The Congo-Gabon-Angolan coast, 1818

African coasts had started to get explored and colonised heavily by the Europeans since the 15th century. Although largely Francophile, it was the Portuguese to exploit this land in the initial years of colonisation. Among which, the today's countries of Angola and Mozambique, were the major Portuguese colonies at one time on the African continent. But alongside Angola lies another massive African vegetation, a paradise of natural resources that was heavily benefited by a nation that had colonies nowhere else. The Belgians held their brutal colonial dominance over a major portion of the Congo basin throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, especially under the notoriously famous Belgian ruler, King Leopold II (he ruled between 1865 to 1909). 

Focusing on an entity known as the 'Free State' that was associated with a few handfuls of countries throughout history. The following were some of the 'Free State(s)' that ever existed. 

• The Free State of Costa Rica (1838-1847)
• The Orange Free State (1854-1900; in South Africa)
• The Free State of Icaria (1912; Ikaria, in Greece)
• The Free State of Fiume (1920-1924; today's Rijeka, in Croatia)
• The Irish Free State (1922-1937)

Apart from the above, there were the numerous Free States in modern-day's Germany, Poland and Russia. But unlike the German and Russian versions, the Congo Free State that existed between 1884 to 1908 was a full-fledged Belgian colony. The today's Democratic Republic of Congo, also well-known as Congo-Kinshasa (to separate it from the neighbouring Republic of Congo / Congo-Brazzaville) was first colonised in 1878 with the establishment of the International Association for the Exploration and Civilization of Central Africa (Association Internationale pour l'exploration et la Civilisation de l'Afrique Centrale) in 1876, part of the 'Scramble of Africa' plan of the Europeans. The capital city Léopoldville or the modern-day Kinshasa was established on the River Zaire (or River Congo) in 1881 by a Welsh-American explorer, Henry Morton Stanley. But going a step back to the colonial era, the Congo River Basin and the Angolan coast was inhabited by several indigenous African tribes, marked as ill-shaped corridors by European cartographers.

Back in the 18th century, the coast was populated by kingdoms of Loango, Congo, Angola, Benguela, Mazula, Bamba, Pemba etc. Marking boundaries between Jumba (or Mayumba, Gabon) to Cape Negro (in Angola), the entire belt saw dramatic European expeditions in the mid-19th century. With kingdoms of Angola and Congo (or Kongo) majorly under the Portuguese, the French were the immediate power in Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville region. Within a short span, King Leopold II's private occupation along the River Zaire expanded to the entire river basin and the ownership of Congo Free State under his name was established in 1885. Listing down here the names of all the ethnic African groups that were once spotted on the 18th-century African coast of Angola-Congo-Gabon. 

• Loango
• Dingi
• Piri
• Kacongo
• Angoy
• Chim Fooca
• Conco
• Sundi
• Pango
• Batta
• Pemba
• Ovando
• Mazula
• Bamba
• Sonho
• Banza
• Quisamas
• Rimba
• Lubola
• Kabasa
• Oacco
• Sella
• Benguela
• Sumbis
• Jaga Caconda
• Matamba
• Oarii
• Ganghella
• Bondo

Among the above mentioned, Angola and Congo would expand to become future territories divided among colonists. The capital of Angola, Luanda, is mentioned as Loando St. Paul while certain rivers are shown christened after European names as well. The River Longa that flows through the Angolan provinces of Bengo and Cuanza Sul, has been seen to be marked as River Cuba, although it has no connection with Cuba whatsoever. Interestingly, there was Cuban involvement in the 1975 Angolan civil war and the independence struggle but it has nothing to do with why the Longa River was named River Cuba. A similar-sounding name of another smaller river, Cuvo (or Quvou) exists passing through the cities of Porto Amboim and Sumbe. Another river with the name Bentiaba is mentioned as St. Nicholas River (Rio de São Nicolau) while another with the name Rio dos Ramos is also shown flowing through the country. Today's Angola is still living its colonial history among various place names and Portuguese is still the official language of the country. The same logic goes for both the Congo's, where French is the official language of the two countries (since French is one of the official languages of Belgium) although indigenous languages such as Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba etc. are national languages as well. 

An interesting feature of African colonisation is that for a greater part of the 19th century, the European connection with African royalties was more of vassalages and tributary states since at this time both Europe and Africa had their sovereign states as various monarchs. Belgium continues to be a constitutional monarch while Portugal is a sovereign republic. But in the 19th century, both Portugal and Belgium were absolute monarchs and hence there were monarchial or royal alliances between these European and African kingdoms. 

Like how the royalties such as Kings and Queens is used in the English world, the Bantu kingdoms used the title Ngola a Kiluanje for the kings (thus, the name Angola). Another royal title that is said to be in use in these kingdoms was Mutinù, a title that was mostly used since the medieval era. But the slow and forced Europeanisation of African kingdoms affected to change the royalties as well, and hence on all the European maps of Africa, one would find names such as 'Duchy of Dvando' or 'County of Songo' etc. Another mispronunciation and misinterpretation of local Bantu names just for the simplification of European pronunciations, lead to many changes, such as Mpemba became Pemba, Mbamba as Bamba, Mbata as Batta, Ngola as Angola, Nsoyo as Kacongo or Caçongo etc. 

But this doesn't mean that whitewashing of African names has removed any African linkage to political names completely. Modern-day African borders may be of European origin, but most of the names of various African political entities are well-rooted in local languages. The name Kongo has been replaced by Congo (a common trait of European christening of non-European places started with the letter 'K') but the term Zaire (the former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) is also an Angolan province's name. Interestingly, one of the provinces of the DRC is christened as Kongo-Central. 

Below here is recreated version of an 1818 dated map of the Angola-Gabon-Congo coast, created by Daniel Lizars, a Scottish engraver (1793-1875).