History of Kisangani

On July 15, 1898, Stanleyville began serving as the capital of the relatively prosperous District of the Eastern Province Stanley falls. City status was achieved by incorporation Order No. 12/357 on 6 September 1958, which divided Stanleyville into 4 municipalities: Belgian I, Belgian II, Brussels and Stanley. Towards the end of 1958, the city became the stronghold of Patrice Emery Lumumba, the leader of the political party Mouvement National Congolais (MNC). His strong ties with the city had been forged during his days as one of 350 clerks at the central post office. After the assassination of Lumumba in 1961, Antoine Gizenga installed a government that competed with the central government in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). Before the country gained independence from Belgium in 1960, Kisangani was reputed to have more Rolls-Royces per capita than any other city in the world.

Stanleyville served as the capital and center of the secessionist independent state of the Republic of Congo during the bloody seize of the Orientale and Kivu provinces by Simba rebels in late 1964. During the Congo Crisis, the Simbas took over 1,600 Belgian and other European hostages and after 111 days of negotiating, Operation Dragon Rouge was launched by the United States, Belgium, and the Congolese Army which included a mercenary force called "L'Ommegang" under the command of Colonel Frederic Vandewalle to free the hostages. 1,000 government troops of the Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC), ferret armoured cars and 100 vehicles loaded with gasoline and ammo made the final leap to Stanleyville. The airborne assault phase of the hostage rescue operation was referred to as Operation Dragon Rouge, and "Mad" Mike Hoare and his mercenary unit, 5 Commando ANC, also were part of Vandewalle's assault column.

In 1966