Congo Free State, 1885-1908 In 1876, Belgium’s King Leopold II
(1835-1909) convened a geographical conference in Brussels.
Leopold proposed establishing an international benevolent
committee for the propagation of civilization among the peoples
of Central Africa (the Congo region). Originally conceived as a
multi-national, scientific, and humanitarian assembly, the
Association Internationale Africaine (AIA, African International
Association) eventually became a development company controlled
by Leopold.[1,2,3] He subsequently organized the Comité d'Études
du Haut-Congo (CEHC, Study Committee of the Upper Congo), an
international commercial, scientific, and humanitarian
committee, and sometime between 1879 and 1882, the Association
Internationale du Congo (AIC, International Congo Society)
emerged.[1,2,3] From 1878 to 1884, Leopold used these
organizations to establish influence and eventually Belgian
sovereignty, in the Congo Basin. His primary objective was to
exploit the lucrative ivory market in Central Af