jul 1, 1885 - Congo Free State is Established

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Regional unrest and constant conflict among different political institutions and ethnic groups resulted in a Congo kingdom that was all too easy to colonize. Colonial forces penetrated the region throughout the early 19th to 20th centuries as resistance to colonists "was undermined by internecine raids and wars" that came as a result of "slave trade" (Lemarchand). The ease in which Belgian colonists were able to conquer Congolese societies "bears testimony to the magnitude of earlier upheavals" (Lemarchand). Thus, even before the establishment of the Congo Free State, the Congo Kingdom was already in turmoil. In fact, it was exactly that regional discord that allowed for Europeans to conquer the kingdom, and paved the way for Leopold II to sanction control over the Congo River basin area in the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 (Lemarchand). Furthermore, the small region Belgian occupied likely lacked the natural resources available in the rich fertile land of the Congo, and the regional conflict allowed Leopold to garner an excuse for conquest in the name of stabilizing and 'civilizing' the region. These factors allowed for the creation of the Congo Free State under King Leopold II in 1885.


(Mayaux)
The dense vegetation and forests of the Congo River Basin, full of natural resources and fertile soil made it an attractive region for colonization in the eyes of European and Belgian colonizers. The land permeated with vast resources from agriculture to rubber to ivory motivated Leopold II to take the Congo under his personal jurisdiction, leading to the formation of the Congo Free State.

(Lemarchand)
The large amount of rivers that populated the Congo River Basin allowed for the establishment of several native African states within the Congo kingdom, such as the Luba-Lunda states, with natural borders drawn and trade routes to the sea secured by the region's rivers. However, the different political institutions, unique to specific states, that sprouted from the region's geography led to internal strife and conflict for kingship that facilitated the Congo's colonization by Europeans.

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