Before the period of colonial conquest, which officially began with the drafting of the Treaty of Berlin in 1885, the country was organized into different kingdoms: the Balkins, Baluba, and Balunda empires, the Kongo Kingdom, and many other groups and societies. The period of colonial conquest began during the 19th century when King Leopold II of Belgium acquired the Congo Basin under the Treaty of Berlin. He was recognized by the European powers as the sovereign …showed first 75 words of 950 total…

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