Orientale Province

History

On 15 July 1898 the Stanley Falls District became the District of Orientale Province (District de la province Orientale), with Stanleyville as its headquarters. The Lualaba District in the south was split off at this time. The district was also called Stanleyville District. In 1910 the new vice-government general of Katanga was formed the south, with parts of Lualaba District and parts of Stanleyville.

Orientale/Oost Province was formed in 1913 in the Belgian Congo from the District of Orientale Province, 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 from the amalgamation of the Uele, Kibali-Ituri and Haut-Congo provinces. In 2015 it was 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.

Approximate correspondence between historical divisions and current provinces

Divisions

The province was divided into the city of Kisangani and the districts of Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri and Tshopo. Cities and towns, with their 2010 populations, are:

References

Bibliography

References

1. (2014-07-23). "Sexual slavery rife in Democratic Republic of the Congo, says MSF".
2. "Haut-Congo: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer.