Английская Википедия:Isangi
Шаблон:Infobox settlement Isangi is a town in the Tshopo Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, headquarters of Isangi Territory.Шаблон:Sfn
Location
Isangi is Шаблон:Convert downstream from Kisangani at the confluence of the Lomami and Congo rivers.Шаблон:Sfn There is a road running south from the town, but it is impassable in the rainy season.Шаблон:Sfn It rains every four or five days all year round, and there are frequent storms and tornadoes.Шаблон:Sfn
Colonial era
Henry Morton Stanley, the first European to reach Isangi, passed through the town in December 1883 and estimated the population as 8,000.Шаблон:Sfn He described devastation caused by Arabs seeking slaves and ivory on the river.Шаблон:Sfn Although the people had begun to rebuild the town, they fled to the other bank of the river when Stanley's flotilla arrived.Шаблон:Sfn Stanley's sponsor, King Leopold II of Belgium, formally acquired rights to the Congo territory at the Conference of Berlin in 1885 and made the land his private property and named it the Congo Free State.Шаблон:Sfn
Arthur Conan Doyle noted in his book The Crime of the Congo that slavery and ivory poaching continued well after the Belgians had assumed power.Шаблон:Sfn In 1888, the Zanzibar-based trader Tippu Tip's nephew Rachid established a station at Isangi to provide a base for slaving operations in the lower reaches of the Lomani and along the channels of the Lopori and Maringa rivers.Шаблон:Sfn
There were positive aspects to the Arab incursion. At Isangi, as at other trading posts, the Arabs introduced new crops and new methods of cultivation.Шаблон:Sfn By the time the Belgians took control of the region, the Arabs had established thriving rice farms which produced a surplus of produce for sale. However, the new colonial administrators began requisitioning labor to work on the rubber plantations, lowering the output of rice.Шаблон:Sfn
Recent times
A 1990 book described Isangi town as being mainly controlled by one influential merchant. At that time, the town had supplies of water and electricity, and had a telephone system. A new hospital was being built. However, the local farmers were not allowed to sell their rice in the market. The merchant wanted to revert to the practice of trading rice in exchange for goods or credit in his store.Шаблон:Sfn
The town is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Isangi in the Archdiocese of Kisangani. The Apostolic Prefecture of Isangi was established on 14 June 1951; on 2 July 1962, it was promoted to the Diocese of Isangi. The Cathédrale Marie Médiatrice is a landmark of the city.Шаблон:Sfn
References
Sources
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite web
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- Шаблон:Cite web
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