Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 1997. Zaire was located in Central Africa and was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-largest country in the world from 1965 to 1997. With a population of over 23 million, Zaire was the most populous Francophone country in Africa. Zaire played a central role during the Cold War.
Mobutu Sese Seko, the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997
Idi Amin, president of Uganda, visiting Mobutu in Zaire during The Shaba I Conflict in 1977
This is a 5 makuta (cinq makuta) coin from Zaire, 1977, which portrays Mobutu Sese Seko, who was the president during this time
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country in Central Africa. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 105 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous Francophone country in the world, and the fourth-largest in Africa. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, the Cabinda exclave of Angola, and the South Atlantic Ocean.
Arab slave raid on Nyangwe, circa 1870
View of Leopoldville Station and Port in 1884
Congo Free State official Camille Coquilhat with the Bangala chief Mata-Buiké in c. 1888
1908 photograph of a married Christian couple.