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How did King Leopold II come to 'own' Congo?

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Leopold soon decided that the best way to acquire wealth would be by establishing an African colony, at a time when the great European “Scramble for Africa” was under way. In 1870 more than 80 percent of Africa south of the Sahara was under the rule of indigenous chiefs or kings. read more

First, Leopold noticed and exploited the tension between the competing colonial expansionism of Britain and Germany in Central Africa during the late 19th century. read more

Leopold became the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken on his own behalf. He used explorer Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. read more

Leopold II, King of the Belgians and de facto owner of the Congo Free State from 1885 to 1908 Leopold used the title Sovereign King as ruler of the Congo Free State. He appointed the heads of the three departments of state: interior, foreign affairs and finances. read more

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