Ah! The Republic of Congo!
Also known as the DRC's smaller, richer, yet kind of angsty twin brother who totally had a thing for Russia for like 30 years.
("Geography Now" opening jingle)
It's time to learn georgaphy..... NOW!
Hey everyone, I'm your host, Barby.
Today we reach the 2nd part of our twin countries saga. In the last episode we talked about the massive Democratic Republic of Congo.
Now let's head across the river and see what's on the other side, shall we? First off:
(slot machine noises)
The flag uses the Pan-Africanist movement colors and is the only one that utilizes a diagonal pattern.
It's pretty simple, just a yellow diagonal band from the bottom left to the upper right, dividing 2 triangles - the upper one being green and the lower one being red.
The green symbolizes the agriculture and forests.
The yellow represents the friendship and nobility of the people.
And the red stands for...
(rock music begins to play but is cut off abruptly)
Ah! Got you! The constitutional description actually leaves the red part unexplained and there is no official description.
So that's that!
Now let's dig in and see what else we can find.
Now, even though the Congos are close and similar,
they have a lot of backstory that separates them.
Think of it this way:
They both grew up in the same house, but went to different colleges, and have different jobs.
The DRC was like "Psh! I have all the resources! I just do whatever I want!"
But then, "whatever he wanted" ended up in a continental war.
Whereas the RC was like "Psh! Capitalism is the poison of society and I'm totally mobilizing the state-run proletariot."
Which ended up in capitalism anyway.
Kind of.
ANYWAY -
The country is located in the central western part of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Stradling the equator with a small coast on the Atlantic.
With in the inland areas sloping diagonally northeast along the Congo and Ubangi rivers.
Bordered by 5 other countries - you would think it's 4, but remember - just like we discussed before
There's that little small Cabinda exclave that belongs to Angola.
The country is divided into 12 departments, and the capital Brazzaville, named after a really charming yet controversial Italian guy -
is located right across [from] its twin's capital, Kinshasa, on the Congo river and is recognized by its iconic landmark, Nabemba Tower
the tallest building in the country.
You can literally see it from the other side of the river.
Fun side note: if you look closely, the country's shape kinda resembles that of a demonic rabbit with 3 tails and deformed back foot.
Look, I tried my best.
Now, unlike the DRC, the RC has a decently-constructed costal harbor at Pointe Noir, the 2nd largest city.
The problem is, unlike the DRC, the coast doesn't really have any rivers that assist major cargo transport.
Except for the Kouilou River that doesn't really end up going anywhere important.
So most shipments that arrive on the coast have to be transported either by truck or train to the other parts of the country.
Speaking of which,
the most important railway in the country, the Congo Ocean Railway built in the 30's, connects Pointe Noir with both Brazzaville and Mbinda along the border of Gabon.
This train operates both freight and passenger cars that have helped the country develope exponentially in the past century.
It's okay, though, because the DRC totally lets them their costal entrance on the Congo River for imports to Brazzaville.
It really is like: (song) "We're brothers."
"We're happy and we're singing and we're colored."
"Give me a hug, boy!"
Also, unlike the DRC, the country is also heavily urbanized.
About 80% of the entire population only lives in a few major cities and towns along the train tracks,
whereas the rest of the country is kind of sparse and empty.
The entire Likouala department has no road access to the rest of the country and the only way to get in is to either go by river or by airplane.
You know, you're actually better just going to the Central African Republic flying there, then taking aboat down the Bangui River instead of going through the jungles.
The country has 2 international airports - one in Brazzaville and the other in Pointe Noir as well as various unpaved landing strips for the remote communities outside of urban centers.
As a former French colony, the RC has historically acted as central hub for the Atlantic slave trade in the French division.
With its useful harbor and convenient access to the inland regions, this country served as a "stragetic advantageous" territory to both the inhabitants and the outsiders.
Things get a little crazy the further inland you travel. Let's talk about that now in:
(sounds of earth crumbling, bird squacks)
The physical makeup of the RC is kind of like Mozart's Requiem.
It starts off great and bold, but then the further you go, it just kinda stops and you have to kinda guess what the last part is.
Oh, sorry, I forgot. Kids kinda watch this show.
Uh... it's like the Lemony Snicket books and trying to figure out the story behind Beatrice.
In a nut shell, as an equatorial country, the climate is typically warm and humid year round.
There are 2 rainy seasons, one taking place from March to May, and the other from September to November.
While June and August is typically the driest season.
First of all, the country is generally flat along the coast and inland.
With the higher points being in the central and conveniently named "Plateau" department.
With rolling hills and tame cliffs.
Way up north, close to Gabon, you can find the highest mountain, Mount Nabemba in the Myumbe mountain chain.
This whole area kinda acts as a natural barrier to the lush jungle interior.
Once you go past the plateau, there's no turning back.
You've pretty much reached gorilla territory.
One of the reasons why the northern and eastern regions of the country are so empty and sparse is partially because... it's really hard to build settlements there.
The ground is incredibly moist and swampy, with few promising spots for construction.
Most of the Likouala department remains unexplored today and is home to some of the densest concentrations of wildlife in all of Africa.
Especially around Lake Tele.
This place has a creepy backstory.
It's incredibly difficult to get to this eerily circular-shaped lake and the tribal locals in the area will swear upon the stories of the Mokele Mbambe living there.
Mokele Mbambe is described to be a massive reptilian creature with a long neck and tail somewhat resembling an apatosaurus.
Basically, it's the African Loch Ness Monster.
Although it's never been photographed or documented, an explorer came across a group of Pygmies in 1951, claiming to have killed and eaten one.
Yeah, these jungles are crazy. And just wait until we get to Papua New Guinea.
Otherwise, primates make up a huge portion of the wildlife. Over 100,000 lowland gorillas are said to have inhabited the entire area, specifically in the Sangha department.
The country is located with rivers and confluences like the beautiful Loufoulakari Falls, that branch out in every direction.
If you look closely at a satellite image, you will notice, though, that alot of the land has been deforested, especially in the south and central areas.
For a long time, the country was dependent on its lumber industry as its main export, but after the oil boom, logging actually has been relatively lowered and you can see the green vegetation
claiming its domain adjacent to the tributaries and reservoirs that feed through the flat plains.
Yeah, speaking of which - the country has seen a huge oil boom in the past few recent decades.
In fact, at over 80%, oil and petroleum make up of the country's exports sector, especially with offshore reserves discovered shortly after independence.
In fact, even though the RC is about 14 times smaller than the DRC, they have about 3 billion more in public revenue.
Unlike their twin brother, agriculture doesn't play that much of a major role in the economy.
Yes, most people live off of subsistence farming.
But a larger portion of the country thrives off of industry and service jobs.
The RC's GDP per capita is about 8 times higher than that of the DRC, and their overall international GDP index is about 60 spots higher.
In short, they're a little more financially stable. Unfortunately, managing business can still be a challenge sometimes.
Let's talk about the ones that run this country.
(sound of horn being blown)
Now, don't be fooled. Yes, the people in the RC speak French and Lingala and enjoy the same music and cinema
and they have relatively the same diets and traditions, but hundreds of years of outside influence has forged a distinct dichotomy between the Republic of Congo and its brothers.
First of all. The country has about 5 million people and is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa.
The country is almost completely made up of Bantu peoples, which are divided into sub-tribal groups, the largest ones being the Kongo peoples
at around 48%, the Sangha people at around 20%, and the Teke at 17% and the M'Bochi at 12%.
About 2% of the country is indigenous pygmy.
However, exact estimates are a little hazy.
And the remainder of the country is mostly white, French, or Europeans, with small communities of other groups like East Asians and Middle Easterners.
Now, yes, about 60 different languages and dialects are spoken in the country.
However, getting by is easy.
The country's main official language that everybody speaks is French with 2 other official languages - Lingala and Kituba.
Which is basically just an intellgible dialect of the same Kikongo language spoken in the DRC.
Cultural wise, the people are mostly descended from the Congo Kingdom.
Which was split up by the Europeans during colonization.
Respect for age is a major theme with customs.
Older people get titles like 'yaya', which means something like big brother or sister.
Even though they are only 2 months older than you, you gotta refer to them like that.
And never call elders by their real name.
Even if she's not your real mom, you're supposed to call your friend's mom 'mom'.
Or 'aunty'. And the same goes for dads.
Never interrupt an elder, but you can use uncles and aunties to intercede for you.
Now one thing that has really shaped the social structure of the country would have to be the path that it took after independence.
Now, as you know, the RC was once a French colony, but after independence, the Soviets rushed in as quickly as possible and coerced the country to try out this
new little thing called COMMUNISM.
And after an immediate coup that lasted only 3 days, the country decided - "Hey! Let's align ourselves with the eastern block and follow a scientific socialist ideology influenced by the Soviets!"
They renamed themselves the People's Republic of Congo, used this flag inspired by the Soviet flag and mobilized the military.
And that's how, like Angola and Mozambique, the RC became the former Soviet Union jolly little partner down south.
China, North Korea, North Vietnam, and Cuba stepped in and introduced themselves. Keep in mind, this was before the Sino-Soviet Split and the Vietnam War.
Cuba even sent in troops to help train the militia, which would one day eventually overthrow the leader for another one, even though the country has a holiday named after that leader that they assasinated...
Eventually, this led to a weird 3 decades of political repression and economic tension that ended with the expiration of the Friendship Pact in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Then, things were a little awkward.
They were like, "So, uh, I guess we're not, like, socialist or communist or whatever anymore."
"Nah, man, I guess not."
"So like, should we like have a democracy or something and stuff?"
"Uh... sure, yeah man, why not."
But then this guy was like:
NOPE. And started a civil war.
Today to this, the country operates under a "one-party democratic system" that pretty much puts Sassou, who originally ruled under the Soviet Pact,
in power indefinitely.
This, of course, has caused a lot of conflict and protests which still lingers to this day.
So, as you can see, the country has a weird historical and politically-driven social construct infused with French forgrounds, yet a communist undertone.
Weird, right? And this is just one of the reasons why the RC and DRC, although really close culturally, have never really decided to become one country.
Although the thought has been entertained, the political atmosphere and domestic conflicts of each nation have kind of inadvertantly hindered them from really moving forward with a union plan.
It's also partially why a bridge has still yet to be built between the 2, out of fears that any future political uprisings would probably end in destroying it.
Nonetheless, as crazy as things got, they still know how to reach out to the rest of the world and to other countries. Some of which we'll discuss in:
So as you can probably guess from the demographics, the RC is mostly distinguished from its twin brother by the entourage it's built up.
As mentioned before, the RC was aligned with the Soviet Block, as well as the other communist-influenced states across the world.
Russia and China both have embassies and relations.
Australia and South Korea are some of the largest trade partners, though.
Stepping up in the 90's and today the RC is one of the largest exporters of oil to South Korea.
Of course, the francophone nations are mostly close as well.
The RC will never turn down a party from Gabon or Cameroon.
(singing) EVERYBODY LOVES CAMEROON!
And although they're a little far off, the Ivory Coast is like "What's up, cuz?"
To which the RC is like "Yo! You need to stop over more often, man! I got these killer dinosaurs burgers I want you to try!"
In terms of their best friends, however, once again they would probably say the Democratic Republic of Congo.
These 2 brothers have been with each other through thick and thin, even before colonialism.
They speak the same, they eat the same, they live the same.
It's just, you know, one side has a few ideas about social trajectory that differ from the other.
In conclusion, the RC may be smaller than its twin brother, but it definitely does not waver in stories to tell, places to see, and legends to explore.
Stay tuned! Costa Rica is coming up next!
(upbeat music)