Editing Leopold II of Belgium (section)

=== Acquisition ===
After searching around the world for an area suitable for a colony, he turned his eyes to the mysterious center of Africa called the Congo. Since nobody else was interested in the area, Leopold saw great potential, dreaming of owning the massive land mass.

About a few years into Leopold's reign, an explorer known as Henry Morton Stanley had rediscovered the legendary David Livingstone in the middle of the Congo Basin after he disappeared a few years earlier. Stanley caught Leopold's eye, and he hired him once his expedition was over.

Leopold established multiple philanthropic associations, claiming that his agenda was to help civilize and Christianize the Congolese people, and had Stanley support him. He also claimed that he would protect the Congolese from the "evil Arab [[Slave Trade|slave traders]]", a straw-man many Europeans used as an excuse to colonize parts of Africa. These organizations, however, were not genuine and served only to garner support for his plans.

After establishing himself as a righteous man in the eyes of the public, he requested funding from the Parliament to support his "philanthropic" goals. The senators obliged, and Leopold sent Stanley to map out the Congo Basin. Stanley would shoot his way through Africa, forcing tribe leaders to sign contracts giving away their people to Belgium, and establishing camps.

During the Berlin Conference that began the [[Scramble for Africa]], Leopold obtained support from many rivaling European powers who also wished to seek out the Congo Basin. Using this newfound support, Leopold seized control of the center of Africa and turned it into the Congo Free State, a Belgian colony who was exclusively owned by him and him only. After a lifetime of chasing after his dream of owning a colony, it had finally come to fruition.