Timeline of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Chronology

29 events spanning the history of Democratic Republic of the Congo. BCE/CE dating.

1. 1482

   Portuguese navigator Diogo Cao becomes the first European to visit the Congo.

   Portuguese navigator Diogo Cao becomes the first European to visit the Congo. Portuguese set up ties with the king of Kongo.

2. 1501 – 1700

   Merchants engage in slave trade through Kongo intermediaries.

   British, Dutch, Portuguese and French merchants engage in slave trade through Kongo intermediaries during the 16th and 17th centuries.

3. 1501 – 1700

   Slave trade through Kongo .

   British, Dutch, Portuguese and French merchants engage in slave trade through Kongo intermediaries.

4. 1870

   Belgian King Leopold II sets up a private venture to colonize Kongo.

   Belgian King Leopold II sets up a private venture to colonize Kongo.

5. 1874 – 1877

   British explorer Henry Stanley navigates Congo river to the Atlantic Ocean.

   British explorer Henry Stanley navigates Congo river to the Atlantic Ocean.

6. 1879 – 1887

   Leopold commissions Stanley to establish the king’s authority in the Congo basin.

   Leopold commissions Stanley to establish the king’s authority in the Congo basin.

7. 1885

   Congo Free State established under Leopold.

   Congo Free State established under Leopold after being formally recognized by European powers at Conference of Berlin.

8. 1891

   Belgians conquer Katanga.

   Belgians conquer Katanga.

9. 1892 – 1894

   Eastern Congo wrested from the control of East African Arab and Swahili-speaking traders.

   Eastern Congo wrested from the control of East African Arab and Swahili-speaking traders.

10. 1908

    Belgian state annexes Congo.

    Belgian state annexes Congo amid protests over killings and atrocities carried out on a mass scale by Leopold’s agents. Millions of Congolese are said to have been killed or worked to death during Leopold’s control of the territory.