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Portuguese navigator Diogo Cao becomes the first European to visit the Congo; Portuguese set up ties with the king of Congo.
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European merchants engaged in slave trade through Congo intermediaries.
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Belgian King Leopold II colonized the area as his private holding
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Leopold commissions Stanley to establish the king's authority in the Congo basin.
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Belgians conquer Katanga.
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Belgian state annexes Congo protests over killings and overworking carried out on a mass scale by Leopold's agents
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Belgians begin to lose control of the Congo territories due to many protests around the territories.
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The Congo become independent form the Belgians with their president Joseph Kasavubu
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Kasavubu dismisses Lumumba as prime minister and gets arrested. Months later he got murdured
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Rebels from Rwanda and Uganda rise up against Kabila. Zimbabwe, Namibia send troops to repel them. Angolan troops also come to help. The rebels take control of much of the east of DR Congo.
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The six African countries involved in the war sign a ceasefire accord in Lusaka.
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New constitution comes into force and a new national flag is created.
