What is the difference between congo and kongo

The region that is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo was first settled about 80, years ago. The Kingdom of Kongo remained present in the region between the 14th and the early 19th centuries. The Democratic Republic of Congo gained its independence under the Belgium rulers in After its independence it became known as the Republic of Zaire between until Although Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa may share near-identical names and quite similar cultures, both countries can be distinguished by a variety of factors.

Congo-Kinshasa is the third-biggest country in Africa. By contrast Congo-Brazzaville is very small both geographically speaking and with a population of only five million people. Congo-Kinshasa exceeds with a population of more than 10 million habitants.

Both countries gained independence in , but they were colonized by different countries. Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville also use different national currencies. In Brazzaville the currency is known as the Central African C. Travelers can also convert their money to Congolese francs, the other currency used in D. Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa both use French as its official language, as well as the local language known as Lingala.

Despite this, Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville still have a variety of different national languages within each. While Congo-Kinshasa, as a much larger country, is home to more than ethnical languages, including Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili and Tshiluba to name a few of the most common. It may be the case that each country is referred to in a multitude of ways, but at the end of the day the most important name is the one given by locals.

In the Republic of Congo, locals refer to their country as Congo-Brazzaville and, likewise, in the D. Just make sure that you do too. Despite the differences between Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa both countries offer amazing experiences for travelers who are interested in discovering the beauty on a road less traveled. Both countries are filled with a variety of national parks. This country is the perfect place for people who are interested in outdoor adventures.

All these spots are perfect for hiking trails, boat rides, or relaxing days by the beach. Both countries can offer more for tourists seeking to explore and discover something new. We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements. To allow us to provide a better and more tailored experience please click "OK".

Meanwhile, the civil war between Soyo separatists and the Kingdom of Kongo raged on, while both sides attempted to garner the support of European powers of Holland, Brazil and Portugal to aid them. In , despite having fought each other five years earlier, a joint Portuguese and Kongolese force invaded Soyo and were in turn soundly defeated by Soyo forces [lx]. The capital was later rebuilt and some former residents returned, but it would never reach its previous size.

The two factions established separate capitals; the Kinlaza faction in the mountain fortress of Kimbangu, and the Kimpanzu faction in the northern town of Mbula [lxiii]. The Kingdom of Kongo experienced a great degree of decentralisation during this period of intrastate war. People and bands of warriors moved vast distances and resettled in new provinces.

Pedro Constantinho da Silva was defeated by King Pedro IV of the Kinlaza faction in when he attacked the army outside of the former capital [lxv]. The the period between and was marked by several ongoing conflicts between a variety of different factions. There were independence movements such as the Soyo, and there were competing royal dynasties such as the Kimpanzu and the Kinlaza. There were also conflicts between foreign powers such as the Portuguese.

There is much debate between academics and historians as to why the Kingdom of Kongo fell apart so rapidly in the mid s.

Certainly, the pressures of the slave trade and its constant demand for more slaves de-legitimised the power of the king [lxviii]. This weakened the monarchy, as did Portuguese military expeditions against the Kingdom. The third, and some argue, the most plausible reason for the decline of the Kingdom of Kongo was the conflict between the Counts of Soyo and the Kings of Kongo [lxx]. In the s the city of Mbaze Soyo grew very wealthy on the slave trade [lxxi].

The city would at its height have a large population, and was located in the already wealthy province of Sonyo. Later counts such as Daniel da Silva, however, became extremely hostile towards the Kingdom of Kongo.

By Soyo had grown so strong and independent they could muster between 20 and 25 soldiers, and styled themselves the Princes of Soyo [lxxiii]. The rise of a new centre of power together with the external pressures of colonialism and slavery and increasing in the Kingdom all contributed to the cause of the civil war.

The Kingdom of Kongo survived after King Pedro IV emerged victorious, but his descendants would only rule directly over a fraction of the previous Kingdom [lxxiv]. Flag of Kingdom of Kongo Image source. The Kingdom of Kongo was, from the s, a decentralised Kingdom largely dependant on slave labour and armies [lxxv] to maintain control.

This century saw the emergence of clans as important political actors, especially because the clans would join together to elect the Kings. As part of a peace agreement between the two warring factions, King Manuel II of the Kimpanzu faction was crowned king in [lxxvi].

This was not to last, and in the Kingdom saw renewed internal strife as Alvaro IX and Pedro V both claimed the throne. The Kinlaza faction emerged victorious and Jose I became King, later passing the crown on to his brother Afonso V in [lxxx].

Afonso V is thought to have been poisoned in and Henrique I was crowned the King of Kongo [lxxxi]. He returned with an army in or only to be defeated and deposed as King [lxxxiii]. While it was the capital of the country, it had a mostly token population and kings like Henrique I drew theire power and military forces from outside the city [lxxxiv].

Henrique I was even crowned on the outskirts the city [lxxxv]. The power struggle between various factions over who was going to rule continued into the s, further eroding the legitimacy and power of the kings [lxxxvi].

The new faction would be short lived, and disputes about succession continued. One of the largest changes to happen in the Kingdom of Kongo during the mid s was not political, but economic; by the British had abolished the slave trade, and were patrolling the shores of Kongo to ensure that no ships would transport slaves across the Atlantic [lxxxviii].

The rubber trade in particular was not dependant on large armies and centralised power as the slave trade had been.

What was essential for the rubber trade was a small and mobile workforce [xc]. Since the rubber grew inland, large parts of the population moved inland to harvest and sell it to European traders. The larger population-dense villages and cities which had been the main source of power for the Kongo nobility and royalty disappeared [xci]. Mobility had always been an essential part of Kongolese society, and people could break down entire houses and move them at short notice [xcii].

By most of the Kingdom of Kongo was now made up of small, decentralised trading villages [xciii]. During the Berlin Conference of — European powers decided that Portugal would take most of what remained of the Kingdom of Kongo, and Belgium would take the rest. For Portugal to claim their part they were also required to occupy the territory [xciv]. Portugal, however, had limited military success against the Kingdom of Kongo in the past, and they needed an alternative route to conquest.

The Portuguese demanded rights to collect taxes and trade revenues [xcvii] , which effectively ended the independence of the Kingdom of Kongo. By the early s the Kingdom was integrated into the Portuguese colony of Angola [xcviii]. Page Cambridge University Press.

David Anderson and Richard Rathbone. Oxford: James Currey Ltd. Page 2. Page 3. The History of Congo. Greenwood Press, London. Page 7. Page 8. Warfare in Atlantic Africa. London: University College of London Press. Published by: University of Wisconsin Press. Page and Gondola, Ch. Heywood, Linda M. MacGaffey, Wyatt. Thornton, John. Thronton, John.

Early history and formation - Understanding the early history of the Kingdom of Kongo is complicated by the lack of written sources from the time, as well as the problematic fact that almost all of the later accounts were produced by Europeans [iv]. Kongo in Image source Internal Conflict, Factionalism and Civil War in the Kingdom of Kongo Before the Kingdom of Kongo had managed to fight off several Portuguese incursions and had remained a strong and centralised state.

Endnotes [i] Thornton, John. Page — Page 4. Page 5. Page 6. Kingdom of Kongo — Know something about this topic?