International Association of the Congo
2°52′48″S 23°39′22″E / 2.88°S 23.656°E
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International Congo Society Association internationale du Congo | |||||||||
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1879–1885 | |||||||||
Boma | |||||||||
Government | Corporatocracy | ||||||||
Owner | |||||||||
Chairman | |||||||||
Plenipotentiary | |||||||||
Historical era | New Imperialism | ||||||||
• Established | 17 November 1879 | ||||||||
• Flag recognised | 10 April 1884 | ||||||||
• Sovereignty recognised | 8 November 1884 | ||||||||
• Free State established | 1 July 1885 | ||||||||
ISO 3166 code | CG | ||||||||
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Today part of | Democratic Republic of Congo |
The International Association of the Congo (
Ownership and control
The official stockholders of the Committee for the Study of the Upper Congo were Dutch and British businessmen and a Belgian banker who was holding shares on behalf of Leopold. Colonel Maximilien Strauch, president of the committee, was an appointee of Leopold. It was not made clear to Henry Morton Stanley, who signed a five-year contract to establish bases in the Congo in 1878, whether he was working for the International African Association, the Committee for Studies of the Upper Congo, or Leopold himself. Stanley's European employee contracts forbade disclosure of the true nature of their work.[7]
Berlin Conference
The Berlin Conference or Congo Conference of 1884–85 regulated European colonisation and trade in Africa. King Leopold II was able to convince the powers at the conference that common trade in Africa was in the best interests of all countries.[8][self-published source] The General Act of the conference divided Africa between the main powers of Europe[9] and confirmed the territory controlled by the Congo Society as its private property, which essentially made it the property of Leopold II.[10]
On 10 April 1884 the United States Senate authorised President Chester A. Arthur "to recognize the flag of the AIC as the equal of that of an allied government".[11] On 8 November 1884 Germany recognised the sovereignty of the society over the Congo.[12]
See also
- Corporatocracy
- Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference 1889–90
- Brussels Conference Act of 1890
- Royal Museum for Central Africa
- List of boats used for exploration of the Congo
External links
- Timeline for Congo — History Commons
References
- ^ "Association Internationale du Congo". Encyclopædia Britannica. 22 March 2007.
- ^ Memo from Belgium. 1978. p. 210.
- ISBN 9781841623917.
- ^ Cornelis, S. (1991). "Stanley au service de Léopold II: La fondation de l'Etat Indépendant du Congo (1878-1885)". In Cornelis, S. (Ed.), H.M. Stanley: Explorateur Au Service du Roi. Pp. 41-60. Tervuren: Royal Museum for Central Africa.: 53–54.
- ISBN 9789401192675.
- ^ Katzenellenbogen, S. (1996). "It didn't happen at Berlin: Politics, economics and ignorance in the setting of Africa's colonial boundaries.". In Nugent, P.; Asiwaju, A. I. (eds.). African Boundaries: Barriers, Conduits and Opportunities. London: Pinter. pp. 21–34.
- ISBN 9780330469944.
- ISBN 9781469140360.
- ISBN 9789067046091.
- ISBN 9780415927604.
- ISBN 9780199205004.
- ISBN 9781780329406.