Boma
| Boma | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 5 ° 51 ′ S , 13 ° 3 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | Democratic Republic of Congo | ||
| Congo Central | |||
| ISO 3166-2 | CD-BC | ||
| Residents | 575,750 | ||
Boma is a city in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . The city is located on the north side of the Congo River in the Congo Central Province . The number of its inhabitants is around 575,000 in 2019, with suburbs there are considerably more. The city is the second most important port city in the country after Matadi . From 1886 to 1908 it was the capital of the formally independent Congo Free State .
history
Boma was founded as a slave post by European merchants in the 16th century. Despite the presence of various European nationalities, the city remained independent until 1884. In 1884 the natives agreed to a protectorate of the International Congo Society . Boma was the second capital of the Congo Free State after Vivi . From May 1, 1886 to October 31, 1929 , Boma was the administrative seat of the Congo Free State and from November 15, 1908 the colony of the Belgian Congo , before it lost this status to Léopoldville (today's capital Kinshasa ). Economically, the area was developed by the Société des Chemins de Fer Vicinaux du Mayumbe . They operated a 140 km long narrow-gauge railway from Boma to Tshela .
Boma was a military center of the Free State or the colony of the Belgian Congo until independence. The Force Publique maintained a central military base with the Fort de Shinkakasa fortress . The fortress was supposed to protect the navigable end of the Congo from foreign access, especially from access by Portugal.
Others
The architecture of the city of Boma is very colonial. Since the city lost its status as a political center to Kinshasa in 1929 and replaced Matadi Boma as a trade center to the outside world, the city beyond the fortress was no longer noticed and promoted by the following governments. Since the telegraph network was not yet completely finished, a provisional pigeon mail line Boma- Banana was operated around 1905 , which is noticed by some philatelists .
Boma is the seat of the Boma diocese .
