Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 85.djvu/458

454 his own expense, commanded for the most part by Englishmen and Germans and represented to the world as being entirely for scientific purposes. Later Leopold proposed forming the association into a state and obtained the sympathy and support of the British Chambers of Commerce by promising perfect freedom of trade, and of the protestant missionary societies of England and America, of the aborigines' protection association, and of the philanthropic world in general by his protestations of the highest type of philanthropy.

Several years before that time, Sir Robert 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 philanthropic world. The British government was accused of betraying national 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 different 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