CChronica Maps

Kinshasa: History, Former Names & Timeline

Trading post founded by Stanley on the Congo River, capital of the Belgian Congo and today one of Africa's largest cities.

Map showing Kinshasa in 1960Kinshasa
Border map for 1960. See the world in 1960.

Explore Kinshasa in the interactive map

Former names of Kinshasa

FromNameNote
1881Léopoldville
1966Kinshasa

Timeline of Kinshasa

YearEvent
1881Stanley founds Léopoldville
1960The Congo becomes independent
1974Ali and Foreman fight the "Rumble in the Jungle" here

Who ruled Kinshasa

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

PeriodState
500 BC–799Khoisan
800–1599Bantu peoples
1600–1879Unclaimed / no data
1880–1913Teke
1914–1919Belgian Congo
1920–1937Zaire (Belgium)
1938–1944Belgian Congo
1945–todayZaire

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