Orientale Province

Orientale Province (French: Province orientale, "Eastern province") is one of the former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its predecessor the Belgian Congo.

For the lunar surface feature, see Mare Orientale.
Orientale Province

Province Orientale
Province
Belgian Congo provinces in 1920
Orientale from 1933
Country Democratic Republic of the Congo
CapitalKisangani
Area
 • Total503,239 km2 (194,302 sq mi)
Population
 (2010 est.)
 • Total8,197,975
 • Density16/km2 (42/sq mi)
Official languageFrench
National languageSwahili, Lingala

Orientale Province was created in the Belgian Congo in 1913. It was divided in 1933 into Costermansville (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 the Bas-Uélé, Haut-Uélé and Tshopo districts and the Ituri Interim Administration. These were elevated to provinces in 2015 under the 2006 constitution.

The province lay in the northeast of the country. Originally it bordered Équateur to the west, Congo-Kasaï to the southwest and Katanga to the south. After being reduced in size, it bordered Équateur to the west, Kasaï-Oriental province to the southwest, Maniema to the south, and North Kivu to the southeast. It also bordered the Central African Republic and South Sudan to the north, and Uganda to the east. The provincial capital was Stanleyville, later renamed Kisangani.

History

Orientale/Oost Province was formed in 1913 in the Belgian Congo from the old Eastern Province District (district de la province Orientale), expanded to include Haut-Uélé, Bas-Uélé and Aruwimi. The new province contained the districts of Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri, Stanleyville, Aruwimi, Maniema, Lowa and Kivu. It was divided in 1933 into Costermansville (later Kivu) and Stanleyville Province. Stanleyville Province was renamed Orientale/Oost Province from 1947 to 1963, when it was broken up into Kibali-Ituri, Uélé and Haut-Congo provinces. Orientale Province was reconstituted in 1966. Orientale Province was reformed in 1966 from the amalgamation of the Uele, Kibali-Ituri and Haut-Congo provinces. In 2015, the province dissolved into the provinces of Bas-Uélé, Haut-Uélé, Ituri and Tshopo.

In 1998 the Orientale villages of Durba and Watsa were the center of an outbreak of Marburg virus disease among gold mine workers.

The Ituri district of Orientale was the scene of the Ituri 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.[1]

Approximate correspondence between historical divisions and current provinces
Approximate correspondence between historical and current province
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-UeleOrientale 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

Divisions as of 2015
NameDistrictTerritoryPop. 2010[2]Coordinates[2]
AketiBas-Uele DistrictAketi Territory40,5072°44′N 23°47′E
AngoBas-Uele DistrictAngo Territory8,3814°02′N 25°52′E
AruIturi Interim AdministrationAru Territory29,8012°52′N 30°51′E
BafwasendeTshopo DistrictBafwasende Territory14,5041°05′N 27°16′E
BambesaBas-Uele DistrictBambesa Territory14,9593°28′N 25°43′E
BasokoTshopo DistrictBasoko Territory50,3521°14′N 23°35′E
BondoBas-Uele DistrictBondo Territory18,1183°49′N 23°40′E
BuniaIturi Interim AdministrationIrumu Territory327,8371°34′N 30°14′E
ButaBas-Uele DistrictButa Territory53,4012°49′N 24°44′E
DjuguIturi Interim AdministrationDjugu Territory27,1121°55′N 30°30′E
DunguHaut-Uele DistrictDungu Territory26,8943°37′N 28°34′E
IrumuIturi Interim AdministrationIrumu Territory10,3871°27′N 29°52′E
IsiroHaut-Uele DistrictRangu Territory174,5512°46′N 27°37′E
KisanganiTshopo Districtn/a868,6720°32′N 25°11′E
KitukuIturi Interim AdministrationIrumu Territory43,4601°06′N 29°58′E
MahagiIturi Interim AdministrationMahagi Territory18,7432°18′N 30°59′E
MongbwaluIturi Interim AdministrationDjugu Territory29,6721°57′N 30°02′E
NiangaraHaut-Uele DistrictNiangara Territory13,5043°42′N 27°52′E
OpalaTshopo DistrictOpala Territory15,5691°17′N 27°16′E
PokoBas-Uele DistrictPoko Territory10,8733°09′N 26°53′E
UbunduTshopo DistrictUbundu Territory13,3320°21′S 25°29′E
WambaHaut-Uele DistrictWamba Territory17,6512°08′N 27°59′E
WatsaHaut-Uele DistrictWatsa Territory31,9783°02′N 29°32′E
YahumaTshopo DistrictYahuma Territory4,8571°05′N 23°13′E
YangambiTshopo DistrictIsangi Territory40,9320°46′N 24°26′E
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See also

References
  1. Sexual slavery rife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  2. "Haut-Congo: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Archived from the original on 2013-02-10.

Bibliography




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