Bangala District | |
|---|---|
District | |
  Bangala District | |
| Coordinates: 2°08′55″N21°30′49″E / 2.148611°N 21.513611°E | |
| Country | Belgian Congo |
| Province | Orientale |
| District | Bangala |
Bangala District (French : District des Bangala, Dutch : Bangala-district) was a district of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. It went through various significant changes in extent. The eastern part very roughly corresponded to the present province of Mongala.
A decree of 3 September 1886 by the Congo Free State administrator general Camille Janssen defined nine districts in the colony, each headed by a district commissioner. Bangala District was one of the districts named. [1] The name comes from the Bangala language, the lingua-franca of the northeast Congo region. [2] [lower-alpha 1] A decree of 1 August 1888 divided the Congo Free State into eleven districts, of which the first five were in the lower Congo region. Bangala District had been replaced by Ubangi-Uélé District. [3] In 1895 the number of the districts was increased to fifteen, including Bangala District and Ubangi District. [3]
A map of the Congo Free State in 1897 shows the Bangalas district extending along both sides of the northwest section Congo River from Lake Tumba upstream to where the Itimbiri River enters from the north. It is bounded to the northwest by the Ubangi District, to the east by the Uellé District and Aruwimi District, and to the south by the Équateur District. [4] Bangala District is shown on maps of 1910, 1912 and 1926 with somewhat different boundaries on each map. [5] Équateur Province was created in 1917. [6] As of 1926 the province included the districts of Ubangi, Bangala, Lulonga, Équateur and Lac Léopold II. With the reorganization of 1933, Ubangi District and Bangala District were combined to form Congo-Ubangi District, the northern part of Coquilhatville Province. [5] Coquilhatville Province was renamed Équateur Province in 1947. [6]
On 14 August 1962 Cuvette Centrale Province and Ubangi Province were separated from Équateur Province, and on 5 February 1963 the remainder became Moyen-Congo Province. These three provinces were combined into a new Équateur Province on 25 April 1966. On 11 July 2015 Équateur was split into the present provinces of Équateur, Mongala, Nord-Ubangi, Sud-Ubangi and Tshuapa. [6] Mongala very roughly corresponds to the eastern part of the former Bangala District.
Équateur was a province in the northwest of Belgian Congo and the independent Republic of the Congo, now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo. It had its origins in the Équateur District of the Congo Free State, the private property of King Leopold II of Belgium. It was upgraded to provincial status in 1917. Between 1933 and 1947 it was named Coquilhatville. In 1962 it was divided into three smaller provinces, but there were recombined in 1966. Équateur was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo until 2015, when it was split into the new, smaller Équateur province, as well as the Tshuapa, Mongala, Nord-Ubangi and Sud-Ubangi provinces.
Équateur District was a former district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1914, it became part of former Équateur Province. The district went through various changes of extent and name over the years. The original district roughly corresponds to the current provinces of Équateur and Tshuapa.
Kasai District was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, named after the Kasai River. It was formed around 1885 and went through several large changes in extent in the years that followed. The 1933 version of the district roughly corresponded to the former Kasai-Occidental province and the present Kasaï and Kasaï-Central provinces.
Tshuapa District, was a district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in 1933 in the Coquilhatville Province. At its greatest extent it roughly corresponded to the present provinces of Équateur and Tshuapa.
Kwango District was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent. It roughly corresponded to the present provinces of Kwilu and Kwango.
Mongala District was a district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent. It covered roughly the same area as the present Mongala province and most of Nord-Ubangi province.
Laurent-Gabriel Eketebi, later Eketebi Moyidiba Mondjolomba, was a Congolese politician who served as President of Équateur Province from June 1960 until September 1962 and as President of Moyen-Congo Province from then until June 1964. He later served as State Commissioner of Transport and Communications from July 1972 until January 1975, when he was dismissed and charged with various financial crimes. Eketebi was convicted, but received a pardon in 1994. He died in 2006.
The Districts of the Belgian Congo were the primary administrative divisions when Belgium annexed the Congo Free State in 1908, each administered by a district commissioner. In 1914 they were distributed among four large provinces, with some boundary changes. In 1933 the provinces were restructured into six, again with boundary changes. The number of districts fluctuated between 12 and 26 through splits and consolidations, first rising, then falling, then rising again.
Aruwimi District was a district of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo. It went through various changes in extent before being absorbed into other districts.
Stanleyville District was a district of the Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various changes in extent. Between 1933 and 1963 it had roughly the same extent as the current Tshopo province.
Uele District was a district of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. It roughly corresponded to the current provinces of Bas-Uélé and Haut-Uélé.
Ubangi District was a district of the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. It went through various significant changes in extent.
Stanley Falls District was a district of the Congo Free State. It covered most of the eastern part of the colony along the Congo River south from Stanleyville.
Lulonga District was a district of the Belgian Congo created in 1912 and dissolved in 1933. Today part of Lulonga is in the current province of Équateur, and part in the province of Tshuapa.
Stanley Pool District, later named Moyen-Congo District was a district of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo. It disappeared in a reorganization of 1914.
Congo-Ubangi District, was a district of the Belgian Congo created in 1933 in the Coquilhatville Province. It had been dissolved by 1954.
The Districts of the Congo Free State were the primary administrative divisions of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908. There were various boundary changes in the period before the Congo Free State was annexed by Belgium to become the Belgian Congo.
The Ubangi-Uélé District was a district of the Congo Free State between 1888 and 1895. It was later split into the Ubangi District to the north and Bangala District to the south.
Banana District was a district of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo. It disappeared in a reorganization of 1910.