The Republic of the Congo (French: République du Congo), also known as the Congo Republic, or Congo-Brazzaville,Congo is located in the central-western part of sub-Saharan Africa, along the Equator, lying between latitudes 4°N and 5°S, and longitudes 11° and 19°E. To the south and east of it is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is also bounded by Gabon to the west, Cameroon and the Central African Republic to the north, and Cabinda (Angola) to the southwest. It has a short coast on the Atlantic Ocean.
The capital, Brazzaville, is located on the Congo River, in the south of the country, immediately across from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The southwest of the country is a coastal plain for which the primary drainage is the Kouilou-Niari River; the interior of the country consists of a central plateau between two basins to the south and north. Forests are under increasing exploitation pressure.
The French Congo was the original French colony established in the present-day area
of the Republic of the Congo, Gabon,
and the Central African Republic.
It began in 1880 as a protectorate, and its borders with Cabinda, Cameroons, and the Congo Free State were established by treaties over the next
decade. French Congo was temporarily divided between Gabon and Middle Congo in
1906, before being reunited as French Equatorial Africa
in 1910 in an attempt to copy the relative success of French West Africa.
The first postage stamps for the colony were overprints issued in 1891 on the generic issue for the French colonies. They read "Congo francais" followed
by the value; either 5c, 10c, or 15c. In 1892 the omnibus Navigation and Commerce
issue included stamps inscribed "CONGO FRANCAIS". A pictorial series
followed in 1900; its images included a leopard, Bakalois woman, and
a coconut grove, printed in pairs of colors, some rather garish.
A couple of provisional surcharges on the Navigation and Commerce
stamps proved necessary in 1900, and two more were needed on the pictorials in
1903. Stamps of
French Congo were replaced by the issues of Gabon
and Middle Congo in 1904
The first stamps
used in the area were those of French Congo in 1891. The stamps of French Congo were also
used in Gabon, and later in Ubangi-Shari in 1893. From 1907, stamps were inscribed
"Moyen Congo" (Middle Congo) which were used in Ubangi-Shari and Chad as well. As Middle Congo was joined to French Equatorial Africa,
stamps were overprinted in 1924 with the inscription "Afrique Equatoriale
Française". Stamps were issued for Middle Congo until being replaced by
the stamps of French Equatorial Africa in 1936.
Middle Congo became an autonomous state within the French Community on 28 November 1958 and was renamed the Republic of the Congo The
first stamp of the Republic of the Congo was issued on 28 November 1959. Congo
gained full independence on 15 August 1960. Between 1970 and 1991, the country
was known as The People's Republic of the Congo
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