paragraph_text: The Mississippi River is the chief river of the second - largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. The stream is entirely within the United States (although its drainage basin reaches into Canada), its source is Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota and it flows generally south for 2,320 miles (3,730 km) to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth - longest and fifteenth - largest river in the world by discharge. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

paragraph_text: Babassoua is a village in the Lobaye region in the Central African Republic southwest of the capital, Bangui and near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

paragraph_text: The Beaverhead River is an approximately tributary of the Jefferson River in southwest Montana (east of the Continental Divide). It drains an area of roughly . The river's original headwaters, formed by the confluence of the Red Rock River and Horse Prairie Creek, are now flooded under Clark Canyon Reservoir, which also floods the first of the river. The Beaverhead then flows through a broad valley northward to join the Big Hole River and form the Jefferson River. With the Red Rock River included in its length, the river stretches another , for a total length of , one of the more significant drainages of south-western Montana.

paragraph_text: The Luvua River (or "Lowa River") is a river in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It flows from the northern end of Lake Mweru on the Zambia-Congo border in a northwesterly direction for to its confluence with the Lualaba River opposite the town of Ankoro. The Lualaba becomes the Congo River below the Boyoma Falls.

paragraph_text: The Republic of the Congo (French: République du Congo), also known as Congo, Congo Republic, West Congo[citation needed], or Congo-Brazzaville, is a country located in Central Africa. It is bordered by five countries: Gabon to the west; Cameroon to the northwest; the Central African Republic to the northeast; the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the east and south; and the Angolan exclave of Cabinda to the southwest.

paragraph_text: Pingtung Plain () is a plain area including parts of Pingtung County and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan. It includes the alluvial fan of Kaoping River, which forms the largest drainage area of rivers in Taiwan, and also passed by other shorter rivers such as Tungkang River, Linbian River and Shihwen River (士文溪). The plain faces the Taiwan Strait on the southwest, lies to the east of Kaohsiung City, and at the west of Central Mountain Range.

paragraph_text: Sustut Peak, 2481 m (8140 ft), prominence: 1231 m, is the highest summit in the drainage of the Sustut River in British Columbia, Canada. Located in the Hogem Ranges west of Sustut Lake, which is at the Sustut River's headwaters, it is 8 km southwest of the road to the Kemess Mine

paragraph_text: The southwest of the country is a coastal plain for which the primary drainage is the Kouilou-Niari River; the interior of the country consists of a central plateau between two basins to the south and north. Forests are under increasing exploitation pressure.

paragraph_text: The Mongala River in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo is a tributary of the Congo River. The Ebola River forms the headstream of the Mongala River.

paragraph_text: The Battle of Mohi (today Muhi), also known as Battle of the Sajó River or Battle of the Tisza River (11 April 1241), was the main battle between the Mongol Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary during the Mongol invasion of Europe. It took place at Muhi, southwest of the Sajó River. After the invasion, Hungary lay in ruins. Nearly half of the inhabited places had been destroyed by the invading armies. Around 15–25 percent of the population was lost, mostly in lowland areas, especially in the Great Hungarian Plain, the southern reaches of the Hungarian plain in the area now called the Banat and in southern Transylvania.

paragraph_text: Mayombe (or Mayumbe) is a geographic area on the western coast of Africa occupied by low mountains extending from the mouth of the Congo River in the south to the Kouilou-Niari River to the north. The area includes parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola (Cabinda Province), the Republic of the Congo and Gabon.

paragraph_text: The Tumen River, also known as the Tuman River or Duman River (), is a long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea and Russia, rising on the slopes of Mount Paektu and flowing into Sea of Japan. The river has a drainage basin of 33,800 km (13,050 sq mi).

paragraph_text: The Kenogami River is a river in the James Bay drainage basin in Thunder Bay and Cochrane districts in Northern Ontario, Canada, which flows north from Long Lake near Longlac to empty into the Albany River. The river is in length and its name means "long water" in the Cree language. A portion of the river's headwaters have been diverted into the Lake Superior drainage basin.

paragraph_text: To better illustrate this idea, Bassett focuses his analysis of the role of nineteenth-century maps during the "scramble for Africa". He states that maps "contributed to empire by promoting, assisting, and legitimizing the extension of French and British power into West Africa". During his analysis of nineteenth-century cartographic techniques, he highlights the use of blank space to denote unknown or unexplored territory. This provided incentives for imperial and colonial powers to obtain "information to fill in blank spaces on contemporary maps".

paragraph_text: Lefini River is a river of the Republic of Congo and a tributary of the Congo River. Henry Morton Stanley reached the confluence on 9 March 1877.

paragraph_text: The Geehi River rises below Mount Jagungal, part of Strumbo Range within the Kosciuszko National Park, and flows generally southwest before reaching its confluence with the Swampy Plain River, below Mount Youngal, near the locality of Geehi. The river descends over its course.

paragraph_text: The Waimea River is a tributary of the Mataura River in Southland, New Zealand. The Waimea Plains around this river form part of the Southland Plains.

paragraph_text: The Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão reached the mouth of the Congo in 1484. Commercial relationships quickly grew between the inland Bantu kingdoms and European merchants who traded various commodities, manufactured goods, and people captured from the hinterlands. After centuries as a major hub for transatlantic trade, direct European colonization of the Congo river delta began in the late 19th century, subsequently eroding the power of the Bantu societies in the region.

paragraph_text: The Mississippi River is the chief river of the second - largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. Flowing entirely in the United States (although its drainage basin reaches into Canada), it rises in northern Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for 2,320 miles (3,730 km) to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 31 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth - longest and fifteenth - largest river in the world by discharge. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

paragraph_text: Gibson Lake is a lake in geographic Biggar Township, Nipissing District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is in the Saint Lawrence River drainage basin and lies within Algonquin Provincial Park. The major outflow, at the southwest, is Gibson Creek which flows to the Nipissing River, and then via the Petawawa River and the Ottawa River to the Saint Lawrence River.

Question: Who besides the British colonized the continent where the river that serves as drainage for the southwest plain of the Congo is located?
Answer: French