C. King Leopold II in The Congo King Leopold II of Belgium became interested in the areas of the Congo. In 1879, Leopold hired Henry Stanley to help him get land there. In 1882, Leopold got agreements from local chiefs of the Congo that gave Belgium control of that land. Publicly, Leopold said that he wanted to "civilize the Africans, because they have been living in an uncivilized state for so long." Following this idea, missionaries were sent into The Congo. These were Christians who came to convert Africans to Christianity. King Leopold forced men to work and would hold their wives hostage until they met harvesting quotas. He worked the Africans so hard that they had no time to grow their own food to eat. The precise number will never be known but it is estimated that between 1880 and 1920 50% of the Congole:e population was killed – nearly 10 million people.

C. King Leopold II in The Congo King Leopold II of Belgium became interested in the areas of the Congo. In 1879, Leopold hired Henry Stanley to help him get land there. In 1882, Leopold got agreements from local chiefs of the Congo that gave Belgium control of that land. Publicly, Leopold said that he wanted to "civilize the Africans, because they have been living in an uncivilized state for so long." Following this idea, missionaries were sent into The Congo. These were Christians who came to convert Africans to Christianity. King Leopold forced men to work and would hold their wives hostage until they met harvesting quotas. He worked the Africans so hard that they had no time to grow their own food to eat. The precise number will never be known but it is estimated that between 1880 and 1920 50% of the Congole:e population was killed – nearly 10 million people.