Brazza, Stanley, and the Congo at the Berlin Conference

This episode zooms in on the rivalry between French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza and Henry Morton Stanley as they raced to claim the Congo Basin for their patrons—France and King Leopold II of Belgium. We trace Brazza's 1880 treaty with Chief Makoko of the Tio people, which gave France a foothold on the north bank of the Congo River, and the diplomatic firestorm it ignited at the Berlin Conference of 1884-85. How did the conference's principle of 'effective occupation' favour Leopold's International Association while carving out a separate French Congo? And what became of the kingdoms and communities caught between these competing colonial ambitions? We also discuss the long shadow of this partition: the modern border between Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With Lucas and Luna as your guides, this is a story of treaties, bluff, and the drawing of lines that still shape Africa today. #BerlinConference #PierreSavorgnanDeBrazza #HenryStanley #CongoRiver #TreatyOfMakoko #KingLeopoldII #ScrambleForAfrica #FrenchCongo #CongoFreeState #EffectiveOccupation #Brazzaville #Colonialism #TioPeople #FranciscoDeBrazza #AfricaPartition #Diplomacy #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo