1661: Congo and Zaire Jul 2, 2019

It is very common to see a nation state named after the people, or nation, who inhabit it, such as with 'England'. This was not always the case in colonies though, which often include many people-groups. Many names have changed over the years, such as Burma to Myanmar to be more inclusive, but other times such as Zaire to (the Democratic Republic of the) Congo, the change is not particularly different. 'Zaire' is simply the Portuguese name for the Congo River, which comes from the native 'nzere' of the Kongo people. For a long time in English, the two names for the river, and even the country, were interchangeable. The name was eventually changed to reflect the largest people-group.

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