Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo Central province, adjacent to the border with Angola. It had a population of 245,862 (2004). Matadi is situated on the left bank of the Congo River, 148 km (92 mi) from the mouth and 8 km (5.0 mi) below the last navigable point before the rapids that make the river impassable for a long stretch upriver.
History
The market, 1899
Matadi was near the site of the state of Vungu, which was first mentioned in 1535 [4] and was said to be destroyed in 1624.
Matadi itself was founded by Sir Henry Morton Stanley in 1879. It was strategically important because it was the last navigable port going upstream on the Congo River; it became the furthest inland port in the Congo Free State. The construction of the Matadi–Kinshasa Railway (built between 1890 and 1898) made it possible to transport goods from deeper within Congo's interior to the port of Matadi, stimulating the city to become an important trading center. Portuguese and French West-African commercial interests influenced the city's architecture and urban design, which borrowed from the neighboring colonies in Angola and the Congo-Brazzaville.[5]
Culture
The word Matadi means stone in the local Kikongo language. The town is built on steep hills. A local saying is that to live in Matadi, you must know the verbs "to go up", "to go down", and "to sweat". Upstream is a series of caves known as the "rock of Diogo Cão", after graffiti carved by the Portuguese explorer in 1485 marking the limit of his travels up the Congo River.
Former building of M'pozo dam in Matadi.Matadi train station, September 2015
The mouth of the Congo forms one of Africa's largest harbours. In addition to Matadi, which is the furthest upriver, three ports are located within it, the others being Boma and Banana in DR Congo and Soyo in Angola. Matadi serves as a major import and export point for the whole nation. Chief exports are coffee and timber. The state fishing company "Pemarza" uses the port to supply fish to Kinshasa. Tshimpi Airport is nearby but is reportedly inactive because of continued warfare.[citation needed]
Matadi Bridge, a suspension bridge 722 m- long with a main span of 520 m, built in 1983, crosses the river just south of Matadi, carrying the main road linking Kinshasa to the coast. After passing through Matadi and over the bridge, it continues to Boma, Muanda and Banana. Although built as a mixed rail and road bridge, no rail line is now operating over the bridge. Matadi is the port railhead for the 366 km long Matadi-Kinshasa Railway, constructed to bypass the rapids on the river upstream. A monument to the builders of the railway stands on a nearby hill.[citation needed]
Currently, larger ships are required to transfer cargo to smaller vessels in the Republic of Congo's Pointe-Noire port. For this reason, the development of a deep-sea port at Port Banana was begun in 2022.[8]
Media
La Cité africaine de Matadi is a newspaper published in French in Matadi.[9]
^Afonso I to the Pope Paulo III, 21 February 1535 in Antonio Brasio, ed. Monumenta Missionaria Africana (15 vols, Lisbon 1952-88) 2: 38.
^History of architecture: city, architecture and
colonial space in Matadi and Lubumbashi, Sofie Boonen, "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-11.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Lagae, J. (2019). ""Pour Matadi la question [de la ségrégation] est encore plus grave qu'ailleurs": The Making and Shaping of a Congolese Port City during the Interwar Years". In Vanderlinden, J. (ed.). The Belgian Congo between the Two World Wars. Brussels: Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences. pp. 129–158. ISBN9789075652628.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
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