 From October 1880 until May 1882 a small squad of troops led by Senegalese Sergeant Malamine Camara occupied the site, preventing the land from falling into Belgian hands.The first large scale building work of the city only began four years later in order as a competitor with Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) which Belgian colonists built on the other side of the river.The Berlin Conference of 1884 placed French control over the area on an official footing.