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95-606: As of 1 January 1894 the Société anonyme belge pour le commerce du Haut-Congo (SAB) had 83 factories and posts, including some in the French territory to the west of the Congo and Ubangi rivers. A map shows the company had posts along the upper Ruki River (i.e. the Busira) at Bilakamba , Bombimba , Bussira Manene , Moniaca , Bocoté and Yolongo . It also had a post at Bomputu on

190-536: A colony belonging to Belgium after international pressure. Leopold's reign in the Congo eventually earned infamy on account of the atrocities perpetrated on the locals . Ostensibly, the Congo Free State aimed to bring civilization to the local people and to develop the region economically. In reality, Leopold II's administration extracted ivory , rubber , and minerals from the upper Congo basin for sale on

285-563: A colony for himself and inspired by recent reports from central Africa, Leopold began patronizing a number of leading explorers, including Henry Morton Stanley . Leopold established the International African Association , a charitable organization to oversee the exploration and surveying of a territory based around the Congo River , with the stated goal of bringing humanitarian assistance and civilization to

380-664: A district or the rubber concession, for example. The other zone—almost two-thirds of the Congo—became the Domaine Privé , the exclusive private property of the state. In 1893, Leopold excised the most readily accessible 259,000 km (100,000 sq mi) portion of the Free Trade Zone and declared it to be the Domaine de la Couronne , literally, "fief of the crown". Rubber revenue went directly to Leopold who paid

475-542: A domainal system that privatized extraction rights over rubber for the state in certain private domains, allowing Leopold to grant vast concessions to private companies. In other areas, private companies could continue to trade but were highly restricted and taxed. The domainal system enforced an in-kind tax on the Free State's Congolese subjects. As essential intermediaries, local rulers forced their men, women and children to collect rubber, ivory and foodstuffs. Depending on

570-724: A mission to delimit the Bus Bloc at Bussanga (Equateur). The Belgians treated the local people brutally and forced them to extract rubber in appalling conditions. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands died as victims to the agents of the Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company (ABIR) or of the SAB in the Bus-Bloc. The American doctor Louis Jaggard (1877–1951) at the Monieka mission spoke in 1917 with scorn of

665-506: A month to achieve. The heavily loaded carts carried spare parts for the Roi des Belges and Ville de Bruxelles boats. The CCCI and its subsidiary SAB established a steamer service on the Congo in January 1890. However they were hampered by the policy of the Free State which was opposed to competition from the private sector in the field of river transport. The steamer "Brugmann" was built by

760-560: A new umbrella organization. This organization sought to combine the numerous small territories acquired into one sovereign state and asked for recognition from the European powers. On 22 April 1884, thanks to the successful lobbying of businessman Henry Shelton Sanford at Leopold's request, President Chester A. Arthur of the United States decided that the cessions claimed by Leopold from the local leaders were lawful and recognized

855-459: A secretary-general ( secrétaire-général ), who was obligated to enact the policies of the sovereign or else resign. Below the secretaries-general were a series of bureaucrats of decreasing rank: directors general ( directeurs généraux ), directors ( directeurs ), chefs de divisions (division chiefs) and chefs de bureaux (bureau chiefs). The departments were headquartered in Brussels . Finance

950-602: A strip of land on the Free State's eastern border in exchange for the Lado Enclave , which provided access to the navigable Nile and extended the Free State's sphere of influence northward into Sudan . After rubber profits soared in 1895, Leopold ordered the organization of an expedition into the Lado Enclave, which had been overrun by Mahdist rebels since the outbreak of the Mahdist War in 1881. The expedition

1045-421: A word, and to which they sign a cross in order to have peace and to receive gifts, are really only serious matters for the European powers, in the event of disputes over the territories. They do not concern the black sovereign who signs them for a moment." Leopold began to create a plan to convince other European powers of the legitimacy of his claim to the region, all the while maintaining the guise that his work

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1140-524: The Force Publique , and this meant they had to travel deep into the flooded forest for days on end during the rainy season. They made no profit from the rubber, but ran short of food because they could not cultivate their crops at the most important time of the year. By 1934 the Compagnie du Kasai was the second largest palm oil producer in the country after HCB. By 1935 it had sold shares to

1235-493: The Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference (1889–1890), Leopold issued a new decree mandating that Africans in a large part of the Free State could sell their harvested products (mostly ivory and rubber) only to the state. This law extended an earlier decree declaring that all "unoccupied" land belonged to the state. Any ivory or rubber collected from the state-owned land, the reasoning went, must belong to

1330-488: The Brussels Geographic Conference , inviting famous explorers, philanthropists, and members of geographic societies to stir up interest in a "humanitarian" endeavour for Europeans in central Africa to "improve" and " civilize " the lives of the indigenous peoples. At the conference, Leopold organized the International African Association with the cooperation of European and American explorers and

1425-615: The Congo Free State propaganda war , European and US reformers exposed atrocities in the Congo Free State to the public through the Congo Reform Association , founded by Casement and the journalist, author, and politician E. D. Morel . Also active in exposing the activities of the Congo Free State was the author Arthur Conan Doyle , whose book The Crime of the Congo was widely read in the early 1900s. By 1908, public pressure and diplomatic manoeuvres led to

1520-425: The Domaine Privé . Eventually, the Congo Free State was recognized as a neutral independent sovereignty by various European and North American states. Leopold used the title 'Sovereign of the Congo Free State' as ruler of the Congo Free State. He appointed the heads of the three departments of state: interior, foreign affairs and finances. Each was headed by an administrator-general ( administrateur-général ), later

1615-600: The Independent State of the Congo ( French : État indépendant du Congo ), was a large state and absolute monarchy in Central Africa from 1885 to 1908. It was privately owned by King Leopold II , the constitutional monarch of the Kingdom of Belgium . In legal terms, the two separate countries were in a personal union . The Congo Free State was not a part of, nor did it belong to Belgium. Leopold

1710-529: The John Cockerill shipyard in Hoboken, Antwerp , for SAB (Société Anonyme Belge pour le Commerce du Haut-Congo), April 1898. Regulations for the captains of the steamers in 1903 included: 4. The captain alone chooses the camp sites. All black personnel and passengers must spend the night ashore, unless the captain decides otherwise. 5. The captain will ensure that the boat leaves as soon as dawn ;

1805-646: The Matadi-Léopoldville Railway project. The Compagnie du chemin de fer du Congo (CFC) was given 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of land for every 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of line put into operation, as well as a strip 200 metres (660 ft) wide along the railway. The CCCI and CFC lands were mostly grouped into the Bloc de la Busira-Momboyo , created in 1901, along the Busira and Momboyo rivers. This property of 1,041,373 hectares (2,573,290 acres)

1900-608: The New York . It founded posts at Matadi , Kinshasa , Luebo and Equateur ( Mbandaka ). By 1888 the company was running out of money, and attempted without success to obtain funding from various American businessmen. At the end of 1888 the Sanford Exploring Expedition merged with the CCCI to create the SAB. The Société anonyme belge pour le commerce du Haut-Congo (SAB) was founded on 10 December 1888. It

1995-495: The US Navy Congo River Expedition of 1885 , which gave a detailed description of travel along the river. Leopold was able to attract scientific and humanitarian backing for the International African Association ( French : Association internationale africaine , or AIA), which he formed during a Brussels Geographic Conference of geographic societies, explorers, and dignitaries he hosted in 1876. At

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2090-411: The association , and replaced it with an appointed cabinet of Belgians who would do his bidding. To the temporary new capital of Boma , he sent a governor-general and a chief of police. The vast Congo Basin was split up into 14 administrative districts , each district into zones, each zone into sectors, and each sector into posts. From the district commissioners down to post level, every appointed head

2185-467: The 168,512 hectares (416,400 acres) already allocated in the Busira-Momboyo basin, forming a single bloc. It took some time to settle on the limits of the bloc, which were finally established in an agreement on 13 December 1904. The expansion by 500,000 hectares was reduced to 333,535 hectares (824,180 acres), giving a total area of 1,041,373 hectares (2,573,290 acres). The state took back some of

2280-607: The 30 or so traders at Bussira , 4 miles (6.4 km) away, who came to him for treatment. He called them "low down white trash". A rebellion that began in Sankuru in 1920 spread to the SAB's Bus Bloc concession on the Upper Busira. The rebels attacked state posts, trading stations, factories, homes and a Catholic chapel. The military arrived in March 1921 and over the next five months killed at least 115 rebels. On 21 March 1927

2375-623: The Association would administer the Congo for the good of all, handing over power to the natives as soon as they were ready for that responsibility. Leopold wanted to have the United States support his plans for the Congo in order to gain support from the European nations. He had help from American businessman Henry Shelton Sanford , who had recruited Stanley for Leopold. Henry Sanford swayed President Arthur by inviting him to stay as his guest at Sanford House hotel on Lake Monroe while he

2470-519: The Bloc and received a share of the proceeds in compensation. Property rights were shared, with the CFC getting half and the CCCI and SAB each getting a quarter. Between 1902 and 1910 the SAB sublet most of its activities to the Compagnie du Kasaï and Société du Busira concession companies. After this, SAB began to expand again as the concession system was gradually phased out. In 1911 Charles Batjoens headed

2565-651: The Congo Basin were awarded with the État Indépendant du Congo (CFS, Congo Free State). By a resolution passed in the Belgian Parliament, Leopold became roi souverain , sovereign king, of the newly formed CFS, over which he enjoyed nearly absolute control. The CFS (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo), a country of over two million square kilometres, became Leopold's personal property,

2660-512: The Congo region). "Belgium does not need a colony. Belgians are not drawn towards overseas enterprises: they prefer to spend their energy and capital in countries which have already been explored or on less risky schemes ... Still, you can assure His Majesty of my whole-hearted sympathy for the generous plan he had conceived, as long as the Congo does not make any international difficulties for us." Walthère Frère-Orban , Liberal Prime Minister of Belgium , 1878–84. Determined to look for

2755-413: The Congo via Lieutenant Cameron 's 1873 expedition from Zanzibar to bring home Livingstone 's body, but was reluctant to take on yet another expensive, unproductive colony. Bismarck of Germany had vast new holdings in southwest Africa , and had no plans for the Congo, but was happy to see rivals Britain and France excluded from the colony. In 1885, Leopold's efforts to establish Belgian influence in

2850-544: The Congo, near Grand-Popo , Benin , Conrad saw a French man-of-war , Le Seignelay , shelling a native camp hidden in the jungle. The incident would acquire symbolic import in Heart of Darkness . Conrad reached Boma on 12 June 1890 and went on to Matadi , where he met Roger Casement , who later wrote a 1904 report on atrocities perpetrated against the native Congolese population. Conrad went overland to Léopoldville , which he reached on 2 August 1890, and took passage on

2945-525: The Congolese in their land to native villages and farms, essentially making nearly all of the CFS terres domaniales (state-owned land). Leopold further decreed that merchants should limit their commercial operations in rubber trade with the natives. Additionally, the colonial administration liberated thousands of slaves. Four main problems presented themselves over the next few years. Leopold could not meet

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3040-507: The Dark Continent . Failing to enlist British interest in the Congo region, Stanley took up service with Leopold II, who hired him to help gain a foothold in the region and annex the region for himself. From August 1879 to June 1884 Stanley was in the Congo basin, where he built a road from the lower Congo up to Stanley Pool and launched steamers on the upper river. While exploring the Congo for Leopold, Stanley set up treaties with

3135-652: The Free State for the high costs of exploitation. The same rules applied as in the Domaine Privé . In 1896 global demand for rubber soared. From that year onwards, the Congolese rubber sector started to generate vast sums of money at an immense cost for the local population. Early in Leopold's rule, the second problem—the British South Africa Company's expansion into the southern Congo Basin—was addressed. The distant Yeke Kingdom , in Katanga on

3230-460: The Free State government, which not only paid no taxes but also collected all the potential income. These companies were outraged by the restrictions on free trade, which the Berlin Act had so carefully protected years before. Their protests against the violation of free trade prompted Leopold to take another, less obvious tack to make money. A decree in 1892 divided the terres vacantes into

3325-562: The French got the first option to buy the territory if the Association decided to sell. This may also have helped Leopold to gain recognition for his claim by the other major powers, who thus wanted him to succeed instead of selling his claims to France. He also enlisted the aid of the United States, sending President Chester A. Arthur carefully edited copies of the cloth-and-trinket treaties that Stanley (a Welsh-American ) claimed to have negotiated with various local authorities, and proposing that, as an entirely disinterested humanitarian body,

3420-590: The International Association of the Congo's claim on the region, becoming the first country to do so. In 1884, the US Secretary of State said, "The Government of the United States announces its sympathy with and approval of the humane and benevolent purposes of the International Association of the Congo." In November 1884, Otto von Bismarck convened a 14-nation conference to submit the Congo question to international control and to finalize

3515-498: The International Congo Association, and specified that it should have no connection with Belgium (beyond a personal union ), or any other country, but would be under the personal control of King Leopold. It drew specific boundaries and specified that all nations should have access to do business in the Congo with no tariffs. The slave trade would be suppressed. In 1885, Leopold emerged triumphant. France

3610-526: The Lengué (Salonga) River, and posts at Balalondzy, Ivulu and Ivuku on the Momboyo River . The post at Monieka formally established in 1901. The Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (CCCI) was given the right to 150,000 hectares (120,000 acres) of land in return for its services in studying the Matadi-Léopoldville Railway project. 138,000 hectares (340,000 acres) of the CCCI concession

3705-616: The Red Cross to attend their 1877 conference. The International Law Institute was supportive of the project under the belief that it was aimed to abolish the Congo Basin slave trade. Nevertheless, the AIA eventually became a development company controlled by Leopold. After 1879 and the crumbling of the International African Association, Leopold's work was done under the auspices of the "Committee for Studies of

3800-478: The SAB in exchange for a 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) plot in the Manghay region where it was cultivating coffee and cocoa trees. On 26 June 1937 the " Bus Bloc " of the SAB was returned to the state, a huge area of 1,041,773 hectares (2,574,280 acres). The SAB was compensated financially and in land. Joseph Conrad 's novel Heart of Darkness (1899) draws on what he heard or experienced of SAB operations. In

3895-530: The SAB received all the land rights in the bloc. The capital and number of shares in the SAB was increased, and the CCCI and CFC were compensated with shares in SAB. On 26 June 1937 the Bus Bloc was returned to the state, a huge area of 1,041,773 hectares (2,574,280 acres). The SAB was compensated financially and in land. On 19 October 1937 the entire area was opened to free trade. Soci%C3%A9t%C3%A9 anonyme belge pour le commerce du Haut-Congo The Société anonyme belge pour le commerce du Haut-Congo (SAB)

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3990-503: The Upper Congo" ( French : Comité d'Études du Haut-Congo ). The committee, supposedly an international commercial, scientific, and humanitarian group, was in fact made of a group of businessmen who had shares in the Congo, with Leopold holding a large block by proxy. The committee itself eventually disintegrated (but Leopold continued to refer to it and use the defunct organization as a smokescreen for his operations in laying claim to

4085-404: The baggage of all the natives on board. It is strictly forbidden to European or native staff to engage in any trade and particularly to buy ivory and curiosities ... The mechanic will never leave his machine for any pretext ... He will take his meals near the machine while the steamer will be running. A new transport company named Compagnie Industrielle et de Transports au Stanley Pool (CITAS)

4180-676: The colonial partitioning of the African continent. Most major powers (including Austria-Hungary , Belgium , France , Germany , Portugal , Italy , the United Kingdom , Russia , the Ottoman Empire , and the United States ) attended the Berlin Conference , and drafted an international code governing the way that European countries should behave as they acquired African territory. The conference officially recognized

4275-431: The company had 83 factories and posts, including some in the French territory to the west of the Congo and Ubangi rivers. In 1895 12 of the SAB's 68 trading posts were in French territory. In 1900 the concession system was established in the French territory, and presumably SAB direct involvement there ended. The CCCI was given the right to 150,000 hectares (120,000 acres) of land in return for its services in studying

4370-524: The company's commercial agent at Stanley Falls, died of dysentery . His name (later changed to " Kurtz ") appears in the manuscript of Heart of Darkness ; otherwise the Frenchman seems not to have had much in common with the novel's character. Conrad fell sick, returned to the coast and left Africa. His African experience made him one of the fiercest critics of the "white man's mission". Congo Free State The Congo Free State , also known as

4465-474: The conference's "Principle of Effective Occupation" . Following the United States' recognition of Leopold's colony, other Western powers deliberated on the news. Portugal flirted with the French at first, but the British offered to support Portugal's claim to the entire Congo in return for a free trade agreement and to spite their French rivals. Britain was uneasy at French expansion and had a technical claim on

4560-554: The conference, Leopold proposed establishing an international benevolent committee for the propagation of civilization among the peoples of central Africa (the Congo region). The AIA was originally conceived as a multi-national, scientific, and humanitarian assembly, and even invited Gustave Moynier as member of the International Law Institute and president of the International Committee of

4655-470: The costs of running the Congo Free State. Desperately, he set in motion a system to maximize revenue. The first change was the introduction of the concept of terres vacantes , "vacant" land, which was any land that did not contain a habitation or a cultivated garden plot. All of this land (i.e., most of the country) was therefore deemed to belong to the state. Servants of the state (namely any men in Leopold's employ) were encouraged to exploit it. Shortly after

4750-461: The cotton market. Sanford also convinced the people in New York that they were going to abolish slavery and aid travellers and scientists in order to have the public's support. After Henry's actions in convincing President Arthur, the United States was the first country to recognize Congo as a legitimate sovereign state. The United States further participated in the process of recognition by sending

4845-411: The daily navigation time will be at least nine hours ... 9. … The Captain will take care that the men of his crew or the passengers do not arouse any difficulty with the natives of the stopovers… Special regulations on board:… No blacks can have access to the part of the steamer reserved for travelers, except for the service of the boat, as determined by the captain ... The captain has the right to examine

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4940-411: The east African slave trade; promote humanitarian policies; guarantee free trade within the colony; impose no import duties for twenty years; and encourage philanthropic and scientific enterprises. Beginning in the mid-1880s, Leopold first decreed that the state asserted rights of proprietorship over all vacant lands throughout the Congo territory. In three successive decrees, Leopold promised the rights of

5035-631: The end of Leopold II's absolutist rule; the Belgian Parliament annexed the Congo Free State as a colony of Belgium. It became known thereafter as the Belgian Congo . In addition, a number of major Belgian investment companies pushed the Belgian government to take over the Congo and develop the mining sector as it was virtually untapped. Diogo Cão travelled around the mouth of the Congo River in 1482, leading Portugal to claim

5130-529: The first Belgian colonial society to be involved in exploration and exploitation of the Congo. The Sanford Exploring Expedition was created by the American businessman Henry Shelton Sanford in 1886 to trade along the upper Congo River, with concessions granted by King Leopold II of Belgium . The company brought the first commercial steamer up to Stanley Pool, the Florida , and in 1887 bought another steamer,

5225-593: The first half of November 1889 Conrad went to Brussels to meet Albert Thys, then the deputy director of SAB, to discuss employment in Africa. After Johannes Freiesleben, Danish master of the steamship Florida , was murdered by Congo tribesmen on 29 January 1890, Conrad was appointed by Thys' company to take his place. On 10 May 1890, at Bordeaux , he boarded the SS Ville de Maceio to begin what Zdzisław Najder calls "the most traumatic journey of his life." En route to

5320-544: The hands of the Governor-General ( Gouverneur général ), but this office was at times more honorary than real. When the governor-general was in Belgium he was represented in the Congo by a vice governor-general ( vice-gouverneur général ), who was nominally equal in rank to a secretary-general but in fact was beneath them in power and influence. A Comité consultatif (consultative committee) made up of civil servants

5415-409: The high death rate in this period. The highest estimates state that the widespread use of forced labour , torture, and murder led to the deaths of 50 per cent of the population in the rubber provinces. The lack of accurate records makes it difficult to quantify the number of deaths caused by the exploitation and the lack of immunity to new diseases introduced by contact with European colonists. During

5510-733: The interior set up a propaganda office, the Bureau central de la presse ("Central Press Bureau"), in Frankfurt under the auspices of the Comité pour la représentation des intérêts coloniaux en Afrique (in German, Komitee zur Wahrung der kolonialen Interessen in Afrika , "Committee for the Representation of Colonial Interests in Africa"). The oversight of all the departments was nominally in

5605-514: The land outside the bloc, but left the Busira-Manene plantations. The CFC held the bulk of the land, while the CCCI had two sections of 123,000 hectares (300,000 acres) and 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) and the SAB had a small section of 12 hectares (30 acres). Some land was reserved for a native people or for public use. Under the agreement of 27 December 1901 the SAB was responsible for industrial, agricultural and commercial exploitation of

5700-595: The local chiefs and with native leaders. In essence, the documents gave over all rights of their respective pieces of land to Leopold. With Stanley's help, Leopold was able to claim a great area along the Congo River, and military posts were established. Christian de Bonchamps , a French explorer who served Leopold in Katanga , expressed attitudes towards such treaties shared by many Europeans, saying, "The treaties with these little African tyrants, which generally consist of four long pages of which they do not understand

5795-425: The militia Force Publique or turned them over as prisoners to allied local chiefs, who in turn gave them as laborers for the Belgian conscript workers; when Belgian Congo was established, chattel slavery was legally abolished in 1910, but prisoners were nevertheless conscripted as force laborers for both public and private work projects. In 1894, King Leopold II signed a treaty with the United Kingdom which conceded

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5890-437: The natives. In the Berlin Conference of 1884–85, European leaders officially noted Leopold's control over the 2,600,000 km (1,000,000 sq mi) of the notionally independent Congo Free State. To give his African operations a name that could serve for a political entity, Leopold created, between 1879 and 1882, the International Association of the Congo ( French : Association internationale du Congo , or AIC) as

5985-421: The power of local rulers, the Free State paid prices below the rising market prices. In October 1892, Leopold granted concessions to a number of companies. Each company was given a large amount of land in the Congo Free State on which to collect rubber and ivory for sale in Europe. These companies were allowed to detain Africans who did not work hard enough, to police their vast areas as they saw fit and to take all

6080-417: The products of the forest for themselves. In return for their concessions, these companies paid an annual dividend to the Free State. At the height of the rubber boom, from 1901 until 1906, these dividends also filled the royal coffers. The Free Trade Zone in the Congo was open to entrepreneurs of any European nation, who were allowed to buy 10- and 15-year monopoly leases on anything of value: ivory from

6175-402: The railway. The CFC chose 11,500 hectares (28,000 acres) within the future Bus Bloc, and as of 1901 still had 539,326 hectares (1,332,700 acres) unallocated. In an agreement of 9 November 1901 the Congo Free State agreed to allocate the CFC's remaining 539,326 hectares in an area between the Salonga and Busira rivers, and to add another 500,000 hectares (1,200,000 acres), as long as this included

6270-470: The region. Until the middle of the 19th century, the Congo was at the heart of independent Africa, as European colonialists seldom entered the interior. Along with fierce local resistance, the rainforest , swamps, malaria , sleeping sickness , and other diseases made it a difficult environment for Europeans to settle. Western states were at first reluctant to colonize the area in the absence of obvious economic benefits. In 1876 Leopold II of Belgium hosted

6365-410: The river steamer Roi des Belges . During the long journey to Stanley Falls ( Kisangani ) he saw few villages, since the native population had fled from the colonial forces. At Stanley Falls on 6 September 1890 he was temporarily given command of Roi des Belges for the return journey while its captain recovered from a sickness. During this journey Georges-Antoine Klein, who had recently been appointed

6460-416: The same most favoured nation (MFN) status Portugal had offered them. At the same time, Leopold promised Bismarck he would not give any one nation special status, and that German traders would be as welcome as any other. "I do not want to risk ... losing a fine chance to secure for ourselves a slice of this magnificent African cake." King Leopold II, to an aide in London Leopold then offered France

6555-442: The state, thus creating a de facto state-controlled monopoly. Therefore, a large share of the local population could sell only to the state, which could set prices and thereby control the income the Congolese could receive for their work. For local elites, however, this system presented new opportunities, as the Free State and concession companies paid them with guns to tax their subjects in kind. Trading companies began to lose out to

6650-410: The state. However, SAB made efforts to spread the species that produced the most rubber. In 1893 SAB created a string of rubber plantations in the Busira concession, but most rubber was gathered from wild vines in the rainforests. Collection of rubber did not require much skill: the rubber-bearing vine was cut and its sap drained into a bucket. However, the villagers were brutally forced to meet quotas by

6745-402: The support of several European governments, and was himself elected chairman. Leopold used the association to promote plans to seize independent central Africa under this philanthropic guise. Henry Morton Stanley , famous for making contact with British missionary David Livingstone in Africa in 1871, explored the region in 1876–1877, a journey that was described in Stanley's 1878 book Through

6840-403: The support of the association for French ownership of the entire northern bank of the Congo, and sweetened the deal by proposing that, if his personal wealth proved insufficient to hold the entire Congo, as seemed utterly inevitable, that it should revert to France. On 23 April 1884, the International Association's claim on the southern Congo basin was formally recognized by France on condition that

6935-427: The territory that it claimed was patchy, with its few officials concentrated in a number of small and widely dispersed "stations" which controlled only small amounts of hinterland. In 1900, there were just 3,000 Europeans in the Congo, of whom only half were Belgian. The colony was perpetually short of administrative staff and officials, who numbered between 700 and 1,500 during the period. Leopold pledged to suppress

7030-413: The upper Lualaba River , had signed no treaties, was known to be rich in copper and thought to have much gold from its slave-trading activities. Its powerful mwami (King), Msiri , had already rejected a treaty brought by Alfred Sharpe on behalf of Cecil Rhodes . In 1891 a Free State expedition extracted a letter from Msiri agreeing to their agents coming to Katanga and later that year Leopold II sent

7125-510: The upper Congo and engage in the ivory and rubber trade. Its purpose was defined as commercial, industrial, mining and other operations, within the broadest limits, throughout the country and especially in the territory of the Independent State of Congo. On 8 August 1887 Thys and Louis Valcke directed transport of five carts weighing 1,500–3,500 kilograms (3,300–7,700 lb) to Stanley Pool, which took hundreds of local laborers

7220-577: The well-armed Stairs Expedition , led by the Canadian mercenary William Grant Stairs , to take possession of Katanga one way or another. Msiri tried to play the Free State off against Rhodes and when negotiations bogged down, Stairs flew the Free State flag anyway and gave Msiri an ultimatum. Instead, Msiri decamped to another stockade . Stairs sent a force to capture him but Msiri stood his ground, whereupon Captain Omer Bodson shot Msiri dead and

7315-690: The world market through a series of international concessionary companies that brought little benefit to the area. Under Leopold's administration, the Free State became one of the greatest international scandals of the early 20th century. The Casement Report of the British Consul Roger Casement led to the arrest and punishment of officials who had been responsible for killings during a rubber-collecting expedition in 1903. The loss of life and atrocities inspired literature such as Joseph Conrad 's novel Heart of Darkness and raised an international outcry. Debate has been ongoing about

7410-451: Was European. However, with little financial means the Free State mainly relied on local elites to rule and tax the vast and hard-to-reach Congolese interior. In the Free State, Leopold exercised total personal control without much delegation to subordinates. African chiefs played an important role in the administration by implementing government orders within their communities. Throughout much of its existence, however, Free State presence in

7505-765: Was a loss to Leopold II. This, and Leopold's humanitarian pledges to the Berlin Conference to end slavery, meant war was inevitable. Open warfare broke out in late November 1892. Both sides fought by proxy, arming and leading the populations of the upper Congo forests in conflict. By early 1894 the Zanzibari/Swahili slavers were defeated in the eastern Congo region and the Congo Arab war came to an end. The Belgians freed thousands of men, women and children slaves from Swaihili Arab slave owners and slave traders in Eastern Congo in 1886-1892, enlisted them in

7600-447: Was a private enterprise in the Congo Free State , later the Belgian Congo , that operated a string of trading stations in the Congo River basin, and exported ivory, rubber and other local products. The ruthless treatment of the local people by SAB agents inspired Joseph Conrad to write his 1899 novel Heart of Darkness . The Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie CCCI was created by Albert Thys on 27 December 1886,

7695-665: Was able to seize the region by convincing other European states at the Berlin Conference on Africa that he was involved in humanitarian and philanthropic work and would not tax trade. Via the International Association of the Congo , he was able to lay claim to most of the Congo Basin . On 29 May 1885, after the closure of the Berlin Conference, the king announced that he planned to name his possessions "the Congo Free State", an appellation which

7790-400: Was eventually made responsible to the sovereign alone. There was a supreme court composed of three judges, which heard appeals, and below it a high court of one judge. These sat at Boma. In addition to these, there were district courts and public prosecutors ( procureurs d'état ). Justice, however, was slow and the system ill-suited to a frontier society. Leopold no longer needed the façade of

7885-437: Was exploited by the SAB. Between 1902 and 1910 the SAB sublet most of its activities to the Compagnie du Kasaï and Société du Busira concession companies. After this, SAB began to expand again as the concession system was gradually phased out. Before 1920 the economy of the Congo was essentially based on harvesting natural products. Rubber and ivory generated the largest part of the revenues of companies such as SAB and of

7980-590: Was fatally wounded in the resulting fight. The expedition cut off Msiri's head and put it on a pole, as he had often done to his enemies. This was to impress upon the locals that Msiri's rule had really ended, after which the successor chief recognized by Stairs signed the treaty. In the short term, the third problem, that of the African and Arab slavers like Zanzibari / Swahili strongman Tippu Tip (actually Ḥamad ibn Muḥammad ibn Jumʿah ibn Rajab ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al Murjabī, but much better known by his nickname)

8075-488: Was for the benefit of the native peoples under the name of a philanthropic "association". The king launched a publicity campaign in Britain to distract critics, drawing attention to Portugal's record of slavery, and offering to drive slave traders from the Congo basin. He also secretly told British merchant houses that if he was given formal control of the Congo for this and other humanitarian purposes, he would then give them

8170-678: Was founded in 1907, which took over the Léopoldville facilities of the SAB and the Société Belgica . Presidents would include Albert Thys, Alexandre Delcommune and Maurice Lippens . Louis Valcke returned to the Congo in July 1889 on behalf of the SAB, where he replaced Major Parminter as director until March 1890. He established trading posts of this company as far as the Stanley Falls ( Boyoma Falls ). As of 1 January 1894

8265-424: Was given 666,000 km (257,000 sq mi) on the north bank (the modern Congo-Brazzaville and Central African Republic ), Portugal 909,000 km (351,000 sq mi) to the south (modern Angola ), and Leopold's personal organization received the balance: 2,344,000 km (905,000 sq mi), with about 30 million people. However, it still remained for these territories to be occupied under

8360-584: Was in Belgium . On 29 November 1883, during his meeting with the President, as Leopold's envoy, he convinced the President that Leopold's agenda was similar to the United States' involvement in Liberia . This satisfied Southern politicians and businessmen, especially Alabama Senator John Tyler Morgan . Morgan saw Congo as the same opportunity to send freedmen to Africa so they could contribute to and build

8455-417: Was in charge of accounting for income and expenditure and tracking the public debt. Besides diplomacy, foreign affairs was in charge of shipping, education, religion and commerce. The department of the interior was responsible for defence, police, public health and public works. It was also charged with overseeing the exploitation of the Congo's natural resources and plantations. In 1904, the secretary-general of

8550-414: Was in the general area of the Bus Bloc, but of this 123,000 hectares (300,000 acres) were outside its future boundaries. The SAB had a block of 2,000 hectares (4,900 acres) in the future Bus Bloc. The Compagnie du chemin de fer du Congo (CFC) was given 1,500 hectares (3,700 acres) of land for every 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of line put into operation, as well as a strip 200 metres (660 ft) wide along

8645-624: Was indefensible at home and abroad. Leopold II was heavily criticized by the European public opinion for his dealings with Tippu Tip. In Belgium, the Belgian Anti-Slavery Society was founded in 1888, mainly by Catholic intellectuals led by Count Hippolyte d'Ursel , aimed at abolishing the Arab slave trade. Furthermore, Tippu Tip and Leopold were commercial rivals. Every person that Tippu Tip hunted down and put into chattel slavery and every pound of ivory he exported to Zanzibar

8740-404: Was not yet used at the Berlin Conference and which officially replaced "International Association of the Congo" on 1 August 1885. The Free State was privately controlled by Leopold from Brussels; he never visited it. The state included the entire area of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo and existed from 1885 to 1908, when the Belgian Parliament reluctantly annexed the state as

8835-409: Was set up in 1887 to assist the governor-general, but he was not obliged to consult it. The vice governor-general on the ground had a state secretary through whom he communicated with his district officers. The Free State had an independent judiciary headed by a minister of justice at Boma . The minister was equal in rank to the vice governor-general and initially answered to the governor-general, but

8930-531: Was temporarily solved. Initially the authority of the Congo Free State was relatively weak in the eastern regions of the Congo. In early 1887, Henry Morton Stanley had therefore proposed that Tippu Tip be made governor (wali) of the Stanley Falls District . Both Leopold II and Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar agreed and on 24 February 1887, Tippu Tip accepted. In the longer term this alliance

9025-461: Was the third subsidiary of the CCCI. The headquarters were at 15, rue Bréderode, Bruxelles. Albert Thys was president and Baron Louis Weber de Treuenfels was vice-president. The capital was originally set at 1,200,00 francs. This was increased to 3 million francs on 31 January 1890 and to 5 million francs on 16 April 1892. The SAB was the first Belgian corporation to engage in Congo export commerce. The SAB would take over existing companies in

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