Henry Morton Stanley
1841 – 1904 Welsh-British-American Explorer, journalist, colonial agent
Explorer who mapped the Congo and secured it for Leopold II.
- Religion
- Christian
- Affiliations
- New York Herald, International African Association (Leopold II)
Born John Rowlands in Wales, Stanley became a journalist famous for finding David Livingstone in 1871. In the late 1870s and 1880s he explored the Congo River and signed treaties with local chiefs on behalf of Leopold II, laying the groundwork for the Congo Free State. His expeditions were marked by violence against African communities, and his reputation has been heavily reassessed by later historians.
In the timeline
- 1879 Stanley's expedition opens the Congo interior for Leopold mentioned
- 1882 Stanley's treaties build a private claim mentioned