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King Leopold II of Belgium announces the establishment of the Congo Free State, headed by him.
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Period: to
Eastern Congo wrested from the control of East African Arab and Swahili-speaking traders.
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Belgian state annexes Congo amid protests over killings and atrocities carried out on a mass scale by Leopold's agents.
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The Congo becomes independent and Patrick Lumumba becomes prime minister and Jospeh Kasavubu becomes president.
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Lumumba is murdered
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President Kasavubu appoints Tshombe as prime minister. Tshombe agreed to end Katanga's secession.
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Joseph Mobutu leads a coup that ousts Kasavubu and Tshomb.
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Mobutu renames the country Zaire
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Period: to
DRC Tutsi rebels take over a large part of eastern Zaire while Mobutu is away for medical treatment.
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Tutsi rebels capture Kinshasa, and Zaire is renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo. Laurent-Desire Kabila is installed as president.
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President Laurent Kabilla is assasinated and his son Joseph Kabila replaces him as president.
