什麼是剛果

正式名稱剛果民主共和國（Democratic Republic of the Congo）

舊稱薩伊共和國（Republic of Zaire, 1971～1997）、剛果共和國（Republic of the Congo, 1960～1964）、比屬剛果（Belgian Congo, 1908～1960）、剛果自由邦（Congo Free State, 1885～1908）

非洲中部共和國。面積約2,344,858平方公里。人口約53,625,000（2001）。首都︰金夏沙。講班圖語居民形成該國人口的大多數，他們包括芒戈人、剛果人和盧巴人；在非班圖語居民中有北部的蘇丹族群。語言︰法語和英語（均為官方語）。宗教：基督教。貨幣︰剛果法郎（FC）。剛果民主共和國為非洲第三大國，地處剛果河流域的中心地段。盆地周圍高原聳立。窄長的大西洋沿岸地區是剛果河的入海通道。該國地跨赤道，潮溼熱帶氣候。是世界最貧窮國家之一。經濟以採礦和農業為主。出口農作物包括咖啡、棕櫚產品、茶、可可、橡膠和棉花。礦產品包括銅、鈷和工業用鑽石。現為軍人政權統治，國家元首是總統。

在歐洲人殖民之前，幾個本土的王國併入該區，包括16世紀盧巴王國和庫巴聯盟，庫巴聯盟18世紀曾達到全盛時期。19世紀後期，比利時國王利奧波德二世資助史坦利探勘剛果河，歐洲人始加以開發。1884～1885年柏林西非會議承認剛果自由邦，利奧波德為該邦君主。對橡膠需求的日益增加有助於為剛果的經濟開發籌措資金，但提取橡膠引起的弊端激怒了西方各國，迫使利奧波德向自由邦頒發作為比屬剛果（1908）的殖民許可狀。1960年獲准獨立，國名改為剛果。獨立後內部動盪不安，1965年發生軍事政變達到頂點，促使蒙博託將軍掌權。1971年國名改為薩伊。管理不當、腐敗及逐漸增加的暴力，破壞了薩伊的基礎設施和經濟。1997年蒙博託被卡比拉逐下臺，恢復國名為剛果。鄰國動盪不安，對剛果的礦產資源的慾望，導致不少非洲國家軍事捲入。2001年卡比拉遇刺身亡，由其子繼位。

Congo

(1960-71)Congo(1908-60)Belgian Congo(1885-1908)Congo Free StateRepublic, central Africa. Area: 905,356 sq mi (2,344,872 sq km). Population (1997): 46,674,000. Capital: Kinshasa. Bantu-speakers, including the Mongo, Kongo, and Luba, form a majority of the country's population; among non-Bantu speakers are Sudanese groups of the north. Languages: French, English (official). Religion: Christianity. Currency: Congolese franc. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the third-largest land-area in Africa, occupies the heart of the Congo River basin, from which high plateaus rise in every direction. At its narrow strip of Atlantic coast the Congo empties into the sea. The country straddles the equator; its climate is humid and tropical. It is one of the poorest countries in the world; its economy is based on mining and agriculture. Export crops include coffee, palm products, tea, cocoa, and cotton; mining products include copper, cobalt, and industrial diamonds. It is ruled by a military regime; the head of state is the president, which office was taken by the regime's leader in the late 1990s. Prior to European colonization, several native kingdoms had emerged in the region, including the 16th-century Luba kingdom and the Kuba federation, which reached its peak in the 18th century. European development began late in the 19th century when King Leopold II of Belgium financed Henry Morton Stanley's exploration of the Congo River. The 1884-85 Berlin West Africa Conference recognized the Congo Free State with Leopold as its sovereign. The growing demand for rubber helped finance the exploitation of the Congo, but abuses against native peoples outraged Western nations and forced Leopold to grant the Free State a colonial charter as the Belgian Congo (1908). Independence was granted in 1960, and the country's name was changed to Zaire. The post-independence period was marked by unrest, culminating in a military coup that brought Gen. Mobutu Sese Seko to power in 1965. Mismanagement, corruption, and increasing violence devastated the infrastructure and economy. Mobutu was deposed in 1997 by Laurent Kabila, who restored the country's name to Congo. Instability in neighboring countries and desire for Congo's mineral wealth led to military involvement by numerous African countries. Kabila was assassinated in 2001 and succeeded by his son.