Yakoma | |
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  Yakoma | |
| Coordinates: 4°05′53″N22°26′35″E / 4.098178°N 22.44318°E Coordinates: 4°05′53″N22°26′35″E / 4.098178°N 22.44318°E | |
| Country |  DR Congo |
| Province | Nord-Ubangi |
| Territory | Yakoma |
| Population | |
| • Estimate (2012) | 12,210 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (West Africa Time) |
Yakoma is a town in the Nord-Ubangi province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and is the headquarters of the Yakoma Territory.
Yakoma lies on the south bank of the Uele River at the point where that river enters the Ubangi River. The Ubangi defines the border between the DRC and the Central African Republic. [1] Although it rains throughout the year, the rainy season is from late March to early November, with the period from May to August being wettest. [2] Dews are frequent at all times of the year. [3]
The government of the Congo Free State established a post at Yakoma for collection of ivory and rubber. It lay opposite the original French capital of Ubangi-Shari (the present–day Central African Republic) at les Abiras. In 1894 and 1895, the initial settlers of the area extracted the resources by force. [4] A traveler who visited the post at Yakoma in 1905 noted the workers were paid, but primary in the form of beads and salt rather than currency. [5]
Sleeping sickness seems to have been introduced to the area through the rise in canoe traffic to provision the colonial posts along the river from Libenge to Yakoma. A lazaret was established in 1909 in an attempt to deal with the problem, despite lack of support from the territorial administration. More than 200 victims were buried at Yakoma between November 1910 and August 1911. [6] By November 1912 as many as 70% of the people in some villages had been infected. [7]
Today there is a hospital in the town with 91 beds and an occupancy rate of 70%–90%. As of 2007 there were two doctors associated with the hospital and 13 nurses. [8]
As of 2012 the population was estimated as 12,210. [9]
The history of the Central African Republic is roughly composed of four distinct periods. The earliest period of settlement began around 10,000 years ago when nomadic people first began to settle, farm and fish in the region. The next period began around 10,000 years prior.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as Congo-Kinshasa and formerly known as Zaire, is a country in Central Africa bordered to the west by the South Atlantic Ocean. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 112 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the nation's economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, and the Cabinda exclave of Angola.
The Ubangi River, also spelled Oubangui, is the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River in the region of Central Africa. It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou and Uele Rivers and flows west, forming the border between Central African Republic (CAR) and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Subsequently, the Ubangi bends to the southwest and passes through Bangui, the capital of the CAR, after which it flows south – forming the border between Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo. The Ubangi finally joins the Congo River at Liranga.
Équateur was a province in the northwest of the Belgian Congo and the successor 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 the status of a province 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.
The Uele, also known by the phonetically identical Uélé, Ouélé, or Welle River, is a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Abiras is a former settlement that was located on the northern bank of the Ubangi River at its source, the confluence of the Mbomou and Welle rivers. It was located opposite from the Congolese city of Yakoma in the area of the present-day Central African Republic.
Mobayi-Mbongo, formerly known as Banzyville or Banzystad, is a town in Nord-Ubangi Province, in the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the Ubangi River. It lies opposite the Central African town of Mobaye. It is the administrative center of the territory of the same name. As of 2012 the estimated population was 5,640.
Yakoma are an ethnic group who primarily reside in the Central African Republic, as of June 2008, the Yakoma make up 4% of the country's population. Additionally, 10,000 live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Ngbandi language is a dialect continuum of the Ubangian family spoken by a half-million or so people in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the Central African Republic. It is primarily spoken by the Ngbandi people, which included the dictator of what was then known as Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko.
Bolobo is a town on the Congo River in Mai-Ndombe Province in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is the administrative center of Bolobo Territory. As of 2009 it had an estimated population of 31,366.
Kungu is a town and capital of one of the four territories of Sud-Ubangi Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Ubangi River forms the western boundary of Kungu Territory, separating it from the Republic of the Congo. The Ngiri River, which flows southward through the Ngiri Reserve, originates near the town of Kungu.
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.
Luozi is a community in Kongo Central province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the seat of the Luozi Territory within Cataractes District. As of 2012 the town's population was estimated to be 13,855.
The Ngiri Reserve is a protected area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is located in western Équateur province, in the Bomongo, Bikoro and Makanza territories, and covers a total area of 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi). It extends northward from the confluence of the Congo River and the Ubangi River. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) the reserve will conserve biodiversity and the ecosystem in the Ngiri triangle.
Alphonse van Gèle, also written van Gele or Vangele, was a Belgian soldier who served as the Vice-Governor General of the Congo Free State from December 1897 until January 1899. He established the Equator Station, or Station de l’Équateur, today Mbandaka, and concluded a treaty with the powerful Zanzibar trader Tippu Tip at the Stanley Falls station, today Kisangani. He is known for having confirmed that the Uele River was the upper part of the Ubangi River.
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.
Léon Roget was a Belgian soldier and colonial administrator who was active in the Congo Free State. He was the first commander of the Force Publique, the armed force used to police the colony.
Georges-Edouard le Marinel was a Belgian soldier, engineer, explorer and colonial administrator. He is known for leading explorations of the country around the Ubangi River and Mbomou River, which later became the boundaries between French and Belgian territory.
Mokoangai or Mokuangai was a colonial station in the Congo Free State on the Ubangi River, beside the Mokoangai rapids. Above the station the Ubangi could easily be navigated up to Yakoma, where the Mbomou River and Uele River combine to form the Ubangi.
Sultan Djabir was ruler of a region on the Uele River in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He engaged in the ivory and slave trade with Muslims from the north and with Belgians from the south. Eventually he was forced to flee to the Sudan when he refused to pay tribute to the Congo Free State.
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