Leopold II Research Paper

Leopold II (1835-1909) The King of Belgium 1865-1909. The scramble for Africa began in the mid-1870's with the purpose to colonize the "Dark Continent". Much of the exploration and European interests were in the southern, northern, and eastern part of the continent. It was still called the "Dark Continent" because of the large basin of rain forests surrounding the Congo River in the equatorial part of western Africa. This area was virtually unexplored because traveling up the river by boat was impossible due to the massive systems of rapids that were only 100 miles upstream from the Atlantic Ocean.
Sir Henry Stanley's travels through Eastern Africa to find Dr. David Livingstone made him famous throughout Europe. In 1876 Leopold II employed