Orientale Province Province Orientale | |
|---|---|
 Belgian Congo provinces in 1920 | |
 Orientale from 1933 | |
| Country |  Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Capital | Kisangani |
| Area | |
• Total | 503,239 km2 (194,302 sq mi) |
| Population (2010 est.) | |
• Total | 8,197,975 |
| • Density | 16.2904/km2 (42.1920/sq mi) |
| Official language | French |
| National language | Swahili,Lingala, Pa-Zande (Zande language) |
Orientale Province (French:Province orientale,lit. 'Eastern province') is one of the formerprovinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its predecessors theCongo Free State and theBelgian Congo. It went through a series of boundary changes between 1898 and 2015, when it was divided into smaller units.
The District of Orientale Province was created fromStanley Falls District on 15 July 1898.The district was expanded to become Orientale Province in 1913. It was divided in 1933 intoCostermansville (later Kivu) and Stanleyville Province. Stanleyville Province was renamed Orientale Province from 1947 to 1963, when it was broken up into Kibali-Ituri, Uélé and Haut-Congo provinces. Orientale Province was reconstituted in 1966. Between 1971 and 1997 it was called Haut-Zaïre, then it returned to the name of Orientale.The province contained theBas-Uele,Haut-Uele,Ituri andTshopo districts. These were elevated to provinces in 2015 under the 2006 constitution.
The province lay in the northeast of the country. Originally it borderedÉquateur to the west,Congo-Kasaï to the southwest andKatanga to the south. After being reduced in size, it borderedÉquateur to the west,Kasaï-Oriental province to the southwest,Maniema to the south, andNorth Kivu to the southeast. It also bordered theCentral African Republic andSouth Sudan to the north, andUganda to the east. The provincial capital wasStanleyville, later renamedKisangani.
On 15 July 1898 the Stanley Falls District became the District of Orientale Province (District de la province Orientale), withStanleyville as its headquarters.[1]TheLualaba District in the south was split off at this time.The district was also calledStanleyville District.In 1910 the new vice-government general ofKatanga was formed the south, with parts of Lualaba District and parts of Stanleyville.[2]
Orientale/Oost Province was formed in 1913 in theBelgian Congo from the District of Orientale Province, expanded to include Haut-Uélé, Bas-Uélé and Aruwimi.The new province contained the districts ofBas-Uele,Haut-Uele,Ituri,Stanleyville,Aruwimi,Maniema,Lowa andKivu.It was divided in 1933 intoCostermansville (later Kivu) and Stanleyville Province. Stanleyville Province was renamed Orientale/Oost Province from 1947 to 1963, when it was broken up intoKibali-Ituri,Uélé andHaut-Congo provinces. Orientale Province was reconstituted in 1966 from the amalgamation of the Uele, Kibali-Ituri and Haut-Congo provinces. In 2015 it was dissolved into the provinces ofBas-Uélé,Haut-Uélé,Ituri andTshopo.
In 1998 the Orientale villages ofDurba andWatsa were the center of an outbreak ofMarburg virus disease among gold mine workers.
TheIturi district of Orientale was the scene of theIturi conflict.
As of 2014, militia groups continue to fight in the province and have reportedly committed many atrocities against the local population, such as forcing women into sex slavery and forcing men to work in mines.[3]
| Belgian Congo | Republic of the Congo | Zaire | Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1908 8 districts | 1913 1 province | 1932 1 province | 1947 1 province | 1963 3 provinces | 1966 1 province | 1971 1 province | 1988 1 province | 1997 1 province | 2015 4 provinces |
| Bas-Uele | Orientale | Stanleyville | Orientale | Uélé | Orientale | Haut-Zaïre | Orientale | Bas-Uélé | |
| Haut-Uele | Haut-Uélé | ||||||||
| Ituri | Kibali-Ituri | Ituri | |||||||
| Stanleyville | Haut-Congo | Tshopo | |||||||
| Aruwimi | |||||||||
| Maniema | (Costermansville,Kivu and successors) | ||||||||
| Lowa | |||||||||
| Kivu | |||||||||
The province was divided into the city ofKisangani and the districts ofBas-Uele,Haut-Uele,Ituri andTshopo. Cities and towns, with their 2010 populations, are:
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| Geographic | |
| Other | |
