Équateur (former province)

Équateur Province Province de l'Équateur
Former province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
1919–2015
Template:Infobox country/imagetable
Capital	Mbandaka
Demonym	Equatorian
Area
• 2010 est.
Population
Template:Infobox country/multirow
Historical era	Contemporary
Template:Infobox country/multirow

Équateur (French for 'Equator') was a province in the northwest of Belgian Congo and the independent Republic of the Congo, now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo. It had its origins in the Équateur District of the Congo Free State, the private property of King Leopold II of Belgium. It was upgraded to provincial status in 1917. Between 1933 and 1947 it was named Coquilhatville. In 1962 it was divided into three smaller provinces, but they were recombined in 1966. Équateur was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo until 2015, when it was split into the new, smaller Équateur province, as well as the Tshuapa, Mongala, Nord-Ubangi and Sud-Ubangi provinces.

Located in the north of the country, the province bordered the Republic of the Congo to the west, the Central African Republic to the north, to the east the Orientale province, and to the south the Kasai-Oriental, Kasai-Occidental, and Bandundu provinces. The word "Équateur" is French for the Equator, which lies less than 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the provincial capital of Mbandaka, a city on the Congo River.

History

The District of Équateur was created by decree of Leopold II on 1 August 1888, which defined the limits of the Congo Free State and the eleven districts, including Équateur. The first district commissioners were named on 27 October 1888. At first there was no commissioner for Equateur, but on 25 June 1889 the governor general placed Van Kerchhoven, successor to Camille Coquilhat, in command of the District of Ubangi and Uele based at Nouvelle-Anvers (formerly Bangala Station). The first true head of Équateur was Charles-François-Alexandre Lemaire (1863-1925), appointed in December 1890. He moved the district capital to the newly named Coquilhatville.

In 1908 the state of Belgium annexed the Congo Free State as the Belgian Congo. In 1917 Équateur District became Équateur Province under Georges Moulaert (1875-1958), who became deputy governor general of the province on 20 August 1917. In 1933 the province was renamed Coquihatville Province, under a provincial commissioner. The first commissioner was J. Jorrissen. On 27 May 1947 the province regained the name of Équateur/Evenaar. It became an autonomous province of the Congo republic on 30 June 1960. On 14 August 1962 Équateur was split into the provinces of Cuvette Centrale, Ubangi, and a centrally administered portion that became Moyen-Congo on 5 February 1963.

On 25 April 1966 Cuvette Centrale, Moyen-Congo and Ubangi were reunited as Équateur province. In 2015 when it was again split under the terms of the 2006 Constitution, it formed five new provinces:

Nord-Ubangi, consisting of Template:Cvt, with its capital at the city of Gbadolite

Mongala, consisting of Template:Cvt, with its capital at the city of Lisala

Sud-Ubangi, consisting of Template:Cvt, with its capital at the city of Gemena

Équateur, consisting of Template:Cvt, with its capital at the city of Mbandaka

Tshuapa, consisting of Template:Cvt, with its capital at the city of Boende

Divisions

Under the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the province was divided into the cities of Mbandaka, Gbadolite and Zongo and the districts of Équateur, Nord-Ubangi, Sud-Ubangi, Mongala and Tshuapa.

Name	District	Territory	Pop. 2010	Coordinates
Basankusu	Équateur District	Basankusu Territory	27,492
Befale	Tshuapa District	Befale Territory	3,723
Bikoro	Équateur District	Bikoro Territory	7,128
Binga	Mongala District	Binga Territory	64,639
Boende	Tshuapa District	Boende Territory	33,765
Bokungu	Tshuapa District	Bokungu Territory	7,829
Bolomba	Équateur District	Bolomba Territory	4,252
Bomongo	Équateur District	Bomongo Territory	4,784
Bongandanga	Mongala District	Bongandanga Territory	3,648
Bosobolo	Nord-Ubangi District	Bosobolo Territory	12,932
Budjala	Sud-Ubangi District	Budjala Territory	21,259
Bumba	Mongala District	Bumba Territory	103,328
Businga	Nord-Ubangi District	Businga Territory	32,590
Gbadolite	(city)	(city)	48,083
Gemena	Sud-Ubangi District	Gemena Territory	132,971
Ikela	Tshuapa District	Ikela Territory	15,214
Ingende	Équateur District	Ingende Territory	3,951
Kungu	Sud-Ubangi District	Kungu Territory	7,738
Libenge	Sud-Ubangi District	Libenge Territory	23,962
Lisala	Mongala District	Lisala Territory	79,235
Lukolela	Équateur District	Lukolela Territory	15,230
Mbandaka	(city)	(city)	324,236
Mobayi-Mbongo	Nord-Ubangi District	Mobayi-Mbongo Territory	5,413
Monkoto	Tshuapa District	Monkoto Territory	8,640
Yakoma	Nord-Ubangi District	Yakoma Territory	11,720
Zongo	(city)	(city)	32,516

Education

• University of Mbandaka

See also

• List of governors of Équateur (former province)

Sources

• Lufungula, Lewono (1986), "Les gouverneurs de l'Équateur, 1885 - 1960", Annales Aequatoria, 7, Honoré Vinck: 149–166, JSTOR 25836402

Bibliography

• Konda ku Mbuta, A. et al. (2012); Plantes medicinales de traditions - Province de l'Equateur, R.D. Congo; I.R.S.S. Kinshasa; Template:ISBN; 419 pp.