The Congos

Three days after we arrived, heavy rains occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), causing severe flooding and even deaths. Some friends saw it on the news and wrote to me, worried and asking if we were okay. This has always been a source of confusion: the fact that there are two countries with almost the same name, located in the same region, and sharing language and history.

Many people already know how to differentiate between the two countries and are aware of which one we are in. However, news in Europe often just refer to "the Congo" without distinguishing between Congo-Brazzaville and Kinshasa. That's when people start to worry.

Here is a bit of history:

Before European colonization, the region was home to the Kingdom of Kongo, which included what are now Angola, the DRC, the Republic of the Congo, and Gabon.

The first Europeans to arrive were the Portuguese in the 15th century. The slave trade, along with wars and internal divisions, led to the Kingdom's final fragmentation, a very long process.

At the end of the 19th century, during the Berlin Conference, Portugal, France, and Belgium divided what remained of the Kingdom of Kongo among themselves. Portugal took control of Angola, Belgium claimed the western part of the Congo and France occupied the eastern part as well as part of present-day Gabon.

In 1960, the two Congos gained independence, respectively. The process was relatively quick and free of major armed conflicts. As a result, the Belgian Congo became the DRC, with its capital in Kinshasa, while the French Congo became the Republic of the Congo, with its capital in Brazzaville

And this is where we live -in the smaller one, with about 6 million inhabitants instead of 100 million. It also has better political and territorial stability.

One peculiarity of the two Congos is that the river bearing their name is what separates them today. It is the second most voluminous river in the world, and their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, are the closest capitals in the world. It is even said that during the dry season there are sections where it is possible to cross on foot.

Here is a photo from the riverwalk at night. The lights on the opposite shore are from Kinshasa, and their reflections stretch across the water to this side. Always fascinating.