Before Henry Morton Stanley, working on behalf of King Leopold II of Belgium, founded what would become Stanley Falls Station in 1883, on the Island of Wana Rusari in the Congo River, the area was inhabited by a native Congolese tribe known as the Clans of Enya, who had used Wagenia Falls (former name Stanley Falls) for fishing.
The island is located a few meters from the shore site of the present town on the Lualaba River its 7 falls spread over 100 kilometres (62 mi) between Kisangani and Ubundu.

Some 1,300 miles (2,100 km) from the mouth of the Congo River, Stanley founded the area's first trading post in December 1883.
The settlement was known first as Falls Station (or "the Post Stanley Falls" or "The Falls" or simply "Boyoma" the African name of Boyoma Falls) and then with Belgian colonization of the area, it grew into a settlement called Stanleyville.
A city terminus of steamer navigation on the Congo River, the town began as a trading post.
It has been the major centre of the northern Congo since the late 19th century.

Stanley left Mr. Binnie, an engineer who was a Scotsman, in charge to trade with the local people and to represent the area's authority of king Leopold's Congo Free State.
The name "Kisangani" was apparently used consistently by the local people, while the name "Stanleyville" was used in French (and Stanleystad in Dutch).
In Swahili the manual published by the Marist Brothers in the 1920s, we find an example of substitution naming "from X to Stanleyville" which is translated "toka X Mpaka Kisangani".
The name "Kisangani" is a Swahili rendering of the indigenous Congolese language word Boyoma, meaning "City on the Island", also rendered in Lingala as Singitini (or Singatini) with the same meaning.

Soon after the establishment of ties between the Africans and Europeans, slavers from Zanzibar, traditionally called "Arabs" by European writers of the time, reached Stanley Falls from the east.
Relations between Free State officials and the slavers were strained and after a fight, the station was abandoned in 1887.

After the Arab-Euro wars in the Congo, in 1888 the Free State obtained (after negotiations in Zanzibar) an agreement to establish a form of power by appointing Mohammed Bin Alfan Mujreb Tippu Tip, one of the greatest Zanzibar slavers as first governor of the district of "Stanley Falls" stretching from eastern Tanganyika in Ituri through Maniema.
Ultimately the Europeans sent by Leopold gained complete control of the vast area in central Africa.
On 15 July 1898, Stanleyville began serving as the capital of the relatively prosperous District of the Eastern Province of Stanley Falls.

Official city status was achieved 50 years after the Congo Free State was taken over by Belgian Government, by incorporation Order No.
12/357 on 6 September 1958, which divided Stanleyville into 4 municipalities: Belgian I, Belgian II, Brussels and Stanley.
Towards the end of 1958, the city became the stronghold of Patrice Emery Lumumba, the leader of the political party Mouvement National Congolais (MNC).
His strong ties with the city had been forged during his days as one of 350 clerks at the central post office.
Ethiopian ONUC troops arrived in the city after July 1960.
After the assassination of Lumumba in 1961, Antoine Gizenga installed the Free Republic of the Congo in Stanleyville, that competed with the central government in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa).
Before the country gained independence from Belgium in 1960, Kisangani was reputed to have more Rolls-Royces per capita than any other city in the world.

In early 1964, the Simba Rebellion ("Simba Revolution") occurred, mushrooming into outright rebellion by May and June.
By August rebels had overrun Stanleyville from their bases in Wanie Rukula.
They closed the airport and barred civilians from leaving, including at least one foreign consular staff.
A number of American and European nationals taken captive, and following intense negotiations Operation Dragon Rouge was launched by Belgium, the Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC), and a plethora of foreign mercena
Before Henry Morton Stanley, working on behalf of King Leopold II of Belgium, founded what would become Stanley Falls Station in 1883, on the Island of Wana Rusari in the Congo River, the area was inhabited by a native Congolese tribe known as the Clans of Enya, who had used Wagenia Falls (former name Stanley Falls) for fishing. The island is located a few meters from the shore site of the present town on the Lualaba River its 7 falls spread over 100 kilometres (62 mi) between Kisangani and Ubundu.
Some 1,300 miles (2,100 km) from the mouth of the Congo River, Stanley founded the area's first trading post in December 1883. The settlement was known first as Falls Station (or "the Post Stanley Falls" or "The Falls" or simply "Boyoma" the African name of Boyoma Falls) and then with Belgian colonization of the area, it grew into a settlement called Stanleyville. A city terminus of steamer navigation on the Congo River, the town began as a trading post. It has been the major centre of the northern Congo since the late 19th century.
Stanley left Mr. Binnie, an engineer who was a Scotsman, in charge to trade with the local people and to represent the area's authority of king Leopold's Congo Free State. The name "Kisangani" was apparently used consistently by the local people, while the name "Stanleyville" was used in French (and Stanleystad in Dutch). In Swahili the manual published by the Marist Brothers in the 1920s, we find an example of substitution naming "from X to Stanleyville" which is translated "toka X Mpaka Kisangani". The name "Kisangani" is a Swahili rendering of the indigenous Congolese language word Boyoma, meaning "City on the Island", also rendered in Lingala as Singitini (or Singatini) with the same meaning.
Soon after the establishment of ties between the Africans and Europeans, slavers from Zanzibar, traditionally called "Arabs" by European writers of the time, reached Stanley Falls from the east. Relations between Free State officials and the slavers were strained and after a fight, the station was abandoned in 1887.
After the Arab-Euro wars in the Congo, in 1888 the Free State obtained (after negotiations in Zanzibar) an agreement to establish a form of power by appointing Mohammed Bin Alfan Mujreb Tippu Tip, one of the greatest Zanzibar slavers as first governor of the district of "Stanley Falls" stretching from eastern Tanganyika in Ituri through Maniema. Ultimately the Europeans sent by Leopold gained complete control of the vast area in central Africa. On 15 July 1898, Stanleyville began serving as the capital of the relatively prosperous District of the Eastern Province of Stanley Falls. 
Official city status was achieved 50 years after the Congo Free State was taken over by Belgian Government, by incorporation Order No. 12/357 on 6 September 1958, which divided Stanleyville into 4 municipalities: Belgian I, Belgian II, Brussels and Stanley. Towards the end of 1958, the city became the stronghold of Patrice Emery Lumumba, the leader of the political party Mouvement National Congolais (MNC). His strong ties with the city had been forged during his days as one of 350 clerks at the central post office. Ethiopian ONUC troops arrived in the city after July 1960. After the assassination of Lumumba in 1961, Antoine Gizenga installed the Free Republic of the Congo in Stanleyville, that competed with the central government in Leopoldville (now Kinshasa). Before the country gained independence from Belgium in 1960, Kisangani was reputed to have more Rolls-Royces per capita than any other city in the world.
In early 1964, the Simba Rebellion ("Simba Revolution") occurred, mushrooming into outright rebellion by May and June. By August rebels had overrun Stanleyville from their bases in Wanie Rukula. They closed the airport and barred civilians from leaving, including at least one foreign consular staff. A number of American and European nationals taken captive, and following intense negotiations Operation Dragon Rouge was launched by Belgium, the Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC), and a plethora of foreign mercena
Kisangani