White Congolese are the people from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who are of European descent and are not part of another racial group.
[citation needed] Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão was the first European to discover the Kingdom of Kongo region.
[3] The post-World War II white population increased steadily until 1960, when Belgium granted the Republic of the Congo its independence.
[citation needed] White settlers were primarily government officials and missionaries, and disproportionately young men.
Belgian officials discouraged large scale immigration of white settlers to set up small businesses until the final 15 years of the colony's existence.