Protestant missionaries are the first to alert…

Protestant missionaries are the first to alert international public opinion to the extent of cruelties visited upon the African population, and with the creation of the Congo Reform Association in 1904, the public outcry against the Congo Free State reaches major proportions.

Not until 1908, however, does the Belgian parliament vote in favor of annexation as the most sensible solution to the flood of criticisms generated by the reform movement.

The Colonial  Charter provides for the government of what is  hereafter known as the Belgian Congo.

This charter permits the king to retain a great deal of authority and influence over affairs in the colony through power of appointment and legislative authority, but his power is constitutional rather than personal and, therefore, limited.

The main purpose of the charter is to prevent the establishment of a royal autocracy in the colony similar to the one that had existed in the Congo Free State.