Mbandaka
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Mbandaka (, formerly known as Coquilhatville in French, or Coquilhatstad in Dutch) is a
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in the
Democratic Republic of 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 ...
located near the confluence of the Congo and Ruki rivers. It is the capital of
Équateur Province Équateur, French for equator, may refer to: Places * Province of Équateur, a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since 2015 * Équateur (former province), a former province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1966–2015 * à ...
. The city was founded in 1883 by 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 ...
under the name Équateurville. The headquarters of the Fourth Naval Region of the
Navy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The National Navy () is the maritime component of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC). It is a brown-water navy. History Ordinance no.70/295 of 9 November 1970 fixed the organization of the Coast, River, and Lake Guard, a ...
are located in the city.


Geography

Mbandaka lies on the east bank 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 ...
below the mouth of the
Ruki River The Ruki () is a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a left tributary of the Congo River. It may be seen as the lower reach of the Busira River, which in turn may be seen as the lower reach of the Tshuapa River. Location The ...
, a tributary of the Congo. South of the Ngiri Reserve, a large area of swamp forest on the opposite bank of the Congo, it is located at the center of the Tumba-Ngiri-Maindombe wetland.


Description

Mbandaka is the capital of Équateur province, and located only a few kilometers from the equator. It is home to Mbandaka airport and is linked by a four to seven day trip by river
barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...
journey to
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 ...
and Boende. Kinshasa is an hour's plane ride away. Mbandaka is largely populated by people of the Mongo ethnic group, although people from many different tribes and regions live in the city. The main languages spoken in Mbandaka are
Lingala Lingala (or Ngala, Lingala: ) is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser de ...
, French, and Mongo. Years of war and neglect have caused deterioration of the city infrastructure; large areas of the city are without electricity or running water. Most of the streets and avenues of the city are unpaved dirt roads.


History

Mbandaka was founded in 1883 by 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 ...
, who named it ''"Équateurville".'' (At the time the territory was under the personal rule of King Leopold II, king of the Belgians and the official language was French.) The town hall is about north of the
equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...
. Mbandaka is one of the closest to the equator of any substantial city in the world. Stanley placed a large "Equator Stone" near the riverbank south of the city to mark the point where he believed the equator crossed the river. It remains there today. Due to its symbolic location close to the equator and the Congo River, there were early plans to locate the capital 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 ...
in Coquilhatville, as the city was then called, but they never came off the drawing board. These plans included
infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...
for an estimated population of 100,000 people, a train station, a Catholic cathedral, a governor's residence, and a palace for future visits of King Leopold II of the Belgians. In 1886, at the beginning of colonial rule, the Belgians changed the city's name to "Coquilhatville" naming it after Camille-Aimé Coquilhat. In 1938, work began on a bridge over the Congo River connecting Coquilhatville with 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 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 ...
). Work was abandoned on the outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and only the foundations of the bridge pillars remain. In the 1930s, the Government 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 ...
began several projects, including factories and a new city hall. The city hall was completed in 1947, just after the end of the Second World War. At that time, with a height of , it was the tallest building in the Belgian Congo. A statue of Leopold II was installed on its roof. The city hall was destroyed by a fire in 1963. After the Belgian Congo gained its independence as 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 ...
, the new government changed the name of this city in 1966 to ''"Mbandaka"'' to honour a prominent local leader.


Massacre of Hutus

Near the end of the
First Congo War The First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War, was a Civil war, civil and international military conflict that lasted from 24 October 1996 to 16 May 1997, primarily taking place in Zaire (which was renamed the Democratic Republi ...
in the late 20th century, hundreds of people (mainly
Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...
refugees, women, and children) were massacred here on May 13, 1997. Congolese soldiers said the order came from Col. Wilson, head of a brigade of Kabila's troops, and Col. Richard, the brigade's operations chief, both Rwandans. Gen. Gaston Muyango (Congolese) held the title of military commander but had no real power, they said.


Ebola outbreak

On 16 May 2018, a case of
Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after in ...
occurred in the city, the disease having spread there from an outbreak in the countryside. A new outbreak was reported on 1 June 2020. Three cases were confirmed by the
WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...
and three cases are probable, of whom four people had died as of June 2, 2020.


Main sights


Catholic Mission station and Central African history research centre of Bamanya

A large research centre for Central African history, originally set up by Fathers Gustaaf Hulstaert and Honoré Vinck, is at the Catholic mission station of Bamanya (Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) (CCIM)), east of Mbandaka.


Eala Botanical Garden

One of the finest botanical gardens of central Africa is at nearby Eala, about east of the town centre. The Eala Botanical Garden, founded in 1900, contains between 4,000 and 5,000 species. It covers approximately with special collections (), forest (), marsh () and savanna "Euobe" (). Because of warfare and social disruption, the garden has been neglected. It is unfenced and subject to
illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...
. The last catalogue of its holdings was published in 1924.


First Habitat for Humanity International housing project

Mbandaka is the home of the world's first project of
Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...
International. Founder Millard Fuller served as missionary with the
Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...
Church in Mbandaka from 1973 to 1976. The housing project Fuller started in Mbandaka in 1973 became known as the first project of Habitat for Humanity when Fuller founded Habitat upon his return to the United States.


Climate

Mbandaka has a
tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...
(''Af'') under the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
. Although precipitation in the city does vary considerably, it does not have a
dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
; the driest month is January, averaging around of precipitation. The wettest is October with . Temperatures are relatively constant throughout the course of the year, with median temperatures ranging from .


People

* Guy Loando Mboyo, lawyer and politician * Roger Hitoto, footballer * Frédéric Boyenga-Bofala, politician * José Bosingwa, footballer * Adam Bombolé, politician * Issama Mpeko, footballer * Banza Mukalay, politician * Jules Fontaine Sambwa, economist and politician


See also

* University of Mbandaka * Mbandaka Airport * Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mbandaka-Bikoro


References


External links


The Botanical Gardens of Zaire and the Present State of Biodiversity in Zaire
* {{Authority control Populated places established in 1883 Populated places in the province of Équateur Communities on the Congo River 1883 establishments in Africa Cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo