As a central African country with one of the most fertile sub-soils on the planet, the Congo has long been a raw materials producer. Whether before colonisation, during colonisation or after colonisation, the Congo has provided and continues to provide commodities from its soil.
European faces have distinguished themselves in the history of the Congo through the extraction of its resources. Whether settlers, soldiers or ordinary European citizens, they have made the Congo an important part of their careers. Beyond the extraction of resources, the Congo has been a landmark for them and a landmark in history, with strong faces, strong personalities and strong events.
In this article, we take a look back at the European faces who have left their mark on the Congo, and who have made the Congo what it is today.
We’ll start by looking at the history of the Congo and the King of Belgium with Henry Morton Stanley, then move on to Pierre de Brazzaville’s journey in the Congo, and then look at the passage of Europeans and other famous personalities in the Congo, such as General de Gaulle and Allen Dulles.

The King of Belgium, Leopold 2 and the Congo.

Leopold 2 was King of Belgium between 17 December 1865 and 17 December 1909. He was born in Brussels, Léopold Louis-Philippe Marie Victor de Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, on 9 April 1835.
He acquired the Congo between 1885, creating the Independent State of the Congo the same year. He was famous for making the country his private domain and profited from the exploitation of rubber while establishing a bloodthirsty colonial regime.
Leopold 2 was a bearded man with a full long beard. He was King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo, Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Duke of Saxony. He left his mark on the Congo through his governance and the atrocities he committed there. He made the Congo one of his gardens, and made controversial statements about the colony: “Cutting off hands – that’s stupid. I’d cut off everything else there, but not the hands. That’s the only thing I need in the Congo”.
The Congo will be very much in the character’s mind, both in terms of his actions and the organisation and extractions he carries out there.
Following the visit of the Belgian royal family, the Belgian Congo hosted Africa’s first nuclear power station, which was later destroyed when the region gained independence.

Henry Morton Stanley.

The Congo was discovered by the Welsh-American Henry Morton Stanley on behalf of the Belgian King Leopold 2 in 1879. The Congo became the official property of Belgium following the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885. Henry Morton Stanley competed with the French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza for rights to the African region. Henry Morton Stanley was a member of the 26th Parliament of the United Kingdom. He was born on 15 July 1895 out of wedlock to his mother Elizabeth (Betsy) Parry and John Rowlands or James Vaughan Home. He died on 17 September 1900. He travelled in America and fought there. He was also a writer.

Pierre de Brazza.

Born Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà on 26 January in Rome, he became French in 1874. He came from a good family in the Republic of Venice and was in contact with the leading statesmen of the day, notably Léon Gambetta and Jules Ferry.
He set off to explore the Congo in 1874, during which time he avoided excessive use of violence. His trip was partly funded by his French friends Léon Gambetta and Jules Ferry, and its aim was to demonstrate that the River Ouguée and the River Congo are one and the same. In 1879 he made a second expedition, after which he signed an agreement placing part of the Congo territory under French protectorate. In 1885 he was appointed General Commissioner of the French Congo. Under his leadership, the town of Nkuna was renamed Brazzaville. His mode of governance was compared to that of Leopold 2, and the disjunction was much used by journalists of the time.

General Charles de Gaulle.

Born Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle on 22 November 1890 in Lille and died on 9 November 1970, General de Gaulle gave the Brazzaville speech on 30 January 1944. In his speech, Charles de Gaulle called on the French Congo and the other territories of the French Empire to support France. The speech was an important one in General de Gaulle’s career because, along with the 1940 appeal, it was one of the General’s two speeches outside France to liberate France.
The speech lasts less than 4 minutes and seals France’s link with its empire as a “definitive bond”.

Allen Dulles.

Allen Dulles born Allen Welsh Dulles was born on 7 April 1893 in Watertown and died on 29 January 1969 in Washington. He was a lawyer, diplomat and leading figure in American intelligence. He was in charge of the investigation into the Kennedy murder.
He was involved in the murder of Patrice Lumumba during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower.
At the time, Allen Dulles was director of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency).