Lubaland refers to the savanah grassland south 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 ...

where the

Luba people The Luba people or Baluba are a Bantu ethno-linguistic group indigenous to the south-central region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The majority of them live in this country, residing mainly in Katanga Province, Katanga, Kasai Province, ...

live; now the southeastern portion 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 ...

. Around 1500 CE Lubas united to form a kingdom which was ultimately taken over in 1885 by Leopold II, King of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, who made it part of his

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 ...

. Lubaland stretches from the Lwembe river to about 50 kilometers east of the Congo River, between 6°30′ and 10°00′ S in north-central Shaba. The area is a savanah except

Upemba Depression The Upemba Depression (or Kamalondo Depression) is a large marshy bowl area (Depression (geology), depression) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo comprising some fifty lakes, including 22 of relatively large size including Lake Upemba (530&nbs ...

References

Geography of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Regions of Africa {{DRCongo-geo-stub

See also

References