On this day 51 years ago, the Republic of Congo (not to be confused with its neighbouring country the Democratic Republic of Congo) gained its independence from France. The country had been annexed by France in the scramble for resources during the 1880s, as part of French Equatorial Africa, and a town which became known as Brazzaville after the French explorer Pierre de Brazza became the capital city.
In 1940, after France has surrendered to the Germans, Brazzaville became the capital of the Free French in Africa. After the war there was a movement towards independence for all African colonies, and, with independence approaching, a former priest Fulbert Youlou became prime minister as leader of the Union Démocratique pour la Défense d’Intérêts Africains. The Republic of Congo was established in 1958, and in 1960 Youlou led the country to full independence.
Three years to the day after Independence Day, Youlou was deposed by a union-led uprising, and the country became a socialist state. The country was troubled by power struggles and civil war in the 1990s, ending with Angolan forces invaded to support Denis Sassou Nguesso’s bid for power. Sassou has since remained in power, declaring himself winner of two disputed elections, in 2002 and 2009.