WI: French take over of the Congo Free State

In OTL the investment needed in the Congo almost bankrupt Leopold the King of the Belgians. In order to get French recognition of his colony he promised the French right of first buy. So in this WI the Belgian parliament refuses to grant him any funds to keep his colony in the Congo going and the rubber boom occurs a few years later, desperate and starved for funds Leopold offers the colony to the French.

What happens next? Will we see a British Katanga?
 
I don't think the French would actually be able to make it stick without making serious concessions to other powers. A Congo Conference, basically.
 
If a Congo conference happens, I bet on a partition of the Congo, into the colonies of the neighboring colonial powers.

If Britain gets Katanga, does that basically give them the corridor for the Cape-to-Cairo railway?
 
Wasn't Portugal interested in acquiring the Congo in OTL? I suppose it would depend on the price Leopold was asking for as Portugal probably wouldn't be able to pay a very high price.
 

katchen

Banned
The year was 1908. It would have depended on how badly the British wanted peace with Germany at the time. I seem to recall that they decided around then to forego the Cairo-Cape Railway to keep peace with Germany. So they might have let the Germans buy the Congo. Maybe even get Germany to throw in a trade of German New Guinea and Micronesia to Belgium in return for the Congo if Belgium is interested. Get Germany away from Australia.
 
Top