First Conquest

Although King Leopold II of Belgium was the first to “colonize” the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it was the Diogo Cão who first traveled to the Congo River in 1482, and later José Lacerdu e Almeida in 1789, both from Portugal. (C) Rich copper mines in the central area, ivory, and the abundance of rubber attracted many Europeans to the DRC. 

In 1876, King Leopold II of Belgium sent Henry M. Stanley to explore the Congo and make treaties with the natives. Leopold wished to take control of Congo Personally. (C) The Berlin Conference of 1884 gave Leopold power to colonize DRC under his own rule. His rules were extremely cruel and evil to the African people. They were considered uncivilized and were forced to give their own produce to Leopold. (B) Every village in Congo was also forced to give four people a year to be a full time slave. Slaves were told to collect rubber from the forests while women and children were held as hostages. (D) Leopold forced natives to follow his rule or their hands will be cut off. But these brutal acts would soon change.