History UsefulNotes / DemocraticRepublicOfTheCongo

After gaining independence on June 30, 1960, the country soon started falling apart. Belgian troops in the province of Katanga encouraged a secession that threatened to tear the country apart. This became known as the Congo Crisis, where the country was split into four regions. The Congo Crisis led to the death of the beloved Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba. Lumumba was a socialist and Pan-Africanist, and firmly democratic. Lumumba begged the UN for help, but it was made clear to him that they were not going to help him put down the Belgian-backed and anti-communist Katangan rebels. After he agreed to a Soviet arms deal in desperation, it should come as little surprise that Lumumba's death came about after two unsuccessful assassination attempts by the CIA. His death was sponsored and requested by the Belgian and American governments. (The Soviets for their part named their "Peoples' Friendship University"--the university in Moscow catering to international students, particularly from the developing world--after him.[[note]]The university is the subject of a lot of [[RussianHumour Russian jokes]] about Africans--particularly cannibal chiefs, who inevitably turn out to be Lumumba University graduates.[[/note]]) This conflict is infamous for being the one that killed Dag Hammarskjold, known as one of the best UN Secretary-Generals of all time, when his plane crashed in Zambia en route to negotiating a peace settlement. Conspiracy theories abound.

After the takeover by Joseph Mobutu, the country would remain intact and Mobutu would later take control of the country for life in 1965. He renamed the country Zaire in 1971 and began Africanizing everything--including himself, changing his name to Mobutu Sese Seko. The name change was supposedly part of the Africanization, despite "Congo" already being a perfectly African name in its own right (deriving from the above-mentioned Kongo Kingdom). During his rule, Zaire's economy went into the toilet due to his unparalleled corruption. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking He also paid Muhammad Ali and George Foreman $5 million each to host the Rumble in the Jungle in Kinshasa.]] Mobutu remained in power until 1997 when troops from Rwanda and Uganda backed rebel leader Laurent-Desire Kabila and overthrew him. The country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The [[UsefulNotes/TheCongoWars First and Second Congo War]] took place during this time. Also known as the Great War of Africa, it was the second-bloodiest conflict since UsefulNotes/WorldWarII with around four million deaths (mostly from disease and starvation). Kabila was killed in 2001 and succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila. The conflict ended in 2002, but the country's eastern region still sees much bloodshed on a daily basis. In 2006, the country held their first elections since gaining independence.

* '''Area:''' 2,345,409 km
(905,567 sq mi) (11th)

A huge country located right in the middle of UsefulNotes/{{Africa}}, the DR Congo is the second largest country in Africa and has the most natural resources. The Congo River is home to a vast ecosystem of fish. The Kivu region has diamonds. Katanga is home to large supplies of copper and provided the uranium for the bombs dropped in Japan. The troubled eastern region has gold and metals used in electronics. It is home to several unique species including the okapi and bonobo. It has the second largest rain forest in the world.

* ComicBook/{{Tintin}}'s second adventure ''Recap/{{Tintin Tintin in the Congo}}'' is a pro-colonialist comic book. It was incredibly racist and showed disregard for wildlife, showing a scene of a rhino being blown up with dynamite. Since Tintin is a Belgian comic, you can see the conflict of interest. Considered an OldShame by its author, who later redrew the worst pages.

* Creator/MarkTwain's ''King Leopold's Soliloquy'' is about the then-ongoing Congo Free State scandal from the perspective of King Leopold as he attempts to rationalize his crimes and soliloquizes about the nature of monarchy.

After the takeover by Joseph Mobutu, the country would remain intact and Mobutu would later take control of the country for life in 1965. He renamed the country Zaire in 1971 and began Africanizing everything--including himself, changing his name to Mobutu Sese Seko. The name change was supposedly part of the Africanization, despite "Congo" already being a perfectly African name in its own right (deriving from the above-mentioned Kongo Kingdom). During his rule, Zaire's economy went into the toilet due to his unparalleled corruption. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking He also paid Muhammad Ali and George Foreman $5 million each to host the Rumble in the Jungle in Kinshasa.]] Mobutu remained in power until 1997 when troops from Rwanda and Uganda backed rebel leader Laurent-Desire Kabila and overthrew him. The country was renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo. The [[UsefulNotes/TheCongoWars First and Second Congo War]] took place during this time. Also known as the Great War of Africa, it was the second-bloodiest conflict since UsefulNotes/WorldWarII with around four million deaths (mostly from disease and starvation). Kabila was killed in 2001 and succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila. The conflict ended in 2002, but the country's eastern region still sees much bloodshed on a daily basis. In 2006, the country held their first elections since gaining independence.

The only time the Democratic Republic of Congo is ever mentioned in Western media is when [[ShapedLikeItself TV shows mention how infrequently the Democratic Republic of Congo is mentioned in Western media]], which is to say it is commonly used as an example of Western indifference to African tragedies (without getting into any of the specifics of said tragedies). This gives it just enough exposure to be identified as a place that's not getting enough exposure.