Boma, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Boma
View of Boma in c.1900
View of Boma in c.1900
Boma is located in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Boma
Boma
Location in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates: 5°51′S 13°03′E / 5.850°S 13.050°E / -5.850; 13.050
Country Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Democratic Republic of the Congo
Province Bas-Congo
Area
 • Total 65 km2 (25 sq mi)
Elevation 61 m (200 ft)
Population (2012)[1]
 • Total 162,521
 • Density 2,500/km2 (6,500/sq mi)
A stamp of the Congo Free State, used in Boma around 1900
View to the north from Boma, 1889

Boma is a port town on the Congo River, some 100 km upstream from the Atlantic Ocean, in the Bas-Congo province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It had an estimated population of 162,521 in 2012.[2]

Boma was the capital city of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo (the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1 May 1886 to 1926, when the capital was moved to Léopoldville (since renamed Kinshasa). The port handles exports of tropical timber, bananas, cacao, and palm products.

History[edit]

Boma was founded as a slaving station and entrepôt by merchants of several European countries in the 16th century.[3] Trade was chiefly in the hands of Dutch merchants, but British, French and Portuguese firms also had factories there. No European power exercised sovereignty, though claims were from time to time put forward by Portugal.

Henry Morton Stanley arrived here on 9 Aug. 1877, after crossing Africa east to west.[4]:Vol.Two,359

In 1884 the people of Boma 'granted' a protectorate of their country to the International Association of the Congo.[5]

Transport[edit]

Boma lies on the north bank of the Congo River, some 100 km upstream from Muanda, where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean. The great width and depth of the river allow seagoing ships to reach Boma, which is the second-largest port of DR Congo, after Matadi. Between 1889 and 1984, the port was served by a 610 mm gauge railway line from Tshela.

People[edit]

Climate[edit]

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (Aw).

The highest record temperature was 41 °C (106 °F) on February 25, 1976, while the lowest record temperature was 10 °C (50 °F) on October 21, 1976.[8]

Climate data for Boma
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 34
(93)		 41
(106)		 39
(102)		 34
(93)		 39
(102)		 34
(93)		 32
(90)		 33
(91)		 36
(97)		 34
(93)		 34
(93)		 32
(90)		 41
(106)
Average high °C (°F) 32.6
(90.7)		 33.4
(92.1)		 33.8
(92.8)		 33.6
(92.5)		 32
(90)		 29.5
(85.1)		 26.7
(80.1)		 28
(82)		 29.4
(84.9)		 31.6
(88.9)		 32.4
(90.3)		 32.3
(90.1)		 31.28
(88.29)
Daily mean °C (°F) 28.9
(84)		 29.5
(85.1)		 29.8
(85.6)		 29.5
(85.1)		 28.4
(83.1)		 26
(79)		 23.5
(74.3)		 24.8
(76.6)		 26.2
(79.2)		 28.4
(83.1)		 28.8
(83.8)		 28.7
(83.7)		 27.71
(81.88)
Average low °C (°F) 25.3
(77.5)		 25.7
(78.3)		 25.8
(78.4)		 25.5
(77.9)		 24.9
(76.8)		 22.6
(72.7)		 20.3
(68.5)		 21.6
(70.9)		 23.1
(73.6)		 25.2
(77.4)		 25.3
(77.5)		 25.2
(77.4)		 24.21
(75.58)
Record low °C (°F) 20
(68)		 19
(66)		 19
(66)		 19
(66)		 17
(63)		 14
(57)		 12
(54)		 13
(55)		 14
(57)		 10
(50)		 15
(59)		 18
(64)		 10
(50)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 83
(3.27)		 112
(4.41)		 126
(4.96)		 173
(6.81)		 69
(2.72)		 1
(0.04)		 1
(0.04)		 2
(0.08)		 8
(0.31)		 50
(1.97)		 149
(5.87)		 92
(3.62)		 866
(34.1)
Source #1: Climate-Data.org (altitude: 10m)[9]
Source #2: Voodoo Skies for record temperatures[8]

Gallery[edit]

  • Boma pier, 1899

  • Authorities at the end of the pier, Boma, 1899

  • The nine old kings of Boma (phot. H. A. Shanu, 1898), Royal Museum for Central Africa

  • Fort de Shinkakasa – fortification on the Congo River near Boma

  • Old cathedral "Our Lady of the Assumption" of Boma, which still exists; oldest in the country

  • Residence of the Governor-General in Boma

  • Henry Morton Stanley's map of the area during his expedition down the Congo River

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "World Gazetteer". 
  2. ^ "World Gazetteer". 
  3. ^ This article incorporates text from The Modern World Encyclopædia: Illustrated (1935); out of UK copyright as of 2005.
  4. ^ Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, Vol. One ISBN 0486256677, Vol. Two ISBN 0486256685
  5. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Boma". Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 181.  This references H. M. Stanley, The Congo and the Founding of its Free State (London, 1885).
  6. ^ European-language writing in sub-Saharan Africa, Volume 1, Albert S. Gerard, accessed March 2010
  7. ^ "Rumba on the River". Coldrun Books. 
  8. ^ a b "Boma, Zaire". Voodoo Skies. Retrieved 2014-02-05. 
  9. ^ "Climate: Boma - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 2014-02-05. 

External links[edit]

Media related to Boma, Congo-Kinshasa at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 05°51′00″S 13°03′00″E / 5.85000°S 13.05000°E / -5.85000; 13.05000

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