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Congo

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Abstract

Home to over 100 million people, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the largest and fourth most populous country in Africa [1]. The Kingdoms of Luba and Lunda ruled the country until the 1870s until it was acquired as King Leopold II of Belgium’s personal property under the Congo Free State. Over the next 30 years, the local population was forced to produce rubber, and by 1908 when Leopold was forced to give up the land to Belgium, millions had died as a result of disease and abuse. From 1908, the DRC was a Belgian territory, known as the Belgian Congo, until independence was gained in 1960. The DRC continued to be marred by conflict and corruption as late as 2006, and still faces significant violence in the east from the overspill from continuing conflict in Rwanda and Uganda [1].

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  1. Wilsonville, Klamath Falls, OR, USA

    Slobodan Petrovic & Jack Zoucha

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  1. Slobodan Petrovic
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  1. Oregon Institute of Technology, Happy Valley, OR, USA

    Slobodan Petrovic

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Petrovic, S., Zoucha, J. (2023). Congo. In: Petrovic, S. (eds) World Energy Handbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31625-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31625-8_6

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