Colonial history produced two very different countries

In the Congolese region, colonial history produced two very differente countries. On the one hand the Republique du Congo,, on the other hand the Republique Democratique du Congo, known for a short period as Republique Zaire.

While the much larger Republique Democratique du Congo was colonized by the Belges, and practically was treated as a personal property by King Leopold of Belgium, the smaller Republique du Congo was colonized by the French, and probably because of the important role of a explorer and first governor, Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, became a much more organized society, before and after independence. Precisely because of that, on the RDC side Leopoldville became Kinshasa and on the RC side, Brazzaville did not change its name.

In present time, after half a century of independence, “Brazzaville and Kinshasa, which stare each other down from opposite banks of the Congo River, are famed as the two national capitals closest to one another, but they are hardly sister cities.

The streets of Kinshasa are a disaster, and whatever colonial-era grid there ever was has been submerged beneath a layer of mud, grime and neglect. Packs of young men fight their way into crude minibuses with holes drilled in the sides for ventilation, while in Brazzaville shiny green taxis cruise clean streets, gliding to a stop for their fares.

On hot days, Kinshasa reeks of fermenting fruit and urine. In Brazzaville, the whiff of freshly baked croissants creeps from under the doors of the city’s patisseries, as people in smart suits and enviable shoes sip café au lait. Brazzaville’s relative prosperity is due to oil money and the country’s small population, estimated at three million, with about a third in the capital.

It is here that the statue of Mr. Brazza towers over town, the pose inspired by a famous photograph of the explorer wearing a Lawrence of Arabia outfit.

And this may be just the beginning. Mr. Kamba, the head of the Brazza Foundation, wants a Brazza library, a Brazza traveling exhibit, even a Brazza theme park.

He remembered with a smile the soiree in October, when the bones were returned from Algeria — where Mr. Brazza had retired — and top diplomats gathered to swig Champagne and eat crepes.

“It was huge,” he said. “And the party didn’t end until dawn.”

Partially reproduced from The New York Times.