Originally published in 1969, this is a study of the Congolese community of Kinsangani (formerly Stanleyville), as it was in 1952-3 under Belgian administration. It pays particular attention to the tribal heterogeneity of the community, and to the processes of absorption of urban-dwellers who made up substantial proportions of the population. Although by comparison with Kinshasa and Lubambashi, Kisangani was a minor boom-town and by far the largest and most diversified urban centre in a vast and varied region. The book analyses the diversity and growth of the community and traces...