Leopold II ascended the throne of Belgium in 1865. A man of undoubted genius and erudition, of large ideas and tenacious will, he was also inspired with great ambitions. Briefly, the successive stages of the foundation of the Congo Free State were as follows: As a consequence of the expeditions (1840; 1 May, 1873) of Livingstone and Stanley, public attention began to be drawn to Central Africa, and Leopold II divined the greatest possibilities of the newly-discovered country. Afghanistan (äf-găn′ĭs-tän′), is a mountainous country of south Central Asia governed by a hereditary monarch called an amir. On 12 Sept., 1876, he called a Conférence Géographique at Brussels, which gave birth to the association for the exploration and civilization of Central Africa commonly called the International African Association. It was James Gordon Bennett, the proprietor of the “New York Herald”, who (October, 1879) engaged (Sir) Henry Morton Stanley to undertake his voyage through Africa to find the lost explorer, David Livingstone. There are (1908) in Africa four Congo states: the French German, Portuguese, and the Independent, or Free, State.
Further, the United States was the first power (22 April, 1884) that recognized the flag of the International Association as that of a friendly state. In 1841 the British suppressed a revolt in Afghanistan and have ever since been the real power there. Belgium’s right to take over the Congo and the successive steps which have led up to the annexation will be found treated under sections II and VII. EDITOR’S NOTE: The following account of the Congo Independent State was written before the annexation of the State by the Belgian Government. On 20 August, 1908, the Chamber of Deputies approved the treaty of annexation, and on 9 September following the treaty was adopted by the Belgian Senate. By this agreement the Belgian Government took over the Independent State, including the Domaine de la Couronne, with all its rights and obligations. The minerals include copper, lead and Срок iron with small quantities of gold and there are precious stones, including lapis lazuli.
The mounted levies are for the most part, the retainers of the great chieftains or of the latters’ wealthier vassals. The government is under the supervision of Great Britain which contributes to it an annual subsidy. Afghanistan was a part of the empire of Timur the Great and after changing masters several times became independent in 1747. In 1838 the British sent an army into Afghanistan to place on his throne the Amir Shah Shuja who had been driven into exile in India. Under the amir there is a council with governors for the separate provinces. There are practically no navigable rivers and but one railway. Since the reforms of 1906 the annual contingent to be supplied is divided into two sections, one of which goes to the army and the other furnishes labourers for the public works. Ascending to the throne, he found himself ruler of a country that was so small that it was scarcely visible on the map of the world, and it was only natural that he should conceive the hope of one day ruling a more extended dominion. The present ruler is Habibullah Khan. And, it just so happened that, in 1861, Mexico was in a state of chaos.
