ABSTRACT
The Congo’s character has been shaped by its relationship to France. The first European explorers, the Portuguese, established relations with the Congo tribal kingdom which dates back to the Fourth Century A.D. In the beginning, the rapid expansion of their conquests had obliged the French to rule indirectly through the native political institutions. After 1900, however, the French started to eliminate them wherever possible, substituting direct control by French officials. The aim of the French government, driven by European industrialization and international competition, was from the start to exploit the supposed wealth of the Congo at the least possible cost. After the war, the government decided to develop the infrastructure necessary for the evacuation not only of produce from the Congo, but from the whole Federation. At the time they pushed the commercial development of rubber and palm kernels and food crops to feed the laborers involved in construction activities.
