Belgian (Civ5)/Civilopedia

Having only gained its independence in 1830 AD, Belgium was a relative late-comer to the European scramble for colonies in Africa. Although the Belgian colonial holdings included the small territories of Rwanda and Burundi, it was primarily comprised of the Belgian Congo, a vast area drained by the Congo River. Unlike most colonies, the Congo was not administered by the government, but instead was the private property of King Leopold II of Belgium. From August 1879 to June 1884, while under contract to King Leopold to navigate the river, the explorer Henry Stanley negotiated treaties with a number of tribal chieftains whereby they transferred all rights to their respective lands to the Belgian king. Leopold proceeded to establish private military posts and plantations to harvest rubber. In 1884, the Berlin Conference, headed by the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, recognized Leopold's ownership of the Congo. Leopold's brutal policies eventually led to international outcry however; in 1908, despite the aging Leopold's offers to reform his personal rule of the territory, the Belgian parliament reluctantly annexed the king's "Congo Free State" as a colony.