History
After the revision of the French Constitution in 1958, the country gained its autonomy, changed its name to Republic of Congo, released its constitution and held the first elections in 1959. The first President that got inaugurated in August 15 1960, when full independence from France was established, was Abbé Fulbert Youlou, who was also the first non-Caucasian mayor of a city anywhere in French dominated Equatorial Africa. He was also the one to move the capital from Point-Noire to Brazzaville. His administration lasted for only three years before he was ousted for his practices of imprisoning union leaders and forcing a single party rule.
After a period of «scientific socialism» ideologies and personal dictatorships, in 1992, a modern multiparty democratic system was established, electing Pascal Lissouba as president. He tried to make the economy more liberal and even managed to agree for a loan from the IMF of 100 million dollars.
However, the previous president Denis Sassou Nguesso, who had incorporated the country to the Eastern blog and had signed a 20-year pact with the Soviet Union , and Lissouba engaged in a civil war in 1997 that enlisted the aid of neighboring Angola via an invasion in favor of Sassou, enabling him to re-establish his rule which lasts until today.
At this time, the country is governed by a hybrid system that mandates for a President that decides on the cabinet of ministers and a Parliament with a Prime-Minister.
Between 1483 and 1484, the area was discovered by the Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão. What he found was a number of kingdoms established by people speaking Bantu that have displaced the Pygmy original inhabitants. Trade was agreed upon with merchants from Europe for commodities like manufactured goods and raw materials. However, the Europeans also enslaved the local populace and begun creating colonies.
The name of the country, comes for the Congo River and the inhabitants at the time, called «Bakongo», which roughly translates to «hunters». The capital city Brazzaville is named after its founder Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà, an Italian born, naturalized French explorer who also freed a large number of slaves.
In 1880, areas north of the river became French after a treaty was signed between Brazzà and the King of the Bateke, Makoko. The name used at the time was French Congo. In 1908 the region covered by Gabon, Chad, the Central African Republic and the, now renamed, Middle Congo, became the French Equatorial Africa, with Brazzaville designated as the capital of the federation.
