454 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



his own expense, commanded for the most part by Englishmen and Ger- 

 mans and represented to the world as being entirely for scientific pur- 

 poses. Later Leopold proposed forming the association into a state and 

 obtained the sympathy and support of the British Chambers of Com- 

 merce by promising perfect freedom of trade, and of the protestant mis- 

 sionary societies of England and America, of the aborigines' protection 

 association, and of the philanthropic world in general by his protesta- 

 tions of the highest type of philanthropy. 



Several years before that time, Sir Eobert Morier suggested to Lord 

 Beaconsfield to recognize the claims of Portugal to the southern bank of 

 the Congo, while the northern bank was to become British. Lord 

 Beaconsfield, however, did not favor this plan, and when, in 1875, the 

 consul Lieutenant Cameron proclaimed, on his own initiative, the taking 

 possession of the basin of the Congo, his act was repudiated by Lord 

 Carnarvon. Portugal and England had historic claims on the country, 

 and the two governments made an agreement in 1883 by which Portugal 

 was to gain the basin of the Congo on both sides for a certain limited 

 distance from the mouth, engaging to give freedom of trade to the world 

 and religious freedom to all inhabitants of the country. The treaty was 

 denounced by the British Chambers of Commerce and the British philan- 

 thropic world. The British government was accused of betraying na- 

 tional interests, and in Portugal the Portuguese government was accused 

 of the same thing. France was ready to step in and take the district, in 

 which case foreign trade would be handicapped. King Leopold seized 

 the opportunity, and Stanley, acting on his behalf, renewed the advances 

 made before to England. The English government was now more ready 

 to listen to the proposal, but, being anxious to secure freedom of trade 

 and protection of the natives, fell in with the invitation of Bismarck to 

 an international conference at Berlin. This conference was held from 

 November 25, 1884, to February 26, 1885, and guaranteed the formation 

 of the Congo association into a state. The representatives of the differ- 

 ent powers may be almost said to have wept for joy at having found so 

 disinterested and philanthropic a ruler for the state as King Leopold 

 promised to be. On August 1, Leopold notified the powers that the 

 International African Association would henceforth be known as the 

 Congo Free State. 



King Leopold began to form an army, and by 1889 two thousand 

 regulars had been recruited and were armed with modern rifles, and 

 the proposal for the next year was to raise eight thousand more. The 

 King's officials were given a bonus for each recruit obtained, and these 

 recruits were gathered by armed raids on the villages. 



In 1891 a regulation was issued forbidding the natives to sell ivory 

 and rubber (the main products of the country) to European merchants, 

 and the officials were given a bonus for the amount of rubber supplied 



