Central Africa, the "heart" of the "Dark Continent", has seen some of the most unusual activity of all of Africa. Today, war, chaos, disease, and poverty provide the backdrop for continuing change.
Central Africa is a huge area comprised of the Congo River basin and the arid lands to the north, sandwiched between East Africa, North Africa, Egypt and South Africa. The Congo river basin is virtually surrounded by mountains, which were used by colonial powers to establish boundaries in the region. During the great colonial expansion of the late 19th century, France and Belgium captured the lion's share of central Africa. While Spain and Portugal each had small colonies, and the Germans managed to take control of the area known as Kamerun, their territorial gains were small compared to the other two nations. Today's Central Africa consists of the nations of Chad, Cameroon, Congo, Central African Republic, Gabon, Zaire, Equatorial Guinea, and the Sao Tome e Principe islands.
Central Africa is roughly divided between former French colonies and former Belgian colonies, with a few small Spanish and Portuguese colonies thrown in for seasoning. In terms of size, French Equatorial Africa and Belgian Congo made up 90% or more of the area. Today, Zaire, which is the former Belgian Congo, is the largest of the independent nations in the area.
King Leopold II, of Belgium, was the first person to consider the economic potential of the Congo River basin. He commissioned H. M. Stanley (of Stanley & Livingstone fame) to treat with native chiefs in the area on his behalf, and in 1885 created the Congo Free State, with himself as ruler. The territory became the colony of Belgian Congo in 1908, primarily due to opposition to King Leopold's ruthless exploitation of the colony. The colony became independent in 1960 as the Congo (Kinshasa). The name was changed to Zaire in 1971, and continues with that name today.
When the Congo became an independent state in 1960, two provinces declared their autonomy - South Kasai and Katanga. Each province issued stamps for their territory until the army, under Joseph Mobutu, with the aid of the United Nations, reunited the country in 1963.
Two other countries claimed portions of the Congo River basin - France and Portugal. The Portuguese Congo was a small strip of land between the Congo River and the Ladje River, plus the separate enclave of Cabinda. Portugal issued stamps for this colony until 1920, when it was formally incorporated into the larger Portuguese colony of Angola, to the south of the Congo River delta.
