Orientale Province


Orientale Province is one of the former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its predecessors the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. It went through a series of boundary changes between 1898 and 2015, when it was divided into smaller units.
The District of Orientale Province was created from Stanley Falls District on 15 July 1898.
The district was expanded to become Orientale Province in 1913. It was divided in 1933 into Costermansville 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-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri and Tshopo districts. 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

On 15 July 1898 the Stanley Falls District became the District of Orientale Province, 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 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:
NameDistrictTerritoryPop. 2010Coordinates
AketiBas-Uele DistrictAketi Territory40,507
AngoBas-Uele DistrictAngo Territory8,381
AruIturi DistrictAru Territory29,801
BafwasendeTshopo DistrictBafwasende Territory14,504
BambesaBas-Uele DistrictBambesa Territory14,959
BasokoTshopo DistrictBasoko Territory50,352
BondoBas-Uele DistrictBondo Territory18,118
BuniaIturi DistrictIrumu Territory327,837
ButaBas-Uele DistrictButa Territory53,401
DjuguIturi DistrictDjugu Territory27,112
DunguHaut-Uele DistrictDungu Territory26,894
IrumuIturi DistrictIrumu Territory10,387
IsiroHaut-Uele DistrictRungu Territory174,551
Kisangani868,672
KitukuIturi DistrictIrumu Territory43,460
MahagiIturi DistrictMahagi Territory18,743
MongbwaluIturi DistrictDjugu Territory29,672
NiangaraHaut-Uele DistrictNiangara Territory13,504
OpalaTshopo DistrictOpala Territory15,569
PokoBas-Uele DistrictPoko Territory10,873
UbunduTshopo DistrictUbundu Territory13,332
WambaHaut-Uele DistrictWamba Territory17,651
WatsaHaut-Uele DistrictWatsa Territory31,978
YahumaTshopo DistrictYahuma Territory4,857
YangambiTshopo DistrictIsangi Territory40,932