were Banana District, Boma District, Matadi District and

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 The Congo Free State, also known as the Independent State of the Congo (), wa ...

. Above them Stanley Pool District extended north along the east shore of the Congo River. The Free State was annexed by Belgium in 1908 as the

. In 1910 the districts of Banana, Boma, Matadi and Cataracts were consolidated into the Bas-Congo District. Bas-Congo contained the port of Boma, the main port of entry to the Belgian Congo. The district was bounded to the south by Portuguese possessions, now

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 ...

, and to the north by a Portuguese enclave of Cabinda and then by the

French Congo The French Congo (), also known as Middle Congo (), was a French colony which at one time comprised the present-day area of the Republic of the Congo and parts of Gabon, and the Central African Republic. In 1910, it was made part of the larger ...

, now the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

. Bas-Congo District is shown on maps of 1910, 1912 and 1926 with somewhat different boundaries on each map. In the 1910 and 1912 maps it is bounded by the Moyen-Congo District to the northeast and the Kwango District to the east.

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 Province, Léopoldville and Lusambo Province, Lusambo. Lo ...

formally became a vice-government in 1919. It contained the districts of Bas-Congo,

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 ...

Kwango Kwango is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is 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. K ...

, Kasai and

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 ...

. A 1926 map shows that Bas-Congo had been extended to the north, absorbing the lower part of Moyen-Congo District, and now bordered Lac Léopold II District to the north. With the 1933 reorganization Bas-Congo had been extended again to include a section of Lac Léopold II District along the Congo. Bas-Congo, Léopoldville, Kwango and Lac Léopold II were now included in the Léopoldville Province. A 1955-1957 map shows that Bas-Congo had been reduced to a small region at the mouth of the Congo, with

now extending east and northeast, surrounding the urban district of Léopoldville. The area was now just out of a total of for Léopoldville province as a whole.

Post-independence

On 14 August 1962 the province of Congo Central was formed from part of Léopoldville Province. It was renamed Bas-Zaïre from 27 October 1971, Bas-Congo in 1997 and received its current name of Kongo Central in 2015.

Maps

File:1910 provinces Belgian Congo cropped from 1950 administration map Atlas General du Congo 611.jpg, 1910 districts 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) - Bas-Congo.svg, The present Kongo Central province

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Authority control Districts of the Belgian Congo Districts of Kongo Central

Location

Post-independence

Maps

See also

References

Sources