Editing Pointe-Noire (section)

==History==
The name Pointe-Noire ("Black Point") originated with [[Portuguese navigators]] who saw a block of black rocks on the headland in 1484. From then on, Pointe-Noire, called in Portuguese ''Ponta Negra'', became a maritime point of reference, and then a small fishing village starting in 1883, after the French signed a treaty with local people, the [[Kingdom of Loango|Loangos]].

In 1910, [[French Equatorial Africa]] (''Afrique équatoriale française'', AEF) was created, and French companies were allowed to exploit the [[Middle Congo]] (modern-day Congo Brazzaville). It soon became necessary to build a railroad that would connect [[Brazzaville]], the terminus of the river navigation on the [[Congo River]] and the [[Ubangui River]], with the Atlantic coast. As [[rapids]] make it impossible to navigate on the Congo River past Brazzaville, and the coastal railroad terminus site had to allow for the construction of a deep-sea port, authorities chose the site of Ponta Negra instead of [[Libreville]] as originally envisaged. In 1923, it was chosen to be the terminus of the [[Congo-Ocean Railway]] (CFCO).<ref>John Frank Clark, Samuel Decalo, ''Historical Dictionary of Republic of the Congo'', Scarecrow Press, USA, 2012, p. 365</ref>

[[File:US Navy 100118-N-2468S-001 The guided-missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58) prepares to moor for a port visit at Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo as part of Africa Partnership Station (APS) West. While in port, Samuel.jpg|thumb|right|[[USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58)|USS ''Samuel B. Roberts'']] visiting the Port of Pointe Noire]]
In 1927, drinking water became available in the city, which had about 3,000 inhabitants. The airport was built in 1932. In 1934, Governor [[Raphael Antonetti]] inaugurated the [[Congo-Ocean Railway]]. The first hospital was built in 1936. That same year, Paris-based [[Banque de l'Afrique Occidentale]] opened its first branch in the city. In 1942, the [[Pointe-Noire Harbour]] welcomed its first ship, and made the city the AEF's [[seaport]].

In 1950, Pointe-Noire had 20,000 inhabitants, and became the capital of the [[Middle Congo]], while Brazzaville was the [[capital (political)|capital city]] of the AEF.  In 1957, the Middle-Congo became the Republic of Congo, although it was still not independent. Incidents which occurred during 1958 legislative elections led the leaders of the [[Democratic Union for the Defence of African Interests]] (''Union démocratique pour la défense des interets africains'', UDDIA) to transfer the capital to Brazzaville, since Pointe-Noire was under the influence of the political opposition.

Pointe-Noire continued growing, and was the most modern city in 1960, when Congo gained independence. Then, the oil discovery around 1980 re-attracted people and [[Elf Aquitaine|Elf-Aquitaine]] facilities. The population doubled by 1982, and reached 360,000 in 1994.

Civil wars in 1997 and 1999 caused an influx of refugees from the surrounding provinces ([[Lékoumou Department|Lékoumou]], [[Niari Region|Niari]], [[Bouenza]], [[Pool Region|Pool]]) towards Pointe-Noire, causing the population to climb to over 1 million inhabitants.

Recently [[Politics of the Republic of the Congo|the Government]] has proposed the development of a new bulk resource port to be constructed at [[Point Indienne]], {{convert|30|km}} to the north of the Port of Pointe-Noire. A meeting was held on 18 December 2012 with a collective of 10 Congo government ministries and invited mining companies to discuss future development opportunities.