Download or read book Zaire written by Dawn Elaine Bastian and published by Oxford, England : Clio Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Zaire remains a relatively unknown country, despite the fact that it is one of the largest and most geopolitically strategic nations in Africa and has played a significant role in recent African and international affairs. Europeans first arrived in the area when the Portuguese explored the Congo River Basin in 1483. Isolated from developments in other parts of Africa until the mid-1950s, Zairians subsequently became conscious of the liberation struggles taking place in neighbouring countries and finally gained full independence themselves in 1960.