The Birth of the Congo as a Free State :: African History Essays

The Birth of the Congo as a Free State In the beginning years of his sovereignty, King Leopold the Second of Belgium began to show an interest in the natural resources of Central Africa, especially the wild rubber that was growing within the heart of the jungle. In the year 1876, he called a conference of humanitarians and travelers together who met at Brussels for the sole purpose of debating various plans of how the â€Å"Dark Continent† could be opened up (Doyle). From this conference, the International African Association was formed, which, in spite of its name, was almost entirely a Belgian body, with the Belgian King serving as the President. Its objective was the exploration of the country and the establishment of civilization centers and â€Å"rest-houses† for travelers (Doyle). At the same time, Leopold also pursued the spread of Christianity and freedom to the â€Å"savages† of Africa, so he hired the famous journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley to travel the length of the river t o begin signing treaties with the native tribes (Kinshasa). For almost six years from 1879 to 1884, this great explorer labored on behalf of King Leopold, investigating the basin of the Upper Congo River and simultaneously hoping to establish his own imperial society in Central Africa. Upon Stanley’s return from his great journey in 1878, he was met by a representative from the King of Belgium who enrolled him as an actual agent for his Association (Doyle). The immediate task given to Stanley was to open up the Congo for trade at once. Furthermore, he was to make terms with the natives that would enable the stations to be built and the depots established. Thus, in 1879 Stanley finally began his work (Doyle). Stanley labored hard among the Native Chiefs, undisturbed by any of the destructive effects that his own work created, and returned to his employer with at least 450 alleged treaties which transferred land to the Association. There is no record of the exact payment made in order to obtain these treaties, but there is evidence of a similar transaction carried out by a Belgian officer in 1883 at Palabala (Doyle). In that particular case, the payment made to the Chief consisted of "one coat of red cloth with gold facings, one red cap, one white tunic, o ne piece of white baft, one piece of red points, one box of liqueurs, four demijohns of rum, two boxes of gin, 128 bottles of gin, twenty red handkerchiefs, forty singlets and forty old cotton caps.