The Committee for Studies of the Upper Congo, or in French the Comité d'études du Haut-Congo, was formed in 1878[1] on behalf of Leopold II, King of the Belgians, as part of the Scramble for Africa.
At Leopold's request, the committee was formed by a number of bankers and traders in Belgium and abroad, who contributed funds.
The King had initially wanted to recruit Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza as an explorer, but he was hired by the French.
The Committee supported this mission, and Stanley secretly left Antwerp on a freighter in June 1879, arriving in July at the mouth of the Congo River.
The committee was founded, ostensibly, with the goals of: However, the King privately instructed Stanley that: "It is not about Belgian colonies.