How and why did Leopold II build an African Empire

             lose no time, under penalty of seeing the few remaining good positions seized upon .
             by more enterprising nations than our own-. However the Belgian government or .
             people had no interest in oversees colonies and refused to acquire an empire. Initially .
             Leopold had looked to the east in his efforts to gain colonies, but his attempt to gain .
             the Philippines from Spain did not prove fruitful. He then turned his attention to the .
             Congo Basin in central Africa. Leopold thought the government was not ambitious .
             and therefore he sought to secure the Congo for Belgium by himself. .
             Reports of great natural resources and potential wealth were coming out of .
             Africa. In eighteen seventy-five a race for the Congo was developing. Belgium did .
             not have the power or money to compete with other major European powers. At the .
             international conference in Paris Leopold drew many ideas and tactic that he would .
             use to set up the Belgian Free State. In eighteen seventy-six he held the Brussels .
             Geographical Conference. In a draft note for his speech he wrote "the aim of the .
             conference is to found if possible the international work of the rest houses and .
             scientific posts in Africa. Before the horrible evil of the slave trade, which in its .
             interior of Africa claims over one hundred thousand victims yearly, the citizens of .
             civilised countries must come to an agreement to heal the sore. The headquarters of .
             this humane undertaking might well be situated on Belgian soil."" An international .
             committee was established to develop' central Africa. The African International .
             Association(A.I.A) was set up. It met once in eighteen seventy-seven in Brussels and .
             then never again. Outwardly the aims were humanitarian and scientific but in truth it .
             was a purely commercial operation. The King entrusted Henry Stanley to establish .
             A.I.A. posts in the Congo. These posts were exclusively commercial with instructions .
             from Leopold to claim as much land as possible for the Congo.