Basankusu
| Basankusu | |
|---|---|
Basankusu Market
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 Basankusu
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| Coordinates: 1°13′20″N 19°48′10″E / 1.22222°N 19.80278°ECoordinates: 1°13′20″N 19°48′10″E / 1.22222°N 19.80278°E | |
| Country |
 Democratic Republic of the Congo
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| Province | Équateur Province |
| District | Équateur District |
| Territory | Basankusu Territory |
| Elevation | 1,217 ft (371 m) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 23,764 |
| • Languages | Lomongo, Lingala, French |
| Time zone | West Africa Time (UTC+1) |
| Climate | Af |
Basankusu is a town in Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the main town and administrative centre of the Basankusu Territory. In 2004, it had an estimated population of 23,764. It has a gravel airstrip, covered and open markets, a hospital, and two cellphone networks, which were installed in 2006. The town is also known as a centre for bonobo conservation efforts. Despite such developments, most inhabitants live at a subsistence level: hunting, fishing, keeping chickens and keeping a vegetable plot. In 2010, the workers at the local palm plantation would earn an average monthly salary of $40 (US dollars), most others would have much less.
The location of the town on the Lulonga River, a tributary of the Congo, at the confluence of the Lopori and Maringa Rivers has contributed to its success as a centre for trade in the region. Set deep in tropical rainforest, the rivers serve as the highways for transport of people as well as goods.
Historically, Basankusu holds some dark stories of exploitation during the times of the Abir Congo Company but was also the gateway to much of Equateur Province for those individuals involved in the reforms which came from the Casement Report and the Berlin conference of 1884-5
The name Basankusu is said to have been misunderstood by its European explorers and colonisers, who lacked knowledge of the local language. The Mongo group that founded Basankusu were the Okutsu; their descendants were called the Basaa Okutsu, meaning the "children of the Okutsu". This name was contracted slightly into the name Basaa'kutsu.
Another account of the etymology of Basankusu is that it comes from basa ba nkoso, meaning "quarrelling parrots", or possibly Baasa bankoso, "small parrots".
Basankusu was the first trading post of the Abir Congo Company (ABIR) along the Congo River from Kinshasa (then known as Leopoldville), the capital of the Congo. Later known as the Compagnie du Congo Belge, the Abir Congo Company harvested natural rubber in the 19th and early 20th century. It was granted a large concession with the rights to tax the inhabitants, taken in the form of rubber. The collection system revolved around a series of trading posts along the two main rivers in the concession – the Lopori and the Maringa. Each post was commanded by a European agent and manned with armed sentries to enforce taxation and punish any rebels.
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Wikipedia